MEET
YOURSELF
MAKE ART
AWARENESS RESPECT TRUTH
Art opens doors beyond what we already know. It draws us towards the mysterious—beneath thought, beyond language, outside the noise of everyday life. In making art, we enter another way of knowing. We listen with our senses. We act on impulses. We follow what emerges. We give form to what is asking to be understood. In the process of artmaking, we are reminded that reality is larger than what the conscious mind can comprehend.
MAKE ART is a therapeutic practice to feel more deeply for self, for others, and the world around us.
A — AWARENESS — invites us to slow down and notice what is here, in the present moment.
R — RESPECT — invites us to allow feelings & impulses to be expressed, without dismissing, controlling or judging.
T — TRUTH — invites us to create from where we are, rather than where we think we should be.
ART speaks openly and honestly.
Inspired by Toltec wisdom, these principles invite us to meet experience with awareness, relate to what arises with respect, and make from a place of truth.
MEET LAURA
I am of Irish origin, lived and studied in Scotland, and currently reside and practice in Melbourne, Australia, where I am developing a personal relationship with Country through deep listening, active learning and respectful connection to the land on which I live and work.
For over 20 years, I have worked creatively and therapeutically with people across the lifespan.
My passion for artmaking began when I was six years old, when my parents handed me oil pastels. This early love of making led me to study Fine Art. While working as an art tutor with children in community settings, I quickly discovered the power of making art. Witnessing images emerge and seeing what could be expressed beyond words awakened my curiosity about creativity and our inner worlds.
I turned to psychology to advance my understanding of people and our innate human capacity to create. Discovering Art Therapy took me to Scotland, where I completed a Master of Science in Art Psychotherapy. I went on to build a career as an Art Therapist across community, school, hospital and mental health settings. Expanding into clinical supervision allows me to support other practitioners as they develop and sustain their own therapeutic practice.
I moved to Australia in 2019, where my practice continued to evolve and expand through shamanic practice, SoulCollage®, teaching and lecturing, alongside my ongoing work as a psychotherapist, art therapist and supervisor.
I continue to MAKE ART.
Currently, my art practice is closely connected to nature and, in particular, to trees. I photograph, draw, paint and spend time observing forms through mixed media. I love decoding tree bark — noticing faces, creatures, markings and forms that reveal themselves when I slow down and look. This practice supports me in remaining curious, open, playful and imaginative — in an ever-evolving relationship with the mysteries of the invisible and visible.
MAKE ART brings these parts of my life and practice together.
Artist · Psychotherapist · Art Therapist · Shamanic Practitioner · Supervisor · Lecturer· Soulcollage Facilitator
I am practicing
Dadirri — deep listening
— with utmost respect for its cultural origins and with an understanding that it is not my practice to claim, but a wisdom I am learning from.
Dadirri is an Aboriginal spiritual practice of
inner deep listening and quiet, still awareness,
from the Ngan’gikurunggurr and Ngen’giwumirri peoples of the Daly River region, Northern Territory, shared with wider Australia through the teachings of
Dr Miriam-Rose Ungunmerr-Baumann AM.