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In House: Heather Allen Hietala on Creativity – Part 2

Heather Allen Hietala
Heather Allen Hietala’s notebook

 

Heather Allen Hietala has been creating, teaching, and playing for 25 years. This summer, she’ll join us at the Art of Living Retreat Center to host The Art of Letting Go: Awaken Your Creative Spirit, a workshop dedicated to reconnecting with and freeing your creativity. Read Part 1 here. 

 

The Importance of Play

 

This course is about being present, and using our hands to be mindful. We are all multifaceted beings. We live busy and often fractured lives. Our creative inner worlds are vast and often ignored, or may seem inaccessible, even to ourselves. It can be a new experience to tap into our innate creative source. Exploring a new territory can be daunting. We are all born creative, but over time it can get buried. I create a nurturing space that supports each student as they play around and explore the clay, and through this playing, get in touch with their creativity. They clay allows for expressive freedom – there are no rules, just fun to be had as we play around with it.

We are all born creative, but over time it can get buried.

Journaling as an Anchor

 

At the beginning of the course, we create a journal. This journal serves as a safe place to explore and record our experiences. I provide stimulating exercises to nurture and support our need for reasoning and logic. These activities provide an emotional anchor that allows my students to express themselves more fully in the clay and visual exercises.

Just as when we open any book, and it takes us right back to where we were in the story, my student’s journals serve as a personal reference and record of their own creative journey. Their journal allows them to take the experience of the week home with them, and continue to nurture and explore their creativity.

Join Heather at the Art of Living Retreat Center, or click here to learn more about our retreats.

 

Interested in learning more about the programs at the Art of Living Retreat Center? Check out our annual catalog here!

 

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