Covid-19 Participant Precautions and Protocols
- Self-Health screenings are required before entry: check to see if you are exhibiting any Covid-19 symptoms prior to building entry. If you do have symptoms, wait to enter premises until you have had no fever for at least 72 hours, other symptoms have improved, and at least 14 days have passed since your symptoms first appeared.
- Before entering the studio, please use hand sanitizer. We have sanitizer available at the entrance.
- All participants must maintain a 6-foot distance between non-household individuals when possible.
- Masks must be kept on until you are established in your workspace at a safe social distance from everyone else. Our preference when at all possible is to keep masks on all of the time. Masks must be worn when moving about the studio.
DANCE, PAINT, WRITE! TUESDAYS, 5/4, 5/11, 5/18, 5/25, 6:00PM – 8:00PM
Enjoy this body/mind/spirit energetic meditation. This process helps people get into “the zone” or flow state. (defined as an optimal state of consciousness where we feel our best and perform our best.) Check the Calendar for the next gathering of Dance, Paint, Write! We start in stillness as music plays. Each participant is encouraged to listen deeply to impulses of the body and intuitively begin to move, allowing the movement to develop into a personal dance, informed by the music and the movements of others in the room. After 20 minutes we shift our expressive modality to intuitive painting, allowing the paintbrush and colors to find their place on the page. The process then continues with 20 minutes of free writing followed by a simple writing prompt that pulls the whole experience together.
Each session concludes in a safe, supportive circle where we share our reflections. Appropriate for complete beginner and movers, artists and writers of all skill levels. Open to adults and teens.
$80 for the series or $25 per session
Register by calling Topaz at 802 343-8172 or on Venmo@Topaz-Weis
Topaz, thank you for an incredible class! You created a safe and stimulating environment that allowed me to explore myself through the arts in its many forms! It was the just the right balance of teaching, guidance, variety and space to cultivate and nurture my creative and unfolding self. You took me to my creative edge and supported my expansion! Truly delightful! Thank-you!”
— Niko Pruesse, Strozzi Life Coach
Expressive Arts Burlington is the product of a visionary. Topaz has developed a landscape of opportunity to create, play and engage in a process which is fun, expressive and rich with meaning.” — Katey Wyndorf
5/15: Story Cloth: A Visual storytelling workshop
Story Cloth is a form of non-verbal self expression that can depict experiences of joy, inspiration and healing. Experiences of trauma or grief, that may be hard to express in words, can also be stitched into cloth in an easily understood language of personal expression.
This workshop taps into a creative revival of passing on family stories, recovering dream imagery or making political statements in cloth as many cultures around the world have done for generations.
Come to the studio and stitch, tack, weave or hot glue your personal story in this six hour celebration of fabric, yarn and mixed media materials.
A short video and guided visualization will help get you on the path to accessing imagery containing personal meaning to craft your own story cloth. Topaz Weis, REACE will be there to offer a framework for understanding Story Cloth across cultures and through time. She will help brainstorm and lend her expertise to any materials or technique challenges.
A mountain of materials will be provided but participants are encouraged to bring fabric trimmings, embroidery floss, buttons, beads, nature materials, object of memorabilia etc. (that may or may not have sentimental meaning) to use or to share.
There will be a one hour lunch break. Lunch can be purchased at Nomad Cafe in the building, across the street at the Southend City Market or you can bring a lunch from home.
Saturday May 15th, 9:00am – 5:00 pm
Cost:$120 includes materials fee, $100 if bought before May 9th.
Register early as space is limited. Use the paypal button below or Venmo: Topaz-Weis. For more info call: 802 343-8172
“Expressive Arts Burlington is the product of a visionary. Topaz has developed a landscape of opportunity to create, play and engage in a process which is fun, expressive and rich with meaning.” — Katey Wyndorf
Next Date TBD: Gifts of the Ancestors: Collage Playshop
This in-studio workshop is postponed until we can gather safely again.
Science has confirmed that we carry the stories of our Ancestors in our DNA. As the Earth quickens beneath us, the ancestors have messages to impart, lessons to teach, stories to tell, joys to share and wounds to heal. Join us as we travel the thread of Ancestral wisdom that weaves within and transforms our lives.
This workshop will offer:
- A chance to pause, breathe, and reflect while engaging in mixed-media collage.
- Guided visualizations.
- Supplies and images for creating up to three cards (included in the cost.)
- Ideas of how you might use your cards through creating an ancestor altar and ritual communication experience.
- Sharing with other participants in an open and nonjudgmental way.
No prior experience or talent needed! RSVP Required.
Next Date TBD, Call if you have interest 802 343-8172
Cost: $120
All materials provided.
Reserve your space by registering through Venmo @Topaz-Weis, below or call Topaz at: (802) 343-8172. Early registration secures your spot as space is limited.
Helpers it’s Your Turn! Engage with Expressive Arts (next date TBD)
This online workshop is intended for social workers, nurses, caregivers, teachers, body workers, or any helping professional. Created as an introduction to multi-modal expressive arts facilitation, you will explore the use of these modalities so that they can be resources in your practice and you will gain skills for manifesting a more ‘embodied’ presence in your work and life.
The workshop engages in experiential exercises to explore career values, strengths, and the integration of the two utilizing movement, art making, written/spoken word, as well as process/discussion. No talent or previous art experiences are required. Materials not included.
Expressive arts are often used for stress reduction, physical and emotional healing, and the understanding of self. When you experience the power and efficacy of these techniques first hand, you will be able to incorporate them into your practice with ease.
