Winter Warmers

Three special one off classes from Play/Connect participants.

They’re free but you need to register. This means we have some idea of numbers and also means we can contact you about the session. When you join, I’ll share your registration with the person running the class.

They’re all on Fridays at 2pm GMT / 3pm CET / 9am EST.

Scroll down or click on these links to jump down.

• Friday 30^th December 2-4pm GMT – Using Drawing to Dissolve Inner Blocks to Change with Kate Ryley
• Friday 6th January 2-3:30pm GMT – Embodiment-Mobility Cocktail with Gini Gutschmidt
• Friday 13th January 2-4pm GMT – Exploring Character Through Mask and Improv with Maria Pulli

To explore improv, play, clowning, movement and laughter with me, check out

• Letting Go of “Right” taster class 2pm GMT Monday 2nd January
• The Delight of Surprising Yourself beginners’ course from 2pm GMT Mondays from 16th January
• Possibility Posse continuation course 2pm GMT Fridays from 20th January

…There will also be another continuation course 6pm GMT on Mondays and/or Fridays but I haven’t written it yet 🙂 Join the newsletter or Facebook group to hear about it.

Looking forward to seeing you!

Andy

Exploring Character Through Mask and Improv with Maria Pulli

Friday 13th January 2-4pm GMT / 3-5pm CET / 9-11am EST

Free but you need to register to join (max 10 people). ** This is now fully booked, but if you’d like to come, email me in case anyone cancels **

In improv we often adopt characters quickly.  What if you could allow a character to emerge more slowly and explore it more fully?

In the first half of this class we will go through a guided expressive art process to allow a character to emerge from free drawing.  We will then make this into a mask.  The first half of the class will be guided, mainly silent, individual working.

In the second half we will explore and build this character through open improv scenes and interactions, noticing what comes up.

This could be a good fit for you if you’d like to

• Experience going through a guided creative art process
• Take time to create and explore a character more deeply

Maria is an art therapist, but this session will be an exploration of combining the art-making process and improv, not therapy.

Limit:  Maximum 10 people.

Wellbeing:  Sections of this class will be quiet and possibly deep.  It might be better to skip this class if you’re feeling unstable, in a crisis or suffering from a significant mental health condition.  Ask Maria or Andy if you’re not sure.

Experience:  You don’t need any artistic skill.  You should have some comfort with improv e.g. you’ve done one or two courses including some long form / free form scenes.

What you need

• pen/pencil and writing paper
• a couple of sheets of A3 or A2 size paper
• cardboard of about A4 or A3 size (you can also use paper to make the mask if you don’t have cardboard)
• oil pastels, dry pastels or wax crayons.  If you prefer to use colouring pencils or felt pens, those are also OK.
• any paints (watercolour, finger paint, acrylic etc) if you have them, but don’t worry if you haven’t
• scissors
• elastic band to attach the mask unless you want to hold it in your hand

Free but you need to register to join (max 10 people).

Using Drawing to Dissolve Inner Blocks to Change with Kate Ryley

Friday 30^th December 2-4pm GMT / 3-5pm CET / 9-11am EST

Event ended.

** No experience or artistic skill necessary. **

Analytical thinking can sometimes shut us off from the deeper non-verbal currents that run our lives.  We can find ourselves simply going round and round things we already know.  To find something new, we have to explore what we don’t know.

In this class, you can learn to use mindful doodling and colouring to gently explore and release hidden, subconscious obstacles to achieving one of your goals in 2023.   

There will be time for sharing but you won’t have to share if you don’t want to.

What to bring

Think of an area you’d like to explore.  For example, a goal you might have or change you’d like to make next year where you know you experience resistance or get in your own way.

We will be drawing during the session. 

Come along with a goal in mind and bring as much as you can of the following

• Something to jot a few notes on
• A sheet of blank, white A4 paper to draw on (printer paper is fine or art paper if you prefer)
• Something to rest your drawing paper on so you can draw over all the edges slightly, 
• A black biro
• A black felt pen (if you have fine and thick black pens, bring them all!)
• Colouring pencils & sharpener
• Colouring felt pens
• Highlighter pens

Embodiment-Mobility Cocktail with Gini Gutschmidt

Friday 6 January, 2-3:30pm GMT / 3-4.30pm CET / 9-10:30am EST

Event ended.

The embodiment-mobility cocktail – alcohol free but equally sparkling!

This is a blend of various movement modalities with an embodied approach to promote freedom and relaxation in body and mind. In other words – to be Bambi, not the Tinman. Experience more joy and creativity by gently opening up your joints and the surrounding tissue. At the same time learn tools to empower yourself by applying awareness and choice. In short – butterfly yourself 🙂 

This is for you if

• You want to free yourself from tension
• You want to joyfully mobilise your body
• You are curious about how your way of moving creates your way of being
• You want to learn the tools to keep your joints healthy
• You want to investigate yourself through movement and learn how to easily shift your state 

What to expect

• Exercises from various movement modalities to promote joint health
• Breaks and awareness pointing to FEEL how the way of moving impacts your mood, perception, emotion and way of thinking
• A little play, time to reflect and some experiments to keep it nice and spicy. 🙂