Mindful Art
“Words are not always enough”
Mindful Art is creative expression with the purpose of self-discovery - a guided journey through the different aspects of ourselves, our lives and where we sit in the world around us.
- Mindful Art takes many different forms, from visual arts such as painting and sculpture, to music, drama and creative writing.
- Mindful Art programs create a safe environment free from pressure or judgement.
- With problems often outside our control, creative expression as a form of self-therapy has a strong place in everyday life.
Why is Mindful Art so effective?
Mindful Art programs can be used to unlock emotion, cultivate coping mechanisms, build confidence and develop self-awareness. They are particularly useful when we need to express things that seem inexpressible or unfathomable. Creative expression enables us to externalise an internal issue and challenge negative thoughts with guidance and care. Mindful Art - in a therapeutic sense - leads to improved communication, awareness, behaviour and cognitive abilities.
Who is Mindful Art suitable for?
Mindful Art programs are suitable for everyone! Young and old, big and small - you don't need to be experienced creatively to use art as a means of expression and self-reflection or as a positive outlet for emotions.
It is suitable as a vision for the future, an introduction to healing, and may also be used to enhance traditional forms of therapy. Mindful Art is particularly suitable for coping with anxiety, confusion, depression, trauma and low self-esteem, or for those with issues with language and the spoken word.
Mindful Art and Young People
‘A picture speaks a thousand words’
– Confucius
Young people often do not have the vocabulary to describe the depth and intensity of their emotions. When words struggle to surface, the art that is produced provides a window into their underlying experiences, thoughts and feelings. Mindful Art is a non-threatening way to help young people to separate the problem from themselves. This externalisation is often a big relief, as once the problem is tangible and outside of who they are, it can then be tackled together.
Our Art Therapists
The Red Ginger Services Art Therapists are nationally registered and qualified in the artistic process and mental health. They have a deep passion and understanding of how to help people through creative expression. Art Therapists are able to assess a person's state and guide them by understanding symbolic and non-verbal signs.
Meet our team here.
Red Ginger Services offers a number of unique and engaging mindful art programs in visual arts, drama and creative writing.
We are flexible and adaptable to tailor any of our services to suit your needs and budget.
We would love to work with you and your community!
Our Programs:
'Art has been used since humans
walked the Earth to communicate,
tell stories, express emotions and
resolve conflict'
Our minds often process information
in colours, pictures and symbols.
Art in the Park
Age: 7 yrs old - Adult
Art in the Park is a mindful art program which aims to improve the happiness and well being of participants by engaging their creativity and imagination.
Act Up!
Age: 12 - 17 yrs old
Act Up! is an interactive drama program designed to provide coping strategies and specific dialogue to help participants deal with any situation they may face.
Scribe
Age: 7 yrs old - Adult
Scribe is a creative writing course which aims to build the positivity and resilience of participants through the written word.
Art in the Park
Art in the Park is a mindful art program which aims to improve the happiness and well being of participants by engaging their creativity and imagination.
Our program is centered on using a variety of artistic mediums to harness nature, express emotions and challenge negative thoughts.
Our goal is to nurture participants, develop resilience and teach coping strategies for negotiating life’s obstacles.
Art in the Park:
- Allows participants to engage with art and nature as a positive outlet for emotion
- Introduces a variety of activities such as visual arts, make up artistry, videography/photography, martial arts and healthy cooking
- Uses a range of mediums, from clay, paint and collage, to physical movement and technology
- Is a safe, fun and nurturing group environment
- Is run by experienced Youth Facilitators - Meet Our Team here.
- Accepts referrals by health professionals, parents/guardians or participants themselves
- Offers both group and individual sessions
- Can be booked out for private events
Our program is perfect for people who:
- Are interested in art or developing their artistic skill
- Are looking for something fun and interesting to do
- Enjoy being outdoors and connecting with nature
- Want a break from their regular routine
- Are looking for a positive channel for their thoughts and feelings
- Want support for any issue they may be facing
- Want to meet new friends
- Are looking for an alternative form of therapy
Want a heads up on the latest Art in the Park Programs?
School Holiday Program
The Art in the Park School Holiday Program is a series of individual 1.5 hour sessions run during the school holidays throughout the year.
Includes:
- Variety of activities
- Morning and afternoon sessions
- Multiple locations
- 7 - 11 & 12 - 17 year old age groups
- Healthy snack
- All art supplies
Sessions can be booked privately for clients and/or staff of organisations, or even children's birthday parties!
April School Holidays
Dates: 20th, 24th, 27th April 2018
Locations: Kings Park, Carine Open Space, Scarborough Beach
Activities: Visual Arts including Drawing, Painting & Collage
The Five Senses
Art in the Park - The Five Senses is a mindful art program designed to increase participants' awareness and gratitude of each sense.
Over the course of six weeks, our program takes a journey of appreciation through sensation, using artistic activities and mediums centered on the sense of the week.
Sessions are 2 hours in length and are held in a natural environment.
