Creativity is calling; and I answer whenever I can. But that has not always been my story. My creativity has not always had a place. Growing up in my church, I did not encounter much creative representation, and in my personal life I had felt like my creative gifts were not “useful” enough. So, for most of my life, creativity was reserved for the background.

However, when I attended the Healing Arts Method online training, this changed for me. The teaching that centered on self-awareness helped me to “un-bury” the creative talents that kept getting pushed aside and allowed me to process and express my story in a new way. The time spent in our online cohort enabled me to see that my creativity had a God-given place in my story.

Since my first experience with Healing Arts, I have taken steps to finish all three levels of the Healing Arts Method training. During level 3 I had the opportunity to share what I had been given. I lead a 4 week-long Healing Arts small group with ladies at my local church. It was amazing to be able to pour into others what I had received and to help facilitate transformation in their lives. This was a restorative moment for these ladies and I as we created a safe-space for each other to process and express. Following that time, the creative opportunities continued with the chance to do several live painting presentations during Sunday morning services. I’m grateful that the Healing Arts Method helped me to finally find my creative place within my local church.

The Healing Arts experience has also helped me to find my creative place within my own work and community. I now center my efforts on the small business that I co-own with my husband, called Mariposa Company. There I can focus my efforts on creating art pieces using watercolors, acrylic, or gouache. I also create colorful earrings out of polymer clay.

The Healing Arts Method has helped me to find a safe-space to embrace my God-given creative abilities and has led me to step out in ways that I never would have before. This includes art shows, commissions, live paintings, and custom pieces! As a creative and an artist, I am inspired in my creative process by story, Truth, and the vibrance of the created world. The Healing Arts Method has become an impactful tool that helps me communicate “story” more clearly through my work and enables me to have the confidence and self-awareness to communicate through art in meaningful ways.

-Mariposa Company Maker, Melissa Oswalt