WHAT IS THE CREATIVE SPARKY WORKSHOP?This 7-week course is designed to guide you to discover or rediscover your creative spark. Two experienced creative teachers and budding arts therapists will guide the group through a mix of exercises in pencils, pastels, voice, movement, installation, poetry, nature study, game design, collage and ink. In seven 2.5-hour classes, each of these mediums will be ways-in to explore the confidence, wellbeing and self-understanding to be gained from a personal creative practice. Through individual exploration and collaborative activities, we'll use creativity as a tool to free oneself, pay attention and cultivate a joyful and playful relationship with the universe.
Attendees will receive a booklet, with information, additional resources and optional homework for each of the seven weeks, allowing those who wish to go deeper and immerse themselves in this journey for its duration.
This will be the fifth time we have run the course, and the feedback we have received is that people have enjoyed the openness, the permission to experiment and discover and the connections they have made with others, journeying together into new creative expressions.
IS THERE A THEME?In this fifth edition of the course, we have restructured the previous ideas and exercises, moulding them around seven archetypes. We believe these archetypes, characters so universal that everyone can find resonance with them, will invite you to explore six different parts of yourself. These six parts are each an aspect of your unique version of The Artist.
WHO IS THIS AIMED AT?If you find yourself thinking 'I wish I was creative' or 'I wish I found more time to explore my creativity' or 'I used to draw / write stories / make up songs / sew my own clothes / practice the piano / explore new recipes in the kitchen / collect leaves on my walk home and I just don't seem to anymore' or 'I am creative almost every day, but I feel a restricted, stuck in my head, over-technical,' then... you! Creative Sparky would suit anyone over 15, who is wanting to find a love for making things, an ability to find Flow State or to simply enjoy imagining. In the room, there will be complete art novices through to professional artists looking to liberate themselves from constraints.
This course is designed to be a safe space with open exercises which can be moulded to the experience and interests of the individuals in the room. In seven weeks, naturally, we aren't working for mastery of any art form or technique. Instead, we are building the freedom, relationship with oneself and motivation that intends to see you continue to make time for expansive creative practice in your life after you've completed the course.
WHY WOULD YOU ATTEND?We believe creative thinking can be synonymous with an appreciation of the world. We think that just like physical exercise is a regular practice which benefits the body and mind, regularly working one's creative muscle benefits one's wellbeing, glee and openness to experience. We even believe that being in tune with one's self-expression, craftsmanship and ideas is strongly connected to awareness and pursuit of one's own aspirations. Sharing this experience with a close-knit group is a fantastic way to build meaningful connections, and your fellow Creative Sparky people will become accomplices in your artistic opening-up. During the final session, we'll have a small exhibition, which will be a way to gently push you to present something and a wonderful celebration of the journey. You would attend if you would love to look back during this event and feel that you had moved past some internal blocks around being uninspired, self-judgement, listlessness, perfectionism, doubt or stagnation.
WHO ARE YOUR FACILITATORS?Harley Hefford and Vadim Ragozin are both creative individuals who regularly pursue varied practices and extend this to infusing their lives with a sense of play, artistry and wonder. For Harley, ink, charcoal and paint work, devising immersive theatre shows and installation design are some of his primary outlets. His work is at www.harley.jetzt . Vadim is a painter and sculptor whose work engages deeply with place, the soul and realms between. His work can be viewed at www.vadimr.org . Harley is a qualified Secondary teacher and experience designer, currently studying Art Therapy. Vadim is a learning designer, facilitator and mediation teacher. We've led creative workshops and retreats for years and we've now run the Sparky course three times.
We've also been lucky enough to learn from an incredible range of teachers across disciplines and countries. We feel we have a lot to impart, and are keen to curate a pathway of growth, discovery and freedom.
DO YOU NEED TO BE IN MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA?Yes! However, we will soon announce an online version of the workshop, still occurring for 7weeks, adapted for a digital delivery. This workshop will include participants from all over the world, and will still feature a smorgasbord of collaborative creative exercises which work across screens. There will also be around 20 minutes in each session where everyone will explore an artistic task individually in their own space, allowing us all to take a break from staring into our screens.
HOW CAN YOU GET MORE INFORMATION?We'd be extremely happy to answer any questions or talk further...
Also, please reach out if a payment plan would be useful or if funds
are a barrier at this time - keen to make this work as inclusive as possible & we can discuss and find solutions! We also have two scholarships, which you can apply for
here!
Email
[email protected] or call 0411 561 676 to get in touch.