An Invitation to Tune Into Yourself through Art
Including a free guidebook with an easy art therapy project + live workshop
Hello beautiful readers,
I find that January is a wonderful time for slowing down and tuning into yourself. The hectic end of the year is behind us (in theory!). Even if you’re the type who loves to embrace a fresh start with intentions, we all benefit from practices that encourage you to go within.
With that in mind, I wanted to share with you the fun, playful, and rewarding practice of the coffee mug mandala. I love it because it’s an invitation to try out a daily art practice without the pressure of taking on a huge project.
All you need is some paper, a coffee mug, and easy art supplies and voilà- your art project is ready to go! The full instructions are inside of the free guidebook, which you will find in the art prompt section.
What I love about a project like this is that it’s super flexible- you can do almost anything with it from drawing, to painting, to collaging. You can use it to lean into all kinds of situations. It can serve as a way to get something off of your chest or to express appreciation and gratitude for what you wish to celebrate.
You can do coffee mugs mandalas to get through a difficult times- like being in the chemotherapy chair or going for a scan. I always brought my art therapy supplies on treatment days as a supportive way to get through them.
I’ll be curious to see what you do with these suggestions! If you feel brave, please share your experience in the comments below.
May you find coffee mug mandalas to be a lovely little practice for embracing the start of the new year.
Warmly,
Stephanie
PS. Each new year, I focus on a word or two that reflects what I need to embrace, nurture, and support myself and the work I do. My words for 2024 are Courage and Faith. Right now I’m in the middle of making a vision board.
If this sounds like something you want to do, I’m in the process of creating a guidebook and an offering- so stay tuned!
Excerpt from the book…
Since this newsletter touches upon new beginnings, I thought that this excerpt from Beautiful Boobs: How to Move from Surviving to Thriving with Breast Cancer Using Art Therapy would be of interest. May you find the kindness and reverence you need when feeling vulnerable.
If change is needed, how can you approach this from a place of kindness and reverence?
Contemplating change can be inspiring and overwhelming. It’s important to prepare yourself for some internal pushback, thanks to that conditioning that evokes fear and limiting beliefs when you push against what’s expected of you….
This is why kindness and reverence are so helpful. They inspire you to respond in a way that’s inclusive, respectful, and honors that all of your parts deserve dignity and compassion.
Your Creative Prompt for this Issue…
(P.S. you don’t have to be an artist to do this!)
Before doing this exercise, set yourself up for doing some art and writing. Any kind of art medium will work- so chose something you have on hand or treat yourself to a few supplies. Here’s my basic list for starting an art journal.
This newsletter’s creative prompt guides you to tune into yourself through a daily art practice, using coffee mugs to make a mini-mandala. This Art as Meditation Guidebook is a freebie that I had a blast creating to attract new readers to this publication!
If you feel inspired to share it with others, they can receive their own copy when they subscribe to the newsletter. It’s my gift to you all, a perk for my subscribers that I hope will feel like a warm thank you from me to you!
I’d love to hear from you about how this prompt went for you. Feel free to share in the comments below or email me directly!
Behind-The-Scenes Look at the Publishing Process
I’m happy to report that with the help of my PR firm, I’ve been published on 3 separate websites- Wellness.com, Your Zen Mama, and Professor’s House. You can find the links to the latest articles here. I feel so grateful to have my PT firm on my side! It definitely takes a village.
My next goal is creating social media posts to promote these articles via Instagram and Pinterest. If you’re not currently a follower but you like IG and/or Pinterest, I’d be so thankful to have you follow me. Social media is an important part of the author’s platform, which is essential for new authors to have, especially in the nonfiction world.
Upcoming Workshops-
1/29/2024~ Art Therapy for Women: Coffee Mug Mandalas from 12-1pm EST. A free workshop for my wonderful readers! Space is limited, so register today if you want to attend.
These opportunities will be for newsletter subscribers only. So if you have someone that you’d like to invite, please do! All that I ask is that they become a subscriber.
XO,
Stephanie