The Tamalpa Life Art Process® explores the relationship between the physical, emotional, mental/imaginal and spiritual levels of experience and expression. The work explores the relationship between body, imagination and soul, between individual, other and group. Our art processes, artwork and learnings arise from these explorations.
The Three levels of awareness and response:
The physical level is addressed through the study and practice of basic principles of human movement and dance.
The emotional is addressed through the examination of autobiographical material and explored through the mediums of movement, drawings, writing, performance and therapeutic practices.
The mental is addressed through the study and practice of elements of the creative process, communication skills, and presentation of theoretical principles and concepts. The imagination is stimulated through all of the art mediums of the practice.
The spiritual aspect is enhanced when people are able to express themselves with awareness and creativity on all three levels.
Movement Ritual:
A structured sequence of movements that increases awareness of breath, movement, range of motion, flexibility, and serves as a foundation for creative movement explorations.
The Psychokinetic Imagery Process:
A system for exploring the relationship between body, feeling and image/imagination by shifting between movement, drawing and dialogue.
Movement Studies:
Exploring the elements and principles of space & time, rhythm & force, inertia & momentum, body part articulation, range of motion and gesture applied to creative expression in movement.
Body Part Explorations:
Students develop awareness of anatomy and posture, and the relationship of body parts to each other and to the whole body. Personal and collective themes and metaphors associated with each body part are explored, as well as the relationship of body parts to feelings and the imagination.
The Five Part Process:
This map facilitates the exploration of life themes and events therapeutically in order to generate resources for creativity, insight, and change.
The RSVP Cycles:
This learning rubric is used for designing and scoring the themes, intentions, resources and activities that generate individual and collective problem solving and creativity. R= resources, S = score, V = valuaction, P = performance.
Creative Writing:
This includes identifying resources, journaling on themes, writing poetry, scripting dialog for the body parts, shaping narratives, and engaging in gestalt dialogue.
Performance:
Identifying and shaping themes and material, coaching, showing, feedback, recycling.
Witnessing and Active Listening:
Students learn specific Non-Violent communication skills for conflict resolution, and giving and receiving feedback. We introduce specific approaches for giving non-critical and non-analytical aesthetic feedback, working with a communication model that honors individual experience: “I see, I hear, I feel, I imagine _____.”
*See The Expressive Body in Life, Art & Therapy, for further details on tools, theory and method of practice taught in trainings.
