Creating Mandalas: Our Team Story
CREATING MANDALAS began as a partnership between two sisters: Susanne Fincher and Marilyn Clark. Much to our surprise and delight, we discovered that we shared common interests and forged a deep friendship as adults. We presented mandala workshops together for several years. Then our lives got busy with family and other work. Marilyn stopped mandala teaching. Susanne continued presenting week long mandala intensives with her friend, Elizabeth Rucker, until Elizabeth decided it was time to retire. Fortuitously, Marilyn was then available to rejoin Susanne.
In the early 2000’s we started to work together again with a new vision: a certificate program on the theory and use of mandalas incorporating the ideas of C.G. Jung, Edward Edinger, Joseph Campbell, Joan Kellogg, and Stan Grof. The text for the program was Susanne’s book Creating Mandalas. The program combined training and independent research. Upon completion participats were awarded a Certificate of Completion in “Mandala – Holistic Reflection of the Self.”
We were busy, and we needed more hands and brains to do the work. In 2012 we invited Susan Johnson, a graduate of our CREATING MANDALAS Certificate Program (CMCP), to join us on staff. Susan accepted our invitation, and we danced with joy when our partnership expanded to a team. She lives near Susanne in Atlanta, is enthusiastic about the CREATING MANDALAS program, and finds uses for mandalas that suit her passion for social justice and spiritual growth. And then Paige Scheinberg came in 2014, first as an art therapy supervisee of Susanne’s, then as a CMCP student, and now as a full fledged member rounding out our CREATING MANDALAS team as a credentialed art therapist, a workshop leader, yoga practitioner and teacher. Yes, we needed a talented millennial or two to help bring us into the 21st century.
Our sisterhood has expanded to four, each of us with our own expertise, passions, and goals. Monthly conference calls find us dreaming, planning, and laughing as we enjoy this rich soup of creativity. You can be sure that the soup is served up in a round--mandala--soup bowl and that it nourishes each of us.
In the early 2000’s we started to work together again with a new vision: a certificate program on the theory and use of mandalas incorporating the ideas of C.G. Jung, Edward Edinger, Joseph Campbell, Joan Kellogg, and Stan Grof. The text for the program was Susanne’s book Creating Mandalas. The program combined training and independent research. Upon completion participats were awarded a Certificate of Completion in “Mandala – Holistic Reflection of the Self.”
We were busy, and we needed more hands and brains to do the work. In 2012 we invited Susan Johnson, a graduate of our CREATING MANDALAS Certificate Program (CMCP), to join us on staff. Susan accepted our invitation, and we danced with joy when our partnership expanded to a team. She lives near Susanne in Atlanta, is enthusiastic about the CREATING MANDALAS program, and finds uses for mandalas that suit her passion for social justice and spiritual growth. And then Paige Scheinberg came in 2014, first as an art therapy supervisee of Susanne’s, then as a CMCP student, and now as a full fledged member rounding out our CREATING MANDALAS team as a credentialed art therapist, a workshop leader, yoga practitioner and teacher. Yes, we needed a talented millennial or two to help bring us into the 21st century.
Our sisterhood has expanded to four, each of us with our own expertise, passions, and goals. Monthly conference calls find us dreaming, planning, and laughing as we enjoy this rich soup of creativity. You can be sure that the soup is served up in a round--mandala--soup bowl and that it nourishes each of us.
YOUR Creating Mandalas TEAM
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SUSANNE F. FINCHER
More than 40 years ago I discovered my love of creating mandalas. In 1976 during a time of grieving, I found that sketching circular drawings made me feel calm. Someone told me that I was creating mandalas. I began studying the writings of psychoanalyst C. G. Jung because he had described circular drawings, which he called mandalas, in his work with patients. My interest grew and I found my way, thanks to a tip from Marilyn Clark (my sister), to the MARI (Mandala Assessment and Research Institute) training of Joan Kellogg, an art therapist living in Baltimore, MD. Joan’s ideas inspired me: rooted in ancient concepts, yet useful in contemporary mental health work. She became an important mentor for me and encouraged me during the writing of my first book, Creating Mandalas. I obtained training and licensure to offer counseling and art therapy as a Licensed Professional Counselor, and a Board Certified-Registered Art Therapist. In my therapy practice, and through my books, lectures, classes, and workshops, I have introduced thousands of people in the US and beyond to the spiritual, psychological, and health enhancing dimensions of creating mandalas. I continue creating mandalas as a personal reflection dedicated to healing myself, my fellow beings, and the planet we all share. |
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MARILYN F. CLARK
With one look at the first mandala I ever created, Joan Kellogg, ATR, and “Mother” of the “Great Round of Mandala” noted “You have something gynecological going on.” If she had looked at me first, she would have seen I was six months pregnant at the time. As entertaining as this meeting was, it was also mystifying, and I eagerly sought opportunities to study with her. At about the same time, I began to study with Helen Bonny, a music therapist and colleague of Joan’s. I have led mandala workshops and retreats with Susanne Fincher for many years, and have used the mandala with psychotherapy clients. My primary work has been as a psychotherapist and trainer of the Bonny Method of Guided Imagery & Music. Both of these modalities provide means of accessing our rich inner worlds and enable us not only to deepen our relationship with ourselves but also to share those worlds with others. |
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SUSAN P. JOHNSON
My mandala journey started at an Advent Labyrinth retreat in 1999. From those auspicious beginnings, where I drew a mandala depicting “Mary Said Yes”, to today where they are a part of my daily life and work, the simple shape of a circle has blessed me with an unpredictable and beautiful unfolding of meaning. I create mandalas as scriptural and spiritual reflections; I use them as a periodic daily practice towards self-understanding and actualization; I create mandalas as active meditations. Mandalas connect me to time and place, enhancing my experience of the moment and allowing me to travel back to that instant in time, no matter how extraordinary or mundane. I am a Registered Expressive Arts Consultant and Educator (REACE), recognized through the International Expressive Arts Therapy Association (IEATA). I am passionate about creating AHA! moments for individuals open to exploring their creative selves and using creativity for personal insights. This connects my work with mandalas and other visual art with modalities such as movement, rhythm, journaling and drama. I leverage my previous experience as a business professor and consultant in facilitating group experiences both in workshops and in organizational planning sessions. |
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PAIGE SCHEINBERG
I often describe myself as a well-being enthusiast and lover of all things creative. And, creating – and being intrigued by – circular art forms have been a part of my life for what seems like forever. However, it was not until I went to graduate school for art therapy that I first heard the term “mandala”. Since then, I have enjoyed and valued daily mandala practices and awareness to enrich my life and work. There are few art forms that compare to creating mandalas – a creative process that truly empowers you to relax, nurture your Creative Self, and discover and honor your many parts of Self. As a Board-Certified Art Therapist (ATR-BC) and founder of SHINE ON Consulting, I have worked with people of all ages with diverse needs through clinical art therapy services, as well as arts-based workshops and trainings for professional and creativity development, wellness, and self-care. My passion is to help you cultivate sustainable happiness and flourish in life through creative experiences and self-expression – to let your light shine. |