Shelley Klammer Artist Interview
Expressive arts facilitator Shelley Klammer explains her profession and the benefits of regular creative expression.
Shelley Klammer Bio
Shelley is a counsellor who provides online depth therapy for creative people. She is an educator with the International Expressive Arts Therapy Association offering online e-courses that encourage the self-expression of original thought, authentic emotions and intuitive insight. Shelley also supports expressive arts facilitators to start art programs in their own communities.
Please tell us about your art?
I am an expressive artist. I create intuitive art to see more deeply into my emotional life. I love creating digital and paper collages. I make intuitive mandalas, and I also draw and paint intuitively.
Please tell us about your work?
I offer depth therapy for creative people online. (shelleyklammer.com). I am a prolific writer on the “art of emotional healing” and I offer an abundance of free articles and resources on my website: expressiveartworkshops.com and my blog: intuitivecreativity.typepad.com
I also offer many courses such as collage therapy, poetry therapy, narrative therapy, and intuitive art-making workshops through my online classroom.
Can you please describe what an “expressive arts
facilitator” is?
An expressive arts facilitator designs and initiates spontaneous creative processes for people, and may or may not be trained as a therapist. Creating spontaneously encourages honest self-expression that might have been restricted by social judgments in the past.
Do your clients already need an art background or
are your courses suitable for beginners as well?
My expressive arts courses are suitable for people who have little to no art experience and also for people who love to make art. An urge to express yourself honestly is all that is required.
How does an art facilitator differ from an art
therapist?
Expressive Arts Facilitators do not offer therapy. Therapy involves working with a therapy professional to resolve problematic behaviours, beliefs, feelings, relationship issues, and/or somatic responses.
The aim of expressive arts facilitation is to provide a space for people to experiment with spontaneous art, poetry, dance, sculpture, music and more. Critiques are never made about the aesthetics or meaning of the art. Participants are invited to express their honest thoughts and emotions, as they relate to their creative self-expression, in an atmosphere of unconditional acceptance.
What are the educational requirements to become
an expressive arts facilitator?
You do not need an educational designation to facilitate creative processes for people. We are all welcome to facilitate spontaneous art processes that invite authentic self-expression. Emotional expression through authentic art-making is a normal human process. However, you can choose to partake in Expressive Arts Facilitation training, and there are many certificate programs available.
Many art classes seem to have a healing or spiritual
component, how does the creative process help in
healing?
People sometimes say to me, “I do not think I have much to express. I do not know if I have an authentic self. I do not think I have much inside of me.” I always say, “Begin expressing yourself regularly. Intend to express yourself spontaneously. See what comes out. Your creativity will show you something new about your deeper self.” If you are feeling bored, depressed or unimpressed about your life, it is helpful to cultivate a spontaneous creativity practice every day for your self-expression to come alive and find its own living, eloquent language. Even 30 days of spontaneous creativity will tell you something startlingly fresh about yourself.
When I tried spontaneous collage, for example, I absolutely loved it. My collages flowed together with ease. As the multiplicity of imagery poured out of me, I began to see all aspects of my unconscious mind in visual form, and I began to emotionally heal. Over the next many years I made hundreds of collages that helped me to know and accept myself more profoundly.
Our accepted personality aspects are always out front and clearly visible as part of our social mask. The less accepted parts of ourselves hide in the shadows. Our hidden aspects of self will eagerly show themselves through spontaneous words and imagery. Creating spontaneously involves inviting something new and possibly not yet accepted into our conscious awareness so that it can become loved, healed and whole.
Shelley Klammer’s Most Popular Art Class: 100 Days of Art Journal Therapy
It is possible to live your life with inspiration instead of emotional pain. This in-depth daily e-course will support you to heal emotionally through daily spontaneous imagery paired with in-depth writing prompts. This course is an in-depth exploratory adventure for artists wanting to experience self-led expressive art and narrative therapy and includes an optional private Facebook support group. There are 100 Expressive Arts Directives with 100 PDF’s available for download.
Shelley Klammer Links
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