— Art Connects Us
Reconnect with your intrinsic creativity and prioritize your own well-being.
Are you forgetting about your own mental and physical health while caring for your family member with dementia?
Caregiving can be very overwhelming, and the mental and emotional toll is undeniable. Amidst all the decision-making and worry about your loved one, you’re probably carrying many feelings at once. Grief for the person you knew and the life you had, anger toward family members’ lack of help, frustration at feeling invisible when you’re the one holding it all. So many caregivers feel chronically stressed, lonely, or experience burnout.
Hi, I’m Sonya
I’m a working artist and educator. My 10+ years of experience working with dementia caregivers confirmed what I already knew was true:
Engaging with art has the power to transform lives.
Working with family caregivers has redefined my ideas about what art is for. As it turns out, the people who need art the most are the ones with big feelings to process. Art provides an outlet to work through your emotions. Making art has changed my life, as my personal art practice has given me a place to process my own grief and loss—a lifelong journey I continue to be on.
Imagine having a positive space and outlet to express your complex emotions! Caregivers in my workshops report feeling more calm, less sad, less angry—and they feel inspired to continue using art as self-care.
Join me from your own home for this special online workshop:
Drawing The Everyday: Darkness and Light
Connect with your own point-of-view and use drawing to ground yourself in this 2-Hour Creative Drawing Workshop.
Sunday October 18th
2:00PM Eastern time
11am Pacific / 8pm Central Europe
Step outside of your caregiving role and use art to take care of yourself alongside other family caregivers.
Join me as we:
Engage with other caregivers in slow and intentional looking
Connect with art that helps you see a different perspective
Discuss your personal point of view using art as our subject
Create a drawing rooted in your own experience
Share what you’ve made with a group of like-minded people
This workshop will show you that
Engaging in a creative practice for just 20 minutes can lower your stress and anxiety
Connecting with other caregivers—and being a person outside of your caregiving role—can make you feel whole again
Drawing is empowering—and it’s empowerment you can bring with you into caregiving and other parts of your life
Making art can bring the same benefits as mediation, breathwork, and exercise
You’ll learn
An easy grounding exercise to use anytime, anywhere
Drawing techniques—line, value, and mark making—to create a dynamic work of art
Drawing ideas to help your continued creative practice and stress management
How artists use dark and light in drawings to express metaphoric shadow and light
You’ll get:
A welcome packet that includes a video introduction to drawing materials, a pdf with workshop agenda and materials, and a quick-click link to easily purchase drawing supplies
Live 2-hour Zoom session (with a short break!)
Recap of session
Follow-up exercises for continued creative practice
— Testimonials
Client Reviews
“This fed my soul. And it made me less angry and less sad.”
“I cannot thank you enough for your work and the magnitude of how you have helped me.”
“This program deepened my sense of myself as an artist, and reminded me how important it is to make time to make/discuss/take-in art.
I am experiencing the purest potential of art not only to inspire and make change, but also to make living bearable…”
— 2-Hour Online Workshop
Drawing The Everyday: Darkness and Light - $69
You may not realize just how much caregiving is impacting your health and well-being. Making art can help you let off steam and express yourself. Imagine feeling lighter when you reconnect with yourself, more empowered through learning, and at peace having taken action by drawing.
This is for you if:
You love art and museums, and you’ve always wanted to be creative
You used to have a creative practice, but you don’t know how to find your way back to that part of your life
You appreciate art, but you’re scared to make something because you “can’t draw”
You know you need to do something for yourself, but meditation and mindfulness feel too out of reach
Your loved ones talk to you about “self-care,” but you don’t even know what that could look like right now
You know it would be helpful to feel like you’re not alone
You know making art could help, but you’re not sure how to fit art-making into your already over- stretched life
This isn’t for you if
You’re looking for a traditional support group
You’re not willing to try drawing
You’re looking for art to engage your loved-one, not yourself
You don’t believe there’s anything that could lower your stress right now
Will you put off doing something for yourself, or will you give yourself 2 hours to create and connect, to remind yourself your needs matter too?
— Help When You Need It Most.
Frequently Asked Questions
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I think of drawing as a verb, and everyone can engage in the act of drawing! To me, drawing is about looking, seeing, experiencing, and expressing—drawing doesn’t need to be about making something look “realistic.” What you’ll do in this workshop will strengthen your drawing skills no matter what level of experience you’re starting from.
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Just paper, a pencil, and eraser are all you need! However, after sign-up you’ll receive a detailed list of materials along with an intro video so that you can decide whether to purchase additional drawing materials.
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This workshop is for anyone who believes drawing might help them—this is for the experienced and inexperienced! The workshop is limited to 16 participants, to allow for a small group experience where every participant will get personal attention and be able to contribute.
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If you self-identify as a dementia caregiver, this workshop is for you. Caregivers who have attended my workshops range from primary 24-7 caregivers, to caregivers helping to arrange care for their family member from afar. So, if you consider yourself a dementia caregiver in any capacity, I welcome you! Participants have been adult children, spouses, cousins, siblings, and friends of someone living with Alzheimer’s and related dementias.
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If you’re a caregiver whose family member or spouse has recently passed away, you are welcome here! And I extend my sincere condolences to you. If you’ve handed caregiving duties to someone else, you’re welcome here! It can be challenging to right yourself after the responsibility of caregiving ends, and making art can help you find your way back to feeling more balanced and in control.
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Participation looks different for every caregiver! You decide how you’d like to participate and if you’d like to share your thoughts and your artwork.
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To build trust and protect participants’ privacy, the workshop will not be recorded. If you’re unable to attend the live session but are interested in this workshop, please email me to let me know your interest and availability, and I will take it into consideration when scheduling future workshops! I can be contacted at sonya@sonyablesofsky.com
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I’m happy to answer any and all questions so that you can decide if this workshop is right for you. Feel free to email me with ANY questions at sonya@sonyablesofsky.com
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Yes. If you’re not satisfied with the workshop, I’ll refund your money—all I ask is that you share your experience with me so that I can improve workshops for future participants!