Holistic Art Therapy

04/01/2025

Today I had some branches trimmed back from a tree that lost a branch when it snapped beneath the weight of ice and snow. I thought about how deep the roots must be to support this tree in the first place.

The deeper the roots, the taller we grow and the stronger we become.

10/10/2024

I wanted to say thank-you to all who attended my classes and were just a big part of life at the studio!

As of last weekend I am fully out of the studio space at the Edison Center.

I'm likely going to keep this page here and maybe share some ideas once life settles down a bit! You can also always reach me via messenger or my email: gretchen@soulflowerstudio.com

And for those that didn't know, I've been going through some pretty challenging back-to-back life experiences over the past 14 months and it ultimately resulted in me needing to sell my house and move over the summer. We are now getting settled into our new home and things are beginning to calm down so we can return to our peaceful lives! In the midst of that, I wrestled with whether or not to keep the studio. Since I am no longer using it for my own art making.... I decided to let my lease end when it was up.

Time for a new chapter to unfold.

Thank-you again to all who were part of making Soulflower into what it was! It started as a dream and evolved into something so much more beautiful and meaningful than I could have imagined!

Send a message to learn more

05/22/2024

Self-care class this coming Sunday!

Also, please feel free to book an appointment for a private meditative art-making session with me where I can help you use art for mindfulness and relaxation!

Is your mind full? Or are you mindful.... That is the question.

Private Art Wellness Sessions offer individual support and guidance. Classes, events, and workshops are available to explore and grow as a group. Explore independently during Open Studio hours. Many opportunities to learn about self-care and it's importance to your emotional health and wellbeing are

04/14/2024

One week ago today I was buying a jade plant for the studio and thought to myself, "Jade would be a cute name for a puppy!" And I pictured a cute little female black lab and smiled to myself as I considered it. I got to the checkout and there was a man with a little black lab puppy and I couldnt believe it!! So I played with her for a bit and it was decided. I went online, found a family with puppies... and by 9pm I had a new little girl named, Jade.

She is the sweetest little thing and I cannot believe it all worked out the way it did, but... here we are!

04/04/2024

Self-care class this week Sunday at 4pm!

Please remember to sign up online so I have a headcount.
The next meeting after this will be on 4/28 if you'd like to plan in advance.

Hope to see you there!

Private Art Wellness Sessions offer individual support and guidance. Classes, events, and workshops are available to explore and grow as a group. Explore independently during Open Studio hours. Many opportunities to learn about self-care and it's importance to your emotional health and wellbeing are

02/10/2024

Topic of the week is...... SELF-LOVE!!

I started a youtube channel at the start of the year. (And it has been QUITE the learning curve, hahaha.) I loathe technical things so there's some irony in doing this, but it helps give visual context to concepts.

Anyhow... check it out! And then... let me know what you think.

Self-love is extremely important because self-love motivates much of our positive behavior by encouraging us to take better care of ourselves both physically...

01/08/2024

This is what we created in our "Creating Change" workshop last Friday. It was a fun activity to set intentions and resolutions for the new year! (And it was fun to shop for, lol.) These are intention globes and represent the things we strive for in 2024... so they can sit out as a visual reminder of goals that have been set.

Tomorrow is the first class of my intro to acrcylic painting. If youre on the fence, I encourage you to sign up and give it a try! Learning something new is fun!! And...its January in Wisconsin, fun is needed for survival. :-)

01/03/2024

I painted a mural downtown Appleton for the Building for Kids this past summer. I wouldve posted about this sooner, but Ive been crazy busy! Its 31ft wide and 12ft high serving as the background for the new "Food to Grow" exhibit. (Which is phenomenal!)

It took me about 140 hours to complete this. Murals are exhausting because its like a full body workout that involves hundreds of squats and climbing up the ladder, climbing down the ladder.... climbing up the ladder, climbing down the ladder. So I limited painting sessions to about 3-5 hours if I could. (It took the whole summer to complete this.)

It was meaningful to me because when my kids were little we always had a vegetable garden. I revisited all the memories stored in my head of my kids playing outside and then venturing over to the garden to snack on cherry tomatoes, beans, and onion greens. Knowing where food comes from is (in my opinion) a key component to knowing how to eat well, live well, and enjoy life to the fullest!

I hope this mural aids in sharing the beauty of food with our community!!

(And I apologize for the repeat post to those of you that also follow my art account.)

12/30/2023

I dont know about you, but I am definitely feeling the end of the year blahs this week.

If you are ready to release all the things of this past year and move forward with intention, goals, and fresh perspective.... I encourage you to consider signing up for one of the many classes being offered!

Maybe you just want some self-care, or a goal is to develop a new skill, cultivate a hobby, express yourself through creativity, have fun, connect with others... whatever it may be, soulflower studio provides a space for you to creatively explore more about who you are!