Embrace your creativity.
When the issues are urgent, spending time on non-essential things feels indulgent. Taking time for yourself feels like a luxury you don't have time for. When you don't take time to slow down, you are less able to manage your stress and more likely to burn out.
Taking time to slow down, explore and relax builds our emotional resilience and our capacity to step up when we need to. It soothes our nervous system and helps us rest so we can show up for what matters - at work and in our lives.
Creativity is not frivolous or childish. It promotes solutions thinking, teaches us totrust our instincts and helps us practice self-acceptance and compassion.
We learn to let go of perfectionism and build more fun and relaxation into our lives. All in the most accessible way.
Book a 1:1 session or join a public group session. You can also bring your own community for teambuilding or a celebration.
Messy Creativity.
I designed Messy Creativity as a way to make art without pressure or perfectionism. It developed naturally out of my own experience learning to make mixed media collages.
Messy Creativity is an incredibly effective approach for getting out of our anxious, thinking minds and into our hands and our intuition.
We use a range of techniques from gel printing to collaging and making cards. We play with lots of beautiful materials, from botanicals to recovered papers, maps and books, inks, paints and pens.
It's not about being "a proper artist" or being "good" at art. This approach is fun and accessible to everyone. It's about process not product. Enjoy being around the table in a group or book a 1:1 session.
Book a 1:1 session or team event, join a workshop or bring your own friends or community.
Nature art.
Creativity and Ecotherapy come together in Environmental Arts Therapy, a therapeutic approach which helps us process our past and move forward in our lives.
We are guided through a range of exercises including making art from natural materials. Natural objects are often used to represent things we are working through or to help us find the words to talk about our experiences.
We can practice contemplative or mindful art as a way to slow down, connect with found nature objects and instinctively feel how we want to place them. We observe the process and share our reflections with the guide.
There is so much relief and clarity to be found from working with creativity in a nature setting, all gently-guided withsafety and consent.
Book a 1:1 session or team event, join a workshop or bring your own friends or community.
Putting the pieces back together
Difficult life experiences can cause our psyche to fragment, hiding parts of us to keep us safe. With collage, we are literally putting the pieces back together. Healing and repair take place without needing to talk about it.
Low-impact socialising
You want community but sometimes it feels like an effort. Gathering around the table for a 1:1 or group creativity session is a gentle way to socialise and spend time in community. From summer retreats to cozy fireside sessions, a range of 1:1 and group creativity activities are on offer.
Process not product
You don't have to be "good" at art to enjoy being creative. Forget what you've been told, there is no right or wrong way to do it. Enjoy slowing down and using your hands to create art with beautiful materials.
Create new habits
Many people who join creativity sessions find themselves doing creative projects between sessions, often for the first time since childhood. It feels good to reawaken our creativity and have a new outlet to process our life experiences and help us relax.
Come alive
Gently process your life experiences and connect to the future you want.
More energy
Stop overthinking by doing things with your hands. Feel inspired and energised.
Explore and play
See creative solutions start to appear in the rest of your life as you experiment and create.
Trust yourself
Tune into your intuition and your inner sense of knowing and reap the benefits in the rest of your life.
A new outlook on life.
The joy of messy.
For most of my adult life, I didn't have much to do with art although I loved photography and pottery at school. Sure I was creative in my thinking and in the kitchen but I thought art was for other people.
During my Ecotherapy training, I took some courses on nature and creativity and it reminded me how good it feels to make things. To not worry about getting it right or being a "proper artist" was so liberating and I haven't stopped since.
Messy Creativity is a permission slip to do what you feel, to explore and play. Trying new materials helps me tap into curiosity and play. It has been a very healing process for me.
From creative journalling to my collage sketchbook, I paint, rip, cut and stick things into some kind of order. It doesn't have to make sense.
I bring together coaching and therapeutic art practices. I have trained in environmental art therapy and expressive arts therapies although as a trauma-informed coach, I'm not a licensed art therapist.
Book a 1:1 session or team event, join a workshop or bring your own friends or community. Discover how Messy Creativity and nature art can help you see the world through a different lens.
Let's be practical.
How much does it cost?
Workshops are usually around €45 for 3 hours. For some events, reduced rates and pay-what-you-can are available. For 1:1 creativity sessions, see my coaching rates. Reach out if budget is an issue.
How long does a session last?
A 1:1 session lasts an hour. Workshops are anywhere from 3 hours to full day retreats. Weekend retreats are in the pipeline.
Where do the creativity sessions take place?
1:1 sessions and workshops take place in Brussels and Bertem, near Leuven. We will sometimes go to other locations, parks and woods for workshops and day retreats. I also guide ecotherapy and creativity sessions in other countries so reach out to discuss.
What do I need to bring?
Don't wear your best clothes and we ask you not to wear perfume. Check your confirmation email in case you need to bring outdoor clothes, something to sit on, a water bottle etc. Otherwise, everything is provided - materials, instructions, drinks and a small snack.
What is the Collage Collective?
The Collage Collective is a regular event in Brussels and Bertem where we get together to explore a range of art materials and express ourselves through collage. Join when you can as we gently get to know each other around the table.
