The Art and Healing of Heidi Darr-Hope

Art and Healing.  Powerful passionate works for me.  I’ve been teaching art and healing for over 20 years.  I’ve been making art for over 40.  But not until this year, did I personally feel the terror associated with a serious health scare.  2017 was a tough year, but I was able to forge a deeper relationship…

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Amulets and Talismans: Mindful Healing

Amulets and Talismans Created our of all sorts of things. Offerings to the soul.

Four Simple Words Amulets and Talismans:  Lucky charms, protective totems – tangible symbols that focus our thoughts on a specific idea or intention Mindful: focused attention on the present moment Healing: to restore, to make whole   The creation of amulets and talismans has the power to lead us into a mindful approach to healing. Amulets and talismans…

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Art as Healing vs. Art Therapy

In dialog with what is being created, having no expectations, letting the process lead...

Art: something that is created with imagination that expresses important ideas or feelings Healing: to restore and make whole again Therapy: the treatment of physical or mental illnesses Art as Healing: My Way Most times when I explain what I do, I am met with the response, “Oh. You do art therapy.” I reply no, not…

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College Interns & Volunteers: Paved the Way for 2016

Our Wonderful, creative Volunteer, Charlotte Johnson

I don’t know what I’d do without our college interns and volunteers.   Last year, we had 3 extraordinary young women dedicate their talents and energy to our cause. Due to their remarkable efforts throughout 2015, Healing Icons became more visible.  The ground has been set, ready to receive our goal for 2016 – the launch of our…

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A Different Kind of Portrait: SCETV’s Original SC

    Creating a 5 minute video portrait that sums up an artist’s work is not an easy task! On Thursday February 3rd, this aired on SCETV’s Palmetto Scene.   The creator of the SCETV series Original SC, Tabitha Safdi, does an extraordinary job.  I received an email from Tabitha the very first day of December.…

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Art as Healing: Beginning an eCourse

The re-branding of Courageous Creagting

When I first heard the words eCourse, I panicked. After serving our local area for 20 years, I knew we had a Solid Mission and our board wanted us to have a Global Vision!  We’ve ushered thousands of cancer survivors through our offerings.  We’ve helped change lives and wanted to extend our reach beyond South Carolina.   Agata and Deana, our…

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Fear No Art: Trust & Blind Contour Drawing

Many times, it is plain, old-fashioned fear that keeps survivors from signing up for our offerings – not the fear that comes with a cancer diagnosis, but the terror associated with the words creativity and art: “Oh no, I couldn’t possibly. I do not have a single creative bone in my body.” We believe that everyone has creative bones;…

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Tranquility Practice: Creating Radiant Mandalas

There is a wonderful strangeness about meeting in a classic business boardroom for our Lunch and Learn series. A very large, stately, dark mahogany table fills the room. Two of the four walls are almost floor-to-ceiling glass. It is an elegant space that holds us well. This boardroom is transformed when we meet the first…

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Finding a New Whole: Self-Portraits

Each spring, I like to dig a little bit deeper into who I am, face some fears, uncover a long-forgotten aspect of who I truly am and hopefully move one step closer towards my personal quest for wholeness. In Jungian psychology, this journey is referred to as the path of individuation, a process where we learn and…

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