Aug_22 The Intervening Years . . .

My last blog left off at 1977, which is the year I began my 45 year pause regarding all things art and painting related. This wasn’t a deliberate or conscious decision on my part, merely a response to the dramatic change of circumstances that I created for myself.

I asked my High School Principal for a one year leave of absence (which ended up being permanent) and began a search for my true self. This is the year I saw a psychotherapist for the first time and in September of that year I drove off and left everything behind beginning a 10 month journey in the United States. I didn’t have a clear direction when I headed out. First, I went to a yoga teacher’s training course in northern California.

Next I travelled to Texas and met someone from Albuquerque who invited me to travel there and stay with him. At that time, Albuquerque was a wonderfully creative therapeutic community. I found myself experiencing massage, Rolfing, psychotherapy, Re-evaluation Counselling, Feldenkrais, Aura Balancing and studying the ones I was interested in for my own pleasure.

When I eventually returned to Toronto, I continued the explorations I’d begun while away and narrowed down my focus. I became a massage therapist, graduating from Sutherland-Chan massage school in 1981 and studied psychodrama, the form of psychotherapy I now practice. I graduated from the Toronto Centre for Psychodrama in 1991. In 1990, I presented my first training in the combined modality I had created called Psychodramatic Bodywork®. In 2006, I received the Innovator’s Award from the American Society of Group Psychotherapy and Psychodrama in honour of the unique contribution I had created and offered to the field of Psychodrama.

As you can see, I was pursuing a new career and it flourished. I was presenting workshops to both survivors and therapists. I was travelling and presenting workshops at conferences and even bringing Psychodramatic Bodywork® to places like Russia, the UK, Serbia, the US and various Canadian provinces.

UK Psychodrama Conference

Travelling to Serbia with the support team

Presentation in Manitoba

Conference in Russia

Russian with the support team

Saskatchewan training session

In addition, I had a private practice and until 1990 was also teaching at the same massage school I graduated from. My career life was rich and full as was my personal life. I was fully engaged and never thought about my past role and endeavors as an artist.

Now I’d like to fast-forward to December 2013 which is when things changed for me. My friend Bev, who I met at Sarina’s "Vintage" dance class several years before, invited me to attend her open studio art class in the new year with instructor Kal Honey.