Program Format:
Week 1: Sight | Colour, shape and contrast
Week 2: Smell | Fragrance, odour and memory
Week 3: Touch | Temperature, texture and energy
Week 4: Sound | Music, voices and noises
Week 5: Taste | Flavour, pleasure and warning
Week 6: Perception | Individual shaped reality
Art in the Park - The Five Senses program is also available as a Art in the Park - The Five Senses Beach Experience, where all sessions are held in a coastal environment.
Includes:
- Afternoon and evening sessions
- Multiple locations
- 7-11, 12-17, 18-25 and adult age groups
- Healthy snack
- All art supplies
Sessions can be booked privately for clients and/or staff of organisations, or even children's birthday parties!
The Four Elements
Art in the Park - The Four Elements is a mindful art program designed to encourage participants to access and harness their emotional creativity in union with the elements of the universe - Fire, Earth, Air and Water.
Over the course of six weeks, our program takes a journey through life, using artistic activities and mediums centered on the element of the week.
Sessions are 1.5 hours in length and are held in a natural environment.
Program Format:
Week 1: New Beginnings | Group introduction and the start of a new journey
Week 2: Fire | Lighting the flame within
Week 3: Earth | Connecting with Mother Nature and her gifts
Week 4: Air | Accepting and harnessing the winds of change
Week 5: Water | Peering into our reflection and nourishing our inner selves
Week 6: Celebrations | Group farewells, reflections and gifts
Art in the Park - The Four Elements program is also available as a Art in the Park - The Four Elements Beach Experience, where all sessions are held in a coastal environment.
Includes:
- Afternoon and evening sessions
- Multiple locations
- 7-11, 12-17, 18-25 and adult age groups
- Healthy snack
- All art supplies
Sessions can be booked privately for clients and/or staff of organisations, or even children's birthday parties!
Rainbow
Art in the Park - Rainbow is a mindful art program designed to take participants on a journey of self-reflection through the colour spectrum to harness their emotional creativity.
Over the course of four weeks, our program explores life, love and mystery using artistic activities and mediums centered on the colours of the week.
Sessions are 1.5 hours in length and are held in a natural environment.
Come to one session, come to all! It's up to you..
Program Format:
Week 1: Red and Orange
Week 2: Yellow and Green
Week 3: Blue, Indigo and Violet
Week 4: Black and White
The Art in the Park - Rainbow program is also available as a Beach Experience, where all sessions are held in a coastal environment.
Includes:
- Afternoon and evening sessions
- Multiple locations
- 7-11, 12-17, 18-25 and adult age groups
- Healthy snack
- All art supplies
Sessions can be booked privately for clients and/or staff of organisations, or even children's birthday parties!
Term 2
Location: Carine Open Space
Ages: 7 - 11 & 12 - 17
Dates: Tuesday 8th May - Tuesday 29th May
Time: 4:00 pm - 5:30 pm
Act Up !
Young people of today are subjected to pressures that most of us in previous generations find difficult to comprehend. With the advent of the digital age and the increasing stresses of everyday living, young people are faced with a plethora of situations that many struggle to cope with.
Act Up ! is a drama program for 12-17 year olds designed to increase awareness of current areas of concern emerging in Australian youth, and provide coping strategies and specific dialogue to help them deal with any circumstances that they may face.
We aim to challenge negative stereotypes, promote safe and healthy relationships with themselves and others, and encourage them to think critically about the various influences contributing to both their physical and mental wellbeing, including mass media.
Our Program:
• Offers a wide range of topics covering mental health, cybersafety and media savvy
• Helps to stop the cycle of negative misinformation by developing resilience, increasing self-respect
and letting them know where they can get support
• Uses multiple forms of education, from skits to improvisation, YouTube videos to self-reflection exercises
• Complements traditional forms of therapy
Topics available (but not limited to) include:
We are flexible and adaptable to tailor any of our services to suit your needs and budget – We would love to work with you and your community!
Act Up... Take 2!
Enjoyed Act Up ! ? Want to book another interactive drama program for your class?
Act Up.... Take 2! expands on themes touched on in Act Up !, or can be a separate program altogether.
Topics available (but not limited to) include:
Scribe
'Unlock your dream!'
Creative writing is a powerful outlet for emotion, a tool for self-awareness and realisation and a mode of ‘self-therapy’. Experimenting with the written word allows us to subconsciously process our thoughts and feelings without being threatened by them.
Red Ginger Services is pleased to offer Scribe, a creative writing course for young people aged 7-25 years. Over the course of six weeks, participants are taken on a guided journey from experimental writing, through to more structured forms of prose, concurrently allowing the exploration of their innermost hopes and dreams, and enabling the ability to work through any issues that may be troubling them.
Sessions are held both indoors and outdoors, are 1.5 hours in length and a journal is provided to commence the journey.
Program Aims:
• Build positivity and resilience
• Use writing as a way to cope with everyday emotions
• Encourage this form of ‘self-therapy’ as a routine part of life
• Use written expression as a way to tackle situations out of our control
• Promote self-confidence, independence and idea formation
