We will explore textiles as a therapeutic medium, from the academic to the practical, in this afternoon workshop. Using SHELL studio's weighted blankets as tools, cross-discipline experts will engage participants in an afternoon of thought, movement and mindfulness. Wear something you can listen, move, and relax in.
Clinical art therapist and visual artist Kate Pane will begin the afternoon with a short presentation of her masters thesis: Building Yourself: Textile and Costume Making in Identity Development With Individuals Who Are Dually Diagnosed, and then will help lead the afternoon with her expertise in deeper psychological healing through textiles.
Choreographer and performer Sandy Heyaime will guide us in a mindfulness and movement workshop exploring all five senses and the body, working from head to toe while utilizing SHELL blankets and experimenting their effects.
We will end the afternoon with thoughtful discussion and a bit of textile processing in our own modern-day sewing circle. Each participant will have the opportunity to fill and hand-sew silk, weighted eye pillows, which they can bring home with them.
SHELL Studio is a collaborative partnership between Kelsey Sundberg and Sarah Wedge, developing timely soft tools that unite interior and exterior- body and mind. Borne out of a mutual interest in the intersection between textiles and therapy during graduate work at RISD, SHELL has evolved into a series of sensory objects and experiments that attempt to respond to the state of the alienated body in the contemporary world.
Kate Pane, MPS, LCAT-LP is a clinical art therapist and visual artist. Pane’s current practice involves a deeper investigation of the efficacy of art in social change. In her current role she aids the healing process for family survivors of human trafficking and violence. She has brought art therapy to incarcerated youth including juvenile detention centers and Riker's Correctional Facility. Her research was conducted in NYC’s Bellevue Hospital Psychiatric Unit which focused on the exploration of textiles and the therapeutic relationship to influence identity formation with adults who are mentally ill and chemically addicted. She has partnered with multiple institutions such as the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Tribeca Film Festival and consulted with Parsons School of Design MFA Fashion Designers where she collaborated with the designers and incarcerated men. Her practice explores the intersection between personal narrative, art making, clinical psychology, art education and activism.
Sandy Heyaime is a choreographer, dancer and performer based in Los Angeles. She holds multidisciplinary training including a diverse background of dance in many styles. Beginning with ballet at a young age and experimenting with contemporary and expressive techniques, she now focuses on conceptual performance art. Ms. Heyaime has performed at many institutions including The Broad Museum, in Los Angeles, Miami Art Basel, NeueHouse, in Manhattan, and at the Girls Build LA leadership summit, where she had the pleasure performing for First Lady Hillary Clinton and Senator Kamala Harris. She has collaborated with a wide range of artists, including as a choreographer, back-up dancer, and movement coach. Ms. Heyaime’s approach to dance is playful, fun, and focused on the exhilarating, therapeutic healing properties of the art form. She believes that everyone has the ability to move and dance in their own unique way.