Petite, British Lane Cara Shaw attended Michele’s mandala class when she was a young 83. After her first session, she was hooked! Following the 6-week class, she began teaching a weekly drop-in class herself, teaching the mandala as a tool for self-healing and encouraging and teaching others to teach. She did this until she was 90.
We all have stories to tell, don’t we? My adventure began way back when I was 12 years old. It was a gift from God! I remember looking around in art class in England and seeing all the girls doing fine drawings. I longed to, but didn’t believe I had any talent. More than seventy years passed, when on April 20, 1995, a friend invited me to Michele Faia’s “Painting through the Heart” class. That night I was introduced to something new! We were led in a guided meditation to draw whatever we “saw,” “felt,” or “knew.” In my state of disbelief I was sure I would see nothing. But that night the ‘magic” happened, and it continued for five more weeks.
I not only knew what to draw, but my hand knew where to go! The impact of these drawings and the encouragement of an inspired teacher completely changed my focus! I learnt that I needed to make changes in my life, and that every one of us has the power to heal ourselves through art. I longed to teach others what I had learnt, and so with a lot of encouragement from Michele, a professional artist, I began to give small classes which have continued to this day. Only recently I have remembered my longing to be artistic much have begun with the ‘seed’ thought I put out so many years ago!
My thanks go out to Gratia Trevey who first invited me to the class, to Sue Hamilton who offered her home when I told her what I wanted to do; to my son, Graeme Shaw, MD, who not only attended the classes and co-directed them, but sent several of his patients to benefit from them; to Cindy Amaral for her art and constant encouragement; to Michele Faia, MA, who was ‘always there’ for me to advise and encourage; to Sky, a professional painter, who at short notice took on the class when I fractured my hip; to Jo Anne Springer, Patricia Bullock, a trained mediator and to whose studio we moved into, and Wendy Hawkins, all who have taught many classes, and continue to this day.