Pamela Schuller - Community Artist, Arts Educator, Mask Maker

Give art a chance. 

It will your life enhance. You will see.

Try it on a walk, in a train, on a chair or a 

plane, in a meeting, with a friend, in a class or 

right there at your front row seating.

Tangible benefits through a curious open

 heart, make for easier breathing and calmer

 mind as rhythms, textures, colours entwine.

 Flow and grow your inner realization and

 made whole you will know.

 As you do for yourself, it is felt by others and

 the power of connection and love makes you

 smile.

Giving you the courage to go the next 

mile, of growing  and revealing your

 courageous self in wholesome health,and

internal wealth.

So awesome, Sum of awe ... All of us ….in

 Awesomeness...In an artful nest.

Yes!..... Give art a chance, to life enhance.

  Pamela Schuller

What have I been up to in the past 3 years? 

I took a sabbatical from arts education and community arts projects to rest restore and learn. In that time I have continued to develop inspirations into  expressive art workshop offerings.  

 Story Stick, Mosaic, & Shadow Mask Processes

I discovered the story stick process during a summer weekend away and invited the guest to create with the art materials I usually bring along on trip. We all  created with paint, yarn, and sticks, guided by the theme of ‘a pivotal life story’. I was hugley impressed by the rich personal stories that were revealed through such a simple process people I had just met. I knew this could be a workshop and now it is. 

I went on to facilitate story stick workshops at festivals, therapy support groups and ran a workshop series - Each workshop was centered around a theme: self-care, grieving, mindful breath reminder stick, vision stick, and stories of our life journeys.

Building on the story stick idea I developed the Community Story Stick installation which I facilitated with members of the Regent Park location of Toronto’s Center for Social Innovation (CSI) 

The Mosaic workshops, made with painted cardboard, continues to evolve. I was invited to present this process with BAM ( Books Art and Music. The theme of the event was  Climate Change, and the intention of the mosaic making was to demonstrate the impact of our choices, and that we can make a difference with small actions, collaboration, and using recycled materials. The result was a beautiful earth designed mosaic that kind of took its own path with the layout.  A true reflection of working with people and the twists and turns of life.

At the beginning of Covid, I joined an online art group through the Centre for Social Innovation (CSI) and we are into our 36th week of creating together! The group requested that I run a shadow mask workshop with them. Previously, I had not considered running expressive arts workshops online; I particularly didn’t think it would be effective with the shadow mask concept.  

However, I knew from previous shadow mask-making workshops that the preliminary sketches made before making the mask were powerful in themselves. I gave a shadow mask sketch workshop as a  test run with a few friends, and yes it brought powerful, evocative insights and openings to participants.  

Presenting virtually had a learning curve. I’m usually a very somatically oriented presenter. My body language helps me to convey the shadow understanding and creating process, and seeing participants' body language helps me to understand how best to guide people. However, I’ve learned to manage the technology, to hold space, and create a safe container for the participants' experience.  

Several months later, I have now delivered several online shadow mask sketch workshops, I’ll be offering a number of online shadow mask sketch workshops in 2021.  Check out the events page for upcoming shadow sketch workshops, or contact me directly to organize one with your friends or group. 

Some Covid Silver Linings

As we all know, when Covid landed in early 2020, the world plummeted into challenges and changes in all areas of living. As much as I enjoy lots of time alone, I found myself facing deep issues: emotional avoidance, unproductive choices and behaviour patterns. Plus, I was surrounded by a huge collection of art supplies I have gathered over the years that weren’t getting used! 

Looking around, I decided to choose what I actually work with and let go of all that does not serve my growth and creative expression. Let it go, Let it go, Let it go! It has been such a relief to let go - and yes I still do have plenty of supplies. Also, I’ve been left with imagination bursting at my seams and an abundance of enthusiasm for the work I love to do.

The Covid certainly made possible alternatives I had not have considered before. I have always imagined being able to travel around the world with my work. Now, here I am able to do that: in my home, working with people internationally. So astonishingly amazing!

Blessings  Grace and Love

Pamela

Doorways Workshop 

Are you seeking change, retiring from work, feeling uncertain about your next direction in life then the Door Ways workshop will provide an opening for you. 

By engaging in this powerful visually creative process, using simple sculpting techniques and materials, you will create a doorway that represents transitions in your life.

Gain insight, clarity, and confidence to trust the direction your life is taking and will have a unique sculptured artwork that will continue to serve as a visual guide on your life path. 

