First Aid Kit: Cultivating an Embodied Practice
“In times of crisis, we risk being disconnected from emotional and physical states. An increased awareness of sensations, emotions and our surrounding environment can help us stay grounded in our creative practice.”
“First Aid Kit: Cultivating an Embodied Practice” is an experiential workshop hosted by Bakehouse resident Maria Theresa Barbist that offers strategies to support mental health geared towards artists and creatives. Joined by Gianna Riccardi and Nicole Combeau, both Miami artists with backgrounds in art therapy, they will guide participants in the use of simple tools to lower stress by returning awareness to their bodies and creating a state of peaceful embodiment.
Participants need paper and color pencils for drawing, a quiet space, and the capacity to be physically and mentally present to actively participate.
To register for this session, please access the following link.
Please note: The session will be capped at thirty participants to ensure an intimate and safe environment. If you register for this session and it’s at capacity, you will be given priority for the following session.
About the artists
Maria Theresa Barbist has been a resident artist at the Bakehouse Art Complex since 2015. In her artistic practice, she translates traumatic memories and emotional states into performative actions, moving pictures and sculptural objects. She holds a PhD in Psychology from the University of Innsbruck and received her MFA in New Genres from the San Francisco Art Institute. Barbist has worked as a clinical psychologist and psychotherapist (Psychodrama) at the University Hospital Innsbruck and specialized in movement based expressive arts therapy at the Tamalpa Institute.
Nicole Combeau is a Colombian-American interdisciplinary artist, educator and movement facilitator. Her art practice and educational pedagogy is rooted in the intention of bridging our internal experience with our external world. She utilizes process oriented methods and inquiry-based analysis to explore the self with artistic depth. She currently works remotely with Clinica Proyectarte in Bogota, Colombia, as an expressive arts coach for young girls with eating disorders. She received her BFA from School of Visual Arts in New York and is currently finishing her movement-based expressive art therapy studies at the Tamalpa Institute in California.
Gianna Riccardi is an interdisciplinary artist who grew up heavily influenced by her multicultural identity. She obtained her BFA from New World School of the Arts, University of Florida and is completing her graduate studies in Art Psychotherapy at Goldsmiths, University of London. Her experience in art education and therapeutic work with clients from toddlers to centenarians have continuously inspired her to promote awareness and value of art therapy for all ages. With a keen interest in environmental art therapy, her self-practice includes exploring how nature’s cycles and themes can allow for a better understanding of the cycles and themes of our own psyche.
Image: Detail of Nicole Combeau’s “Giving Color to your Emotions” workshop. Courtesy of the artist.