THE SPRAWL
a creative sanctuary for artists and makers
welcome to your weekly art-as-ritual group, where we revive our inspiration and tend to our creative fires…
as if our lives depend on it.
part support group, part magical open studio—hosted by Melissa, your resident artist, somatic educator, death doula and hype coach.
less co-working zoom, more creative life force rehabilitation.
one dinky squiggle at a time.
one holy, imperfect stitch at a time.
we use art and experimental creative practice to locate ourselves, feel Spirit flush through us, and act as if our inner visions matter enough to make time for.
we show up to the kitchen table, light a candle, and clear a little space for ourselves to SPRAWL OUT.
we let the grief move, we let the joy and silly awe of being alive spill forth.
having a creative outlet is spiritual and emotional hygiene
not a self-indulgence.
it’s a place we come to to face ourselves
to hear ourselves
and sort out
what we’re carrying.
but there are a million and one reasons we don’t make our art or express ourselves more fully.
🪞 some of us are afraid to be reminded we’re *bad at art*
🫀 some of us feel the overriding pull of the babies and the bills and the groceries and keep telling ourselves…’yeah, later’
🦋 some of us feel a lack of skill and think that counts us out.
⛲️ some of us have so much to say and so many ideas but don’t know where to begin.
THE SPRAWL is the holy altar of making that we show up to together so it’s not so alone-in-the-Void feeling.
We figure out where to begin together.
Clearing the inner channel over and over.
a soft rebellion against expertise and good art vs. bad art
tuesdays and fridays in january
Tuesday nights : 7-9 pm et
Friday mornings : 10-12 pm et
Eight chances to say yes to your creative practice and see what wants to flow through you. Come to one, come to all eight.
This is an experiment! Let’s see what we like! Weekly structure may pivot based on the needs and excitement of the group.
WEEK 1 :: Somatic rituals for opening up the inner channel + quiet making time
WEEK 2 :: Q+A coaching + making time
WEEK 3 :: Art in the dark! Candles only!
WEEK 4 :: Show and Tell celebration
founding members: $43
every month you receive:
Weekly Co-Making Open Studio
Two days a week to experiment. Maybe you’ll make something.
Sessions start with guided somatic strategies to get you out of your head and into your embodied imagination, then we work alongside each other in quiet, DJ-ed making time.
Bring your grief, your stuckness, your giddy thrills, we move with it all.
Q+A Coaching
Come ask your questions and get support—
the technical ones: how do I use fusible interfacing for my quilt?
the feelings ones: what can I do when the well of inspiration runs dry?
the artist-as-entrepreneur ones: how do I share my work more consistently?
Q+A Coaching sessions are uploaded to a private podcast for listening on the go
Show and Tell Celebration:
This is the best part IMHO - in the last week of the month, we’ll have special celebratory sessions to look at what everyone’s working on.
Like a talent show with zero pressure to be impressive, just a space to come get your flowers and be witnessed being more of yourself.
Bask in each other’s brilliance, be inspired, GET FED.
it’s like ‘holy shit what if I die with these gifts inside me and my passions wither away like old kale in the back of the fridge’
NO we will not stand for it.
instead we will sprawl.
we shall SPILL OUT in all directions, messy and unruly.
outcomes be damned!
the point is to retreat from the world together for a few sacred hours each week, so we can hear ourselves.
so we can get current with the currents moving through us.
so we can make the art, write the poem, sew the quilt, water the colors, and let the bouncy rhythms of creative process flush through our bodies.
uncoil the tightness in your body, loosen the grip of having it all figured out and see what wants to flow out of you
I’m Melissa - an artist, dancer, movement guide, grief and death doula, and writer.
I create gatherings where people heal their creative lives and explore their relationship to their bodies, expression and mortality. Read more about my practice and influences here
Melissa is the kindest, most caring, most engaging facilitator I have ever met - I just felt so lucky to be in her sphere. I can't describe how magical the two hours each week felt. It was both Melissa’s presence, as well as the other participants - I think all of us felt that something special was being created - not just with thread and needle but also in the space between us.
- MG, workshop participant + 1:1 client
Melissa is a wonderful guide through it all, bringing so much generosity and humor to each session, along with undeniable expertise as a facilitator. You feel and know you are in good hands.
—KM, creative workshop participant
I felt so in my body, community, and creative-spiritual flow. It’s an act of love from my past self to my future self to be creatively ACCOUNTABLE.
I got to say yes to things and feelings that I love saying yes to, but rarely carve out time for. And the people were PERFECT JUICY PEACHES I am so excited to see my friendships and quilting practice flourish
-RC, creative workshop participant
Melissa is curating a forum that’s the antithesis to old American ways of being together. It’s real community. It’s non heirarchical and non transactional. There’s nothing to consume. We’re learning to be together in radical new ways. It’s a real place to belong. We came for class but got each other. It’s why no one wanted to leave at the end of class! She’s tapping into ancient wisdom here
- LS, workshop participant
I'm a coach and I'm just very impressed by people who can hold space for others this well and create that sense of belonging. People said so many things in class that I'll remember for so long, and I don't think that happens without you creating a mood of safety, but also inviting people to look at things in new ways.
- KM, creative workshop participant