You can expect to have an enjoyable, interesting, experience guided by Pamela, a supportive and experienced expressive art facilitator, through the Doorways creation process. Bring your questing self and curiosity for this journey.

Location: Luc Sculpture Studios and School

663 Greenwood Ave., Toronto

Dates:

Saturday, March 17: 1 pm to 6 pm 
Sunday, March 18: 1 pm to 4 pm

Fee: $150  ($50.00 deposit required)

Instructor: Pamela Schuller

Contact: Pamela to register at pamelaschuller8@gmail.com or 416-463-6162.

Pamela Schuller is an experienced community artist and educator arts who has worked with people of all ages in fun and creative sculpture, mask making, and mixed media workshops for over 25 years.

Story Sticks- An expressive workshop for all ages that is great for schools, communities, organizations, festivals, ceremonies and celebrations. I believe this would be an insightful and profound process integrated in to visioning, political and social justice meetings.  

Using sticks, yarns and other textiles, this workshop invites you to add to a collective story staff or create a personal story stick woven with reflections, memories, and stories of your life.  

Depending on the intention and location of the workshops people will relate the story reflected on their stick to me, write it out, record it or share their story in a listening circle.

I am deeply moved by the rich personal stories that people reveal on their sticks within 10 to 30 minutes. I have heard whole life stories, philosophies of life, or a special chapter of life’s journeys.   Creatively I find this workshop is accessible for all ages and abilities and also results in beautiful art piece.  What Rumi says is true!

Life Stories Can Change the World!

Open to me, so that I may open.
Provide me your inspiration
So that I might see mine.—Rumi

 To book a workshop contact Pamela at  pamelaschuller8@gmail.com 

Make a mask for dance and play to resonate with your-self in everyway.

Who - adults and children

Saturday, February 11 from 1 am to 5 pm 

Fee $20  (15.00 plus 5.00 for materials)

To register

Location - Luc Sculpture, 663 Greenwood Avenue, Toronto

TTC access: 2 minutes from TTC Greenwood Subway station

Car: Northeast from Danforth Avenue and Greenwood Avenue intersection. There is coin parking along the Danforth.

Join us at this Mardi Gras workshop with your inspiration ready to flow. Using simple techniques and materials you will be assisted as needed to facilitate your imaginations mask vision.

Pamela’s first art love is mask making and facilitating the transformation, fun and play that are evoked when people make and wear their own mask creation. 

This beautiful learning tree was created through The Pathways to Education in Rexdale during the after school arts program with grade 9 students of local secondary schools.  Students designed, sculpted, paper mached, and painted the tree with Pamela’s guidance.

The 7 roots of the tree have been painted to reflect qualities or characteristics of life. Through discussions, the youth determined what they feel is most valuable for their home life and a healthy community. These qualities are from left to right on the root: wisdom, friendship, love, family, joy, respect, and spirituality.  The center root, family is considered the most important aspect of nourishing their lives.  Several of the leaves were painted to reflect the symbolism of the roots.

 The tree sculpture is permanently displayed at The Pathways to Education office.  

A colourful, socially engaging, and fun installation, which fosters literacy development, the poetry wall can be developed with schools, community, and cultural centers.

A Poetry wall is simple to create using cardboard pieces painted with acrylics with a single word painted on the board. Magnetic strips are attached to the back and the words are arranged on a magnetic surface.

The visually engaging poetry wall encourages people of all ages to play with the words creating poetic phrasings.

In schools, students, while enroute to class, will often pause to play with the poetry wall and create an arrangement of words that communicates an inspiration, a feeling or a message to their peers and the collective community.

Teachers can either bring a selection of the words to their class, or bring the students to the wall and instruct the students to create a phrase using several of the the word boards on the installation. Students will write the word in their notebook then use words as a source of inspiration to develop a story, rap, rhyme or poem.

The poetry wall is also a perfect vehicle for developing vocabulary with ESL students and cultivate First Nations language acquisition.

Parents and caregivers while waiting by the poetry wall to pick up their children after school can explore word play with their younger siblings thereby developing vocabulary through the engagement.

The process of the public and students engaging with the poetry wall results in stronger relationships with students, teachers, families and and contributes to an enriched culture of learning, communication and language expression.

W. H. Auden said, “Play is what we want to

do. Work is what we have to do.” Poetry is both of these

To reveal oneself, In vibrant health

To shed the mask one wears, 

The crying one

The laughing one

The dying one

Join the dance of life,  Play with your mask, ask – and ask

Who am I, behind this mask