9:00 am – 4:00 pm EST
Cost: $100
For more info call: (802) 343-8172
(Participants can apply 6 training hours towards the REACE (Registered Expressive Arts Consultant/ Educator registration from the International Expressive Arts Therapy Association.)
Dates TBD: Good Grief: Exploring the Art of Grieving ~ Online Sessions
Have you experienced loss of a loved one or relationship, life transition, identity shift, or cultural / ancestral grief? Has grief stopped you from feeling fully alive? How do you attend to both the tasks of living and grieving? Art is one answer. It provides color and texture in a time when life feels heavy and dull. Explore the art of grieving though music, art, movement, writing. No prior art experience needed. Pre-registration required. This workshop will meet online.
Next Dates TBD
9:00 am – 1:00 pm
Cost: $240
All materials included
* A commitment to attend all 3 sessions is requested as this is a workshop that has a designed progression and missing sessions will weaken the fabric of the group container. For information, workshop specifics and registration, please call: (802) 343-8172
Technique Tuesdays: December – April on the 3rd Tuesday (postponed until we can safely gather.)
Art Journaling: Come, Play and Explore!
Are you curious about Art Journaling? This a great tool for exploration, self expression, discovery, and creative play! You don’t have to be an artist or a journal maker to access the joys of creating in your own art journal. Materials will be provided and you are encouraged to rummage through your drawer of odds and ends, saved notes, old photos etc to make your journal personal and meaningful to you.
Suggested Materials List for home practice:Dec. 15: Session 1 – Experiment with gelli printing– Gelli Plate (or substitute such as glass from a picture frame (5×7 or any similar size), sheet of acetate, plastic bag or wrap)– Paper– Acrylic paints– BrayerJan.19: Session 2- Using stencils– Acrylic Paint– Paper– Cardboard or heavy cardstock– Scissors or exacto knife– Cutting mat, if you will use an exacto knife
Feb. 16: Session 3 – Making your own stamps– Paint or ink for stamping– Paper– I’ll be demonstrating how many things you find around the house or things that might go in the recycle bin can be used for stamping, creating textureMarch 16: Session 4 – Texture and Layers
– Paper– Acrylic paint– Ink– Stencils– Stamps– Collage papers– MarkersApril 19: Session 5 TBD
Please join us for the whole 5 week series or sign up for one session at a time. Do it YOUR way!
All sessions meet from: 10:00 am – Noon EST
- Make a simple handmade journal
- Experiment with gelli printing
- Use stencils, make our own stencils
- Make our own stamps
- Learn ways to create texture and layers
Each session will be $25, all materials included, or save by buying a class card for $100. For more information call: (802) 343-8172:
Single session:
5 session card:
“In a word, this class is magical. If you are an artist in a creative rut- or another type of soul searcher- this class
will be a great gift to yourself. My fellow classmates were amazing and Topaz is a truly inspired and knowledgeable instructor!” — M Ketterling
Touch Drawing for Groups, Families or…consider making it a creative Date Night!
Touch Drawing is for artists of any level, including absolute beginners. Imagine a private 2 hour opportunity to bond with your partner, friend or family in the fulfilling realm of creativity. With Touch Drawing you can experience inner authentic imagery coming alive on the page and have no expertise or talent at all! Paper is placed over a piece of Plexiglas to which paint has been applied. Wherever the paper is touched, an imprint is made. Impulses from within take form on paper through the movement of the fingertips on the page. This intuitive, meditative process moves us deeply into ourselves. Sharing this process with family members is fun, builds trust and supports closeness in a gentle, non-judgmental atmosphere. You’ll each walk away with at least one finished canvas, a whole lot of raw material to use for future projects and some great memories.
Prices include all basic Touch Drawing supplies & 1 canvas or watercolor paper per participant. Additional canvases will be available for purchase at the studio.
Two Hour “Studio Dates” by Appointment
$200 for a couple
$300 for 2 parents and 2 children
$150 for 1 parent with 1 child
Group, Family/Couple Touch Drawing is available by appointment only. For more information and to set up appointment: contact: (802) 343-8172 or topazweis@gmx.net.
Coming of Age: Mothers and Daughters
Do you wish there was a place and rite of passage to welcome girls into womanhood? This workshop provides mothers and daughters (ages 11 – 14) or (ages 8 – 11) a fun and creative forum to explore their changing relationships as daughters make their transition from the realm of childhood into the circle of women. Come play, dance, sing, tell stories and make art together with other mothers and daughters in a celebration of our lives. This workshop is a 6 week commitment and is limited to a total of 12 participants.
No previous art experience necessary.
If you would like to schedule this workshop for your mother/daughter group, please call: (802) 343-8172
| Helpers Getting Help with Expressive Arts |
Hearts and Noses
An Improv and Clown Acting Workshop for Boys, ages 9 – 12, and the Adults who Love Them.
Don’t miss this chance to play together in the delightful, delectable world of clowning around. You’ll have a chance to laugh and play with others in a supportive environment. Here you can find a forum for connecting deeply, parent and child, and enhance or transform your relationship in the physically exaggerated world of the clown. We all have clowns living inside us, waiting to be invited to come out and play!
- Develop your own personal clown.
- Explore issues of collaboration.
- Initiate a ‘yes….and’ framework of communication.
- Build cooperation and mutual respect.
- Noses Provided! No experience necessary.
Cost: $75 per adult/child pair (Each boy must be accompanied by one parent or other special adult in their life.)
Pre-registration & $25 deposit Required.
Please bring any items for personal use and to share that could be incorporated into a clowning costume, i.e. hats, baggy clothes, bow ties, suspenders etc.
For more info and registration call: (802) 343-8172
If you have a group that would like to contract this or any other workshop, please contact Topaz Weis at the above phone number.