ART IS A SPIRITUAL ACT AND A HUMAN RIGHT
Alta Mesa Center for the Arts, under the leadership of Mary Volmer, is an interfaith arts and spirituality hub, housed within and sponsored by Orinda Community Church.
Please join us each month for our 2nd SundaY READING SERIES
Coming up at Alta Mesa Center for the Arts…
Poetry as a Tool for Wellness: Self-Nurturing and Radical Resilience
led by Audrey T. Williams
Sunday, April 13th - 4pm-5:30pm PDT
Zoom
Ready to embark on a transformative journey where poetry becomes your personal compass for healing and growth? In this "Poetry as a Tool for Wellness" workshop, you will explore how poems can illuminate paths to self-discovery, becoming portals to deep self-reflection. This online session will be a warm, welcoming space where you can dive into the healing waters of expressive writing for wellness. Through powerful poems, thoughtful discussions, and encouraging prompts, you'll unlock new tools for self-care while connecting deeply with your authentic voice in a supportive community. You will leave with more than just words on a page – you'll carry with you practical techniques for using poetry as your companion in navigating life's complexities.
Price for this salon is on a sliding scale: $15-$45.
Audrey T. Williams, MFA identifies as a Black woman with Indo-Burmese heritage. She is a published poet, wellness workshop facilitator, and Reiki Master Teacher. She earned her MFA in Creative Writing from California College of the Arts (2018) and is currently completing a certificate in Narrative Medicine at Columbia University. Trained by The Institute for Poetic Medicine, she facilitates “Poetry as a Tool for Wellness” to foster radical resilience and self-care. Audrey’s dedication to the transformative power of words is evident in her memberships with the San Francisco Writers’ Grotto, Page Street in Berkeley, and the Transformative Language Arts Network. Her current projects are a memoir, speculative flash fiction collection, and a poetry chapbook on the theme of caregiving.
Mission
We believe that art is a spiritual act and a human right. Contained within that sentence are our two primary goals: a) to provide a place for artists to engage in the spiritual aspects of their art and for spiritual seekers to use art to deepen and discover new avenues of spiritual experience; b) to provide a place where people from diverse traditions, artistic practices, and economic realities come together in community.
From experience we know that art can bridge the divisions, substantive and arbitrary, that divide us. We come together not only to practice and teach the arts, but to celebrate and learn from our differences and to foster lively and respectful interdisciplinary dialogues. We seek unity in diversity. We welcome professional artists, writers and musicians, experienced amateurs, hobbyists, mystics and seekers young and old. Wherever you are on your artistic and spiritual journey, whoever you are, we welcome you.