For ten years I have been creating commissioned paintings that honor someone’s loved one. Incorporating prints of old photographs, these paintings tell a visual story about the person being remembered. Many of these paintings are destined to become family heirlooms, allowing the person to be remembered for generations.
For a long time I have been thinking about how I might teach others to make their own paintings to honor someone they have lost. The process is so healing. Art has always helped with my own grief. I have found it very powerful to express myself through art, and to create something tangible to honor whomever it is I want to honor. This includes my father, my brother, and even a beloved cat.
I am launching the first of my HeartArt Workshops this month here in my home/studio in Easthampton. Beginning this May and continuing through September, 2013, I will be hosting a 5-day workshop class once per month, leading four students through the process of creating their own Heart Art painting. I will supply the materials. I am especially interested in teaching non-painters how to do this, with complete confidence that they can.
My longer term dream is to create a 5-dayworkshop class that I can teach at retreat centers around the country over the years to come. My partner in this would be my friend Vanessa whom I have known since we waited tables together in Greenwich Village in our 20s. (A long long time ago.) Vanessa found her calling years ago when she got her MSW and began working with cancer patients and their families. Our Heart Art retreat would be a 5-day bereavement art workshop where I can lead participants through making their own Heart Art and Vanessa can complement the art-making with other therapeutic tools.
Feel free to message me with any questions. Here are the scheduled class dates for now:
