Welcome, friends!

I’m excited to share my love of art journaling with you! I’ve always been artsy and creative and enjoyed sharing my creative pursuits with others. So consider this your invitation to come art journal with me.

My workshops are an introduction to and exploration of art journaling. We use a variety of prompts, personal writing and mixed media techniques to play and (re)discover your creative side. Let’s get messy together!

Art journal workshops

A few times a year, I host workshops in cool spaces around the Greater Toronto Area and online. Bring a friend, or come alone and make new friends. Check out workshops to find something near you!

Therapeutic art
workshops

These sessions can be customized and offered as a series, or as an intensive full or half-day session to give participants adequate time to work through a particular theme. I can facilitate a range of themes including caring for the caregiver, self-care for women, personal journeys and more. These sessions can be customized for special interest groups and delivered online or in person. Email info@keeshabellstudio.ca for more information about therapeutic art sessions. These sessions are not psychotherapy.

Artist. Maker. Creative facilitator.

I've known for a long time that making art is a wonderful way to express ideas about the world around me - whether through visual arts, textile and clothing design, or writing. Along with the expression of ideas, I've also found making things soothing and meditative to my soul. There's a certain calm that comes when we focus on the act of creating. Some call it flow.

For many years, I've used art journaling as my main creative and meditative process. As a therapeutic arts practitioner, I believe in process over product when it comes to making art. I facilitate private and public workshops, and group therapeutic art sessions. The joys and benefits of making art are many and I'd like to share them with you.

Hope to see you soon.

Keesha

Frequently asked questions

  • In a nutshell, it’s a focus on process over product. Therapeutic art is based on principles of art therapy and focuses on the wellness benefits we get while making art and much less on the finished product.

  • Like a traditional journal, an art journal is a book of blank pages waiting to be filled with thoughts, observations, reflections, memories and daydreams, but using words and art.

  • If we’re creating together in person, I’ll bring the supplies. If we’re creating together online, I’ll provide a list of recommended supplies. If you’re creating solo: paper, paint, markers, crayons, pencils, glue, old magazines, pretty napkins. You name it. Use as many or as few of these materials, and more, as you choose.

  • Having no words is different than having nothing to say. One of the joyful parts of art journaling can be encountering what’s waiting within to be expressed and having a place to put it down. Entries can be intuitive and spontaneous or based on prompts to get creative juices flowing.

  • No experience necessary. My workshops are easy going, a great place to (re)discover your creativity in a safe and encouraging space. The emphasis is on learning and experimenting with techniques to make and fill an art journal. Expect messy, unpredictable, and imperfect. Process over product.

  • Please DO try this at home! Art journaling is a perfect solitary pursuit. It’s equally true that whether you’re new to art journaling or already an enthusiast, making art with others promotes belonging and understanding. My workshops combine guided prompts and time for free form art to allow you to unwind, to focus, to play, to express yourself. I offer step-by-step instruction on some of my favourite techniques that you can return to again and again, alone or with company.

  • Dedicating time to childlike curiosity and creativity is an investment in wellbeing. Filling a page can be calming, fun, an escape from daily distractions or a way to process whatever you’re feeling distracted by. A page in your art journal is done whenever you feel it is. Long after the paint has dried and the glue is washed from your fingers, a page in your art journal will be waiting for you to share (or not) with others, and to touch and revisit at any time… if you wish to do so.