CONNECT, a healing arts series

Hosted by: Abington Art Center, 515 Meetinghouse Road, Jenkintown, PA

Dates: Mondays, June 30 - July 28, 2025 (5 sessions)

Time: 6:30 PM – 9:30 PM

All Levels, Ages 18 year+

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This new five-week series invites participants to experience the magic of art to connect deeply with yourself, your community, and the outside world. We will dive into a different theme each week: creativity, empowerment, gratitude, nature, and the inner world. Every session will utilize different art media and creative prompts, as well as opportunities for self-reflection, collaboration, and sharing.

1. CONNECT with Creativity

Open to everyone from complete beginners to seasoned artists, the first workshop in our CONNECT series will focus on finding our way to creativity. Participants will be guided through a series of drawing exercises to discover creative processes that feel good. Drawing inspiration from the outside world, the inner world, and each another, we will take an exploratory, experimental approach that focuses more on the experience of making art than the end result. Group members will be encouraged to share and connect as we explore our creativity together.

2. CONNECT with Empowerment

The second workshop of our CONNECT series invites participants to explore untapped sources of inner strength, confidence, and imagination through the creation of an alter ego. By crafting and embodying a character that embraces qualities we may fear or disown in ourselves, we can reclaim powerful energies that can serve us in our lives. Through guided exercises in visual art and storytelling, the workshop will be a transformative space for personal empowerment, liberation, and fun.

3. CONNECT with Gratitude

The third workshop in our CONNECT series invites participants to explore the theme of gratitude through creative expression. Using a variety of media including drawing/painting, collage, crafts, and journaling, we will reflect on and celebrate the people, places, and experiences we value most in our lives. Guided prompts designed to cultivate an appreciation mindset combined with group sharing will make for an uplifting evening. No prior experience is needed—just an open heart and a willingness to create.

4. CONNECT with Nature

 In the fourth workshop of our CONNECT series, participants will learn about the art movement known as “land art,” which is art made directly in the natural landscape. We will watch portions of the gorgeous documentary “Rivers and Tides” about land artist Andy Goldsworthy, and learn about nature-based work by other artists. With a firm understanding of the concept of land art, we will head out onto the beautiful grounds of the art center to create our own unique and ephemeral work using materials from the natural environment.

5. CONNECT with your Inner World

The fifth and final workshop in our CONNECT series invites participants to explore your inner world through art. Using the metaphor of maps, we will imagine emotional states as places that we go inside of ourselves and use various art materials to represent them. After creating these emotional maps, we will reflect on all the places therein and develop strategies to help us navigate them. With an emphasis on embracing the totality of our inner worlds, this workshop promotes self-acceptance, wholeness, and creative discovery.