This past year was a struggle in some ways... We heard from a lot of folks who had had a difficult time in their personal lives, sales were softer this year than in previous years, and inflation has made the belt tigher for everyone.

But in other ways, we at the Studio have been challenged to adapt, transform the "stuff" of life into positive growth and insight, more deeply come to understand the needs/wishes of our customers, artists and stakeholders; and have had the opportunity to share and experience some amazing moments. As a creative space focused on healing and personal development - we're here for it!

Let's take a look back at some of the parts we loved the most about this past year, and carry these inspirations forward as we step through into 2024.

The beginning of the year got a warm welcome with our debut Ecstatic Dance event at the Studio! Everyone loved the barefoot dance floor (also good for laying down and stretching) and it was good to meet our local fellow dance enthusiats!

We also launched the "Coast Dance Oregon" group on Facebook, for folks all around the region to have a place to post about upcoming events, news, and share their favorite music.

We had fun celebrating Spring at Florence artist, Kassy Keppol's Pysanky Egg Dyeing workshop! She showed us how to use layers of wax and dye to create beautiful keepsakes. If we have enough demand, we might make this an annual event starting in 2024 ;)

2003 marked the first year that SASS was at the Maple Street Vendor Fair for Rhody Days! Hosting a booth gave us an opportunity to showcase our Gallery artists, make some sales, and served as a way to meet folks in our community and talk with them about the Studio, our mission and our upcoming events. We even had expressive and mindful arts activities for visitors throughout the weekend, hosted by Studio artists and volunteers. While there, we also helped collect responses for the Americans For the Arts Survey on behalf of the Oregon Arts Comission. Despite the windy weather, it was an enjoyable and productive weekend!

Serena and two other Creative Arts Therapies professionals hosted An Afternoon of Creativity at the Siuslaw Public Library in Florence, this past Spring. It was a free event to help spread awareness about the power of the arts to help with mindfulness, mental health issues, wellness, personal discovery, spirituality and more.

Serena kicked off the event with a general presentation about Art and Healing, Art Therapy, and Visionary Arts, including some of the ways art and creativity have been used for healing and meaning making in every culture throughout history. She also led a table with an art and healing exercise.

Mixed media artist, Lynn Underwood, demonstrated how to use creative journaling and writing prompts to tap in to our intuitive wisdom.

Finally, Carol Lorraine, watercolor/silk painting and mandala artist, presented briefly on the history of the Jungian approach to mandala creation, and led the audience through a meditative exercise to help create mandalas by tracing the outline of their hands.

It was a fun an engaging afternoon for all, and the outlook is optimistic to do more presentations in future that could be officially sponsored by the Library!

The Studio was host to a "Kitty Condominium" from the Oregon Coast Humane Society over the summer. We were one of several other Kitty Condo locations at businesses throughout Florence, which help provide a chance for the shelter cats to get some social time, as well as help spread awareness about cats for adoption. The Studio community also helped with kitty transport, social media marketing, and general support.

With our help, OCHS was able to adopt at least three cats to loving new homes. The kitties also provided a point of interest and a pleasant surprise for our Studio visitors. We hope to re-launch this effort in future when we can upgrade to a larger space!

Warm, sunny weather in Florence means we can make use of our space out in front for things like sidewalk sales, special events, and vending. We did a test run this past tourist season of hosting "pop up" vendors, featuring local Central Oregon Coast artists.

It was fun to host (and shop) a different booth almost every weekend! We also appreciate expanding our creative network, and being able to help create a supportive opportunity for artists and creators to get their work out there where it can be seen.

Meanwhile, the Studio Space got an interior facelift - We cleaned and reorganized the gallery, workshop area, and Reference library/lounge corner to flow better, and be more accomodating and inviting.

We also set up one of the rooms to be an office for Art Therapy/Counseling, client meeting and rentable private study area.