Moving the Clay towards Healing the Heart : A Grief and Healing workshop

Grief and loss are universal and each of us has a unique journey through this emotional landscape. Art making of any kind can be very helpful in healing from loss. Clay in particular can be a powerful medium, as the experience of working with it can be transformative, both figuratively and literally. As one moves the clay they are also moving with the grief, transforming it slowly, creating an object of representation that has meaning. You will have the opportunity to do this with other people in the workshop who are on their own grief journey, taught by Emily Newmann.

This workshop is for people who have worked with clay and those who have never touched it. Using handbuilding techniques and underglaze colors, we will each create a decorated tile that will honor your loved one. We may start with exercises to develop our ideas for imagery for our tiles, and afterwards can share our results as a group.

Emily Newmann is a licensed therapist and artist. She received her MSW at Hunter College School of Social Work in 1999, and in 2011 completed a Post Graduate Certificate in Expressive Therapy from Lesley University Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. She currently sees mostly families in her practice, however over the years has facilitated art- based groups for people of all ages. She has taught at the Social Work Extension Graduate programs at Boston College and Boston University on the value of art making with clients. Art making has a therapeutic value of self-expression, healing and connection as people tell their stories through visual arts, words, and sculptural pieces made by multiple mediums. She has studied ceramics

off and on since graduating from Vassar college in 1993. She has led many groups on grief and healing over the past 10 years. She currently teaches workshops in the outreach program at Mudflat Studio. Emily Newmann brings her sense of awe and curiosity of people and the world to the process, and she enjoys sharing this with others she collaborates with and teaches in workshops and groups.