My work is exploring the expressive arts of painting and writing in the service of Soulwork and exploring life’s Depth Dimensions.  More details of all events can be found in the attached brochure, or contact me at catcharissage@gmail.com.

There will be three year-long Story Circles, each meeting once a month on a Wednesday from 7 – 9:30 p.m.  On the second Wednesdays of each month from September through June it will be  A Poet’s Words, where each participant will share poetry we love and respond to writing prompts inspired by the poets.  On the third Wednesdays, it will be Wonderings about Dreams.  This group will explore night dreams AND daydreams, looking into our personal imagery for insight and guidance.  The LAST Wednesdays of the month will be on Mother Night, exploring this cd program from Dr. Clarissa Pinkola Estes.  (NOTE:  This Mother Night group is full and closed.  However, if there is sufficient interest, I will open up a new group.)

In these year-long Story Circles, I ask for a commitment from participants to attend all of the sessions (surprises in life permitting, of course!)  You are free to come in September or October without commitment in order  to see if the group is a good fit for you.  I have found that these small groups, ranging from 4 participants to 8, become a strong community of enquiry and support over the months, and are not conducive for new attendees in the later months.  This year, I have enough participants already in order to run all three groups, so if you are at all interested, please contact me soon to ensure a spot.

In addition to these long-term groups, I have one workshop scheduled for Saturday, Nov. 4, on Black Madonna Rising.  This day will include her images and lore plus painting our own image of her and creating a poem or prayer.  While my background is from a Catholic Christian tradition, we will be looking at the Black Madonna not only as the mother of Christ, but also as icon of wise, fierce, and compassionate womanly power, and as a form of what the Divine Feminine can look like.

Especially for those who do not enjoy evening groups, I am also offering two types of less formal gatherings each month, on a “come as you are able to” basis.  (Please RSVP to let me know you’re coming, though, to ensure space.)  On the second Friday  of each month I offer Red Thread and Tea, from 1:30 to 4:00.  Here we will use simple art processes and journal prompts to explore evocative questions, drink herbal tea, and close with a Red Thread Circle.  My intent in these circles is to foster meaningful conversations among us and support us in living reflective lives which fuel our social action for justice and compassion, however we live that out.  On the LAST Saturdays of each month I offer Open Studio, from 1:30 to 4:30.  Open Studio is a relaxed time to explore paper arts and/or painting, again in the service of reflective and intentional living.

All events take place in my studio in my north Lethbridge home.  Gatherings are small (limit of 8 persons), but relaxed and welcoming.

A 60 page Chapbook of my poetry and paintings entitled Open to Mystery is now available.  It is in the Lethbridge library for borrowing, or contact me for purchase ($15.00).

With much love and many blessings,

Cat

Cat Charissage:  Fall 2017 Offerings

Intentional Creativity and SoulWork

catcharissage@gmail.com  www.catcharissage.com

Small group and individual sessions using simple art processes and writing prompts to OPEN TO MYSTERY, EXPLORE LIFE’S DEPTH DIMENSIONS, and DEEPEN OUR FREEDOM.

NO PREVIOUS ART EXPERIENCE NEEDED, and ALL SUPPLIES INCLUDED

(c) Cat Charissage, 2016, a.r.r.

BLACK MADONNA RISING Workshop

Saturday, Nov. 4, 2017, 1:30 – 4:30

Why are there more than 500 ancient paintings of the Blessed Mother with dark or black skin?  Who is she?  Why is her image making such a resurgence in the 21st Century?  What can she tell us about care for the earth, care for the oppressed, care for our own dark inner places?  Join me for an afternoon exploring her images and lore, instruction on painting her with acrylic on watercolor paper, and crafting a poem or prayer to her.

$65 (Pay what you can, space permitting)

“Choose” (c) Cat Charissage, 2017, a,r.r.

RED THREAD and TEA Story Circle

Second Friday afternoons of the month, 1:30 – 4:00

Join me in conversation about life’s mysteries and callings.  Come when you can, but please RSVP.  We’ll start with tea, a simple art process and inquiry, and close with a Red Thread Circle.

Fri., Sept. 8: Can expressive arts help us live more deeply?  How?

Fri., Oct. 13: What is sufficient?  How am I full?  Too full?

Fri., Nov. 10: What energizes my commitments and causes?

Fri., Dec. 8: What can doubt teach me about faith?

By donation
 

OPEN STUDIO:  ART PLAY

Last Saturdays of each month, 1:30 – 4:30   

Sat., Sept. 30:  Creating Your Freedom Journals

Sat., Oct. 28:  Painting Your Landing Page

Sat., Nov. 25:  Simple Holiday Gifts from Paper

Sat., Dec. 30:  Circle Planning for a New Year

By donation

“Golden Cup” (c) Cat Charissage, 2015, a.r.r.

THREE DIFFERENT YEAR-LONG STORY CIRCLES:

September through June, 2017   7:00 p.m. – 9:30 p.m.
A POET’S WORDS: 2nd Wednesdays of the month

WONDERINGS ABOUT DREAMS: 3rd Wednesdays

MOTHER NIGHT (Wolf Women): LAST Wednesdays

(for more info, please email or phone me at 403-330-9560)

Each:  $200 value (Pay what you can, space permitting)
For more information or to register, contact me at catcharissage@gmail.com
About me:

I am  a contemplative educator, counsellor, and artist, helping women and men navigate the Depth Dimensions of their lives through image, word, silence, and dream.  I believe that the most important work each of us can do is to live out our gifted selves fully, creatively, and freely, to make a home for all  of us, in a world which too often wounds our bodies and souls and colonizes our minds with distractions, commercialization, and other people’s agenda.  

I live in the liminal places, between the worlds where spiritual reality meets ordinary life, where word (poetry, prose) meets image (paintings, journals), where wild adventure meets chronic pain, and where prairie meets mountains in western Canada.

A student of the wisdom traditions of the world, I have a Masters in Education, 4 years’ graduate study and a B.A. in Theology, plus more than 30 years’ experience in service and education, including as counsellor and Executive Director of a sexual assault center.  Trained in post-trauma counselling and a certified Intentional Creativity Teacher and  Coach, I  have taught in university,  high school,  professional development, and privately.  I stand on the shoulders of my beloved teacher and mentor Dr. Clarissa Pinkola Estes, author of the bestselling Women Who Run with the Wolves: Myths and Stories of the Wild Woman Archetype.   I work out of my home studio in Lethbridge, Alberta, and on the internet through video calls.  A 60 page chapbook of my paintings and poetry entitled Open to Mystery is now available.