How can art facilitate healing – of ourselves and others? On the latest episode I dive into this topic with artist, writer, teacher and “creativity midwife" Arla Patch. Arla uses art as a tool for healing, working with her own challenging history to provide the source material for using creativity for personal transformation. Making art has offered a powerful opportunity for her and those with whom she has facilitated art making: breast cancer survivors, incarcerated women, at-risk teens, and survivors of sexual abuse and domestic violence (Content warning: this episode includes brief, non-detailed discussion of sexual assault).
Arla is the author of A Body Story and Finding Ground: Girls and Women in Recovery, each of which won Independent Publishing (IPPY) Awards, an activist in the area of Indigenous Justice and a co-founding member of the Coalition of Natives and Allies. She is also the brilliant artist whose piece, “Please Abide With Me,” graces the cover of my new book “Home to Her: Walking the Transformational Path of the Sacred Feminine.”
On this episode we discuss:
• Arla’s spiritual background and early childhood, including some deeply traumatic experiences that she was able to address and heal from via her art
• Embodiment as a path to trauma recovery, and how Arla’s art has helped her find the sacredness of her own body – and how her work with others helps them find the same in themselves
• Arla’s long association with Quakers, and how Quakers have historically been more accepting of women’s leadership than other religious traditions in the early United States
• The story of how Arla’s piece “Please Abide With Me” became the cover of my new book, and how her deep integrity both inspired me and scared me
• Arla’s commitment to Indigenous Justice, including her work with the Coalition of Natives and Allies
• How and why our allyship must be active, and why it’s so important white women learn to follow the lead of Indigenous teachers and activists
