What vision do you want to cultivate for yourself in 2018 ?

This unique workshop designed and facilitated by Kez Knight – Transpersonal Art Therapist, combines a vision board process and borrows from the Traditional South American ‘Despacho’ making ceremony where you create a parcel of dreams and wishes and offer it up to the powers that be.  The workshop involves guided imagery and creative and empowering processes to plant in your garden or have indoors.

In this ‘Plant Your Vision’ workshop you decorate a bio-degradable clay container etched with the year 2018.  Noting and drawing your dreams on paper, you symbolically plant your dreams and wishes along with a herb seedling into the clay container.  Throughout the year, you can nurture your herbs and benefit from its produce.  At the same time you symbolically plant your dreams and wishes for your year ahead and benefit from their cultivation.!  Think of it as a living, growing vision board !

In Spanish, the word Despacho literally means “dispatch or shipment” – Traditionally it means to ritually prepare a bundle of natural, meaningful and cultural objects of symbolic significance imbued with the maker’s prayers.  Offerings of; gratitude and thanks, atonement, petitions for forgiveness, assistance or guidance. You could perhaps think of  the ‘Plant Your Vision’ despacho workshop as a focused, formal way to “dispatch” or “ship” your prayers off to the powers that be.

The Power of Intention – The ‘Plant Your Vision’ workshop is an opportunity to really focus on any areas of your life where you feel you need support or would like to ask for blessings.  It is quite a powerful way to set your intentions and let them go using the universal law of allowing.  You may be surprised to recognise in the weeks and months following this workshop that you are indeed receiving the things you asked for, though perhaps in an unexpected or unusual form, perhaps in a way more appropriate or powerful than you could have dreamed of on your own.

The Kindred Art Space Labyrinth

Following the creative process Kez will invite you to walk the Kindred Art Space Labyrinth.   A Labyrinth, symbolic spiral is created on the floor at Kindred Art Space made from natural objects for you to walk along carrying your creative process you have made during the workshop.   Labyrinth’s are designed for spiritual healing.  It helps ground the wisdom you have gained by the therapeutic processes of the workshop and bring this into your daily life.

For more details about this and other SELF CARE SUNDAY workshops facilitated by Kez Knight visit: www.empoweredart.com.au/workshops

Join us for this fun and therapeutic workshop

Personal Development

Kerryn Knight’s group and individual sessions can be claimed if you are a member of Medibank Private or Doctors Health Fund (please contact your private medical insurance for more details)

Professional Development Supervision

For Art Therapists, Counsellors, Social Workers, Sandplay Therapists, Teachers and Psychotherapists seeking Professional Development, Kerryn Knight is a member of the Australian Counselling Association College of Supervisors.  She provides these regular group workshops and also individual sessions to support you in your essential self care,client-therapist relationships, private practice development and industry best practice.

BOOK ONLINE HERE

The Spirit Of Christmas Mural, patroned by Bayside Shopping Centre and designed and created by young participants of Brotherhood Of St Laurence Frankston, and facilitated by Kerryn Knight was installed at Bayside Shopping Centre in December 2017.

This Community Art Project was designed to bring people together to create meaningful art with an empowering message.  The Spirit Of Christmas Mural incorporated creative input from the young people involved to tell their individual and collective stories of what Christmas means to them.  As you look close at this large 3 meter x 2 meter mural you will see messages of Peace, Joy, Family, Food, Sharing, Faith, Home, Spirit, Friends, Hope and Love.

Kerryn had the pleasure of spending time and sharing stories through art with the residents of Opal By The Bay Aged Care

Many stories get locked away for people living with Dementia or Alzhiemers yet through the many creative processes coupled with her professional therapeutic relationship, Kerryn enables people to remember once again the richness of their lives and share their wisdom with family, friends and staff alike.

Challenging behaviours that some residents present with are diminished when they are able to channel their frustration and emotions into something creative.  These processes provide them with some peace and mirror to them their abilities, despite what limitations they may have in other areas of their lives. The art making process gives them a sense of control and accomplishment.

Art holds the key

Kez Knight is an accredited Youthpass provider issuing certificates for recognised learning through her Empowered Art Youthpass Program  for young people transitioning to and through higher levels of education, leaving school or commencing employment.

Youthpass, operating for over 10 years in Europe is recognised learning assisting young people to secure employment and further education.

 

The Empowered Art Youthpass Program is a Rite of Passage Art Therapy Program specifically designed for Young People.  This 5 day intensive strength-based program combines a series of creative therapeutic processes focussing on resilience, leadership and self awareness through experiential learning.

