Playshop facilitated by Karen Stefano, M.A., L.P.C.

Edith Wallace, Jungian analyst, founder of Playshop and Collage technique,

1909-2004

"There is a center in us which, if we could but open to it, would give us direction, strength, wisdom and the capacity to live our creative potential.

Connection with this source gives our lives presence and vitality. Our creativity depends on it."

There is a center in us which, if we could but open to it, would give us direction, strength, wisdom and the capacity to live our creative potential. Connection with this source gives our lives presence and vitality. Our creativity depends on it. The connection is hard to attain and to maintain, yet we are forever seeking it. Like most truths, this potential is hidden. It is the treasure hard to gain, but there are means and methods for making contact with it and for keeping the channels open...

During these five days we will use simple art materials to open and build channels to the depths of the psyche, to what Jung calls the Self. No previous knowledge or artistic skill is necessary. Just bring a wish to play and enjoy color. We will use the medium of collage to reveal the guidance that can come from within ourselves. This can be done non-verbally and unselfconsciously as we enjoy a "playshop" built out of moments of playful discovery and confrontations with beauty. There will be a time for movement sessions which will be integrated into the rest of our work.

Participants are asked to write the story of their lives as myth or fairy tale before they come to the playshop. This is an important part of the preparation for the event and these stories will provide a basis for revelations that may arise during the playshop.

What we have known and done before has laid the foundation for what we can do and recognize now. We are embarked on the River of Life. We need to learn navigation...sometimes while stargazing, never forgetting that as long as we are human beings on this earth we must be skillful navigators and well grounded on dry land. Earth is considered the feminine, Sky the masculine. The dance of life is the marriage of the two.

Creation is not an innocent act! It is the beginning of history and of the possibility of evolution. It would be the end of innocence if, from the beginning, this creative process did not happen over and over again. It always starts with innocence, the fool's road, demanding the courage to take risks, to experiment with the unknown.