Kez has delivered this program with outstanding results for various groups of various cultural backgrounds throughout the South East Region.  For more details about the Empowered Art Youthpass program and delivering it through your School, Group or Community Service Organisation call Kez on 0450 253 990

Join the next scheduled group and book online HERE

Kerryn Knight, local Art Therapist had great pleasure in working with local Indigenous students from Parkdale Secondary and Patterson Lakes Schools to Re-Create the local Indigenous Creation Story for ‘Nerm’ – The land of the Great Bay that we also know as Port Philip Bay

The Project began in February 2017 when Kerryn and the students where taken on a Catamaran boat out on Port Philip Bay where they heard of the creation Story by Indigenous Elder Aunty Carolyn Briggs.  Marine Biologists and other teachers attended where we all had a chance to see the local sea life and see ‘Nerm’ from a different perspective.

Science has now ‘caught up’ with the creation story proving that this area was flooded many many years ago as the creation story explains.  The area was once a river before Bunjil, the Indigenous creator spirit that travels as an Eagle sent a great flood to the area.

At an all day workshop at Kindred Art Space, Kerryn’s Centre for creative mental health, she facilitated the art-making process with the students. Discussing the Creation Story, sharing their personal stories of where their families are from covering all areas of Australia, the students worked on an aerial map of Nerm on the 33 small canvas pieces joined together jig-saw style.  The students then each took several of the smaller canvases and proceeded to add their interpretation of the creation story.  They included Bunjil the creator spirit, Waa the protector spirit that travels as a crow that protects the water ways, the land, the sea and indigenous animals.  At the end of the day, all the pieces where brought back together to create the ‘bigger picture’.  This artwork is now proudly on display at the Better Health Network Parkdale site.

Working with Brotherhood of St Laurence and their young participants, this empowering piece, with a meaningful message, will grace the Reception area at Frankston Brotherhood of St Laurence when complete !

Focussing on the many ways we learn and the many places and people we learn from, this wall hanging tells a story of the importance of not just formal learning but also the informal
things we learn from those that love us, those that test us and those that teach us.  It’s our life experience, not just formal education that makes us who we are.

Kez is delighted to be invited back a third time to design, create and install a third Mural at a Dandenong Youth Refuge.

Kez works with the young residents to design and create, this being the third large Mural installed on the Refuge’s courtyard wall.  The staff, visitors and participants both past and present say how inspiring the beautiful Murals are.

They both brighten up their space and send a message of love and hope for all who visit.

This 2017 Mural made up of 3 x large panels is situated behind the vegie garden.  The young people staying at the refuge have designed a theme that tells of their combined stories of overcoming struggles.

The Story & Symbolism behind the Mural

Designed and painted by young people residing at EYA, the story depicted within this Mural is ‘New Growth’ and how that new growth is formed through adversity, struggle, mistakes and failures. That our past is part of us but does not have to define our future.

The image of the huge waves smashing against the rocks as the sun goes down depicts the turmoil that life sometimes throws at us yet there is always something or someone that can light the way for us in times of need.  In this mural the lighthouse represents our own strength that we find in times of struggle, the people we meet and things we come across that help light the way for us in dark times.  The goldfish with it’s back pack represents a fresh start that lies ahead when we prepare ourselves and look out for opportunities.

The baby being delivered by the Australian indigenous pelican holds on tight to its blanket for security and hope as it flies over the waves crashing below. Yet ‘Day by Day, Hour by Hour, Minute by Minute’ the turmoil subsides and makes way for a brand new day as nothing in life stays constant, there is always change. As we focus on our inner strength to guide us, listen to our heart and not ‘trip on our mind’ we can find our own path.  All the while, being present in this time and space with faith in what has been left behind is part of us but does not define us nor define our future. Our future is what we make for ourselves.

All the parts of us, the struggle, adversity and mistakes we may have made in the past now feed into the roots of the tree giving us a second chance to grow in a different way, growing more into ourselves.  This great tree with its many roots, fed by many experiences grows up tall and strong as it stands in its conviction to be true to itself.  Like the butterfly, it has transformed its past into ‘New Growth’ of Wisdom, Communication, Love, Acceptance, Hope and Compassion becoming its own beacon to light the way for others in need.  And so the journey begins again.

Below are photos of the 2 existing Murals, Kez has facilitated the design and creation of over the past few years.

 

 

 

 

Building self esteem and confidence.  Expressing through Artwork with others

This successful 4 week program facilitated by Transpersonal Art Therapist Kez Knight at Kindred Art Space involved many creative processes that the young participants got involved in and gained Confidence in themselves, showed them how to tap into their Resilience and provided them an opportunity to get to know each other in a non-judgemental relaxed environment.

Processes included Symbol Beads, Tree of Me, Story Boards and a Group Wall Hanging

The Art Therapy Project with young people connected to the NEAMI National Service have completed their first process of the 4 week project.

 These beautiful trees where created following a guided meditation taking them on a journey to discover their inner strengths and possibilities.  This therapeutic process uses symbolism of a tree to look at and make meaning of where they have journeyed from, the face they share with the world and their inner feelings.  Over the next few weeks the young participants will use various materials such as clay and painting in therapeutic creative processes facilitated by Transpersonal Art Therapist Kez Knight