Atelier Eirené in NYC

Get out of your head! Get into your hands (and heart!)

What are EXA?

What are expressive arts? Expressive arts is a domain of alternative therapy that accesses an individual’s innate creative impulse for the purpose of healing through self-expression. Facilitators design and lead participants in a series of processes that engage more than one art form to develop mindfulness, interpersonal and intrapersonal awareness and to find joy in creation through community. Expressive arts have been documented to improve emotional and physical well-being. A typical expressive arts session might begin with movement or music, then morph into writing or poetry and develop into visual art. Sharing and witnessing the creative products in a community allows for processing and acceptance. Expressive arts are based on the tenets of “unconditional positive regard” as espoused by Carl and Natalie Rogers.
Explore your creative self! Get out of your head and into your hands!
Eirene Registered Expressive Arts Consultant and Educational facilitator with the International Expressive Arts Therapy Association www.eirenearcholekas.com 646.641.2076

Creativity is the source of joy, connection and well-being.

During this time of social isolation, it is more important than ever to connect, create, and discover one’s authentic self.

As an Expressive Arts facilitator and educator following the ethical and professional practices of the International Expressive Arts Therapy Association, it is my mission to bring community together in rich mindful multi-modal activities.

Working out of a small atelier in Astoria/LIC, I engage the community in many nature-based festivals, creative workshops and gatherings focusing on an intention.

I am not a therapist but a practitioner who holds the space for self-exploration. I design calculated expressive arts processes focused on an intention to bring mindfulness, awareness of inner self, and interpersonal understanding. My aim to to provide sessions that are fun, full of wonder and “AHA!” moments of discovery.

Workshops and Classes

Previous Workshops

EXA Retreat in Ios, Cyclades

A full week of expressive arts on the secluded hamlet of Agia Theodoti. Our experience brought together participants from Sweden, Ireland, Dubai, and the US. Intuitive dance, 5 Rhythms in the ocean, nature walks with meditation, sketching, cyanotypes, encaustic exploration, visual arts, drama enactments using Greek mythology, soap making and herbal foot foozies, rock sculptures, story telling under the Milky Way and lots of connection. We visited a cheese factory, folk danced at a local feast at St John with homemade wine and goat with orzo. Traditional organic breakfasts and lunch from farm to table, We came together as strangers and left as friends. Every summer another opportunity to connect, create and rejuvenate.

Driftwood Studios, East London, Rainbow Valley Women's Workshop

12 women experienced the power of connection through expressive arts during my residency at Driftwood Studios, Gonube, South Africa. We danced in dyads, created structures and rock sculptures that spoke to our ability to balance all the facets of our lives, and journaled for clarity and intention setting. The energy was electrifying and the positivity contagious. Most importantly, it was a way for many harried women to have FUN! My expressive arts practice extends across the globe. I try to incorporate the cultural traditions of the country I am visiting with my own for inter-cultural cross-pollination and understanding. Expressive arts are particularly needed in countries such as South Africa that are still suffering from the ravages of Apartheid, economic injustice. The arts make people that were once adversaries into co-creators, allowing them to take on the perspective of the other. Organic harmony and healing spill over from the shared act of creation and sharing of insights during the response portion of the workshop allow participants to see the "other" as "self." When I travel I try to be an "expressive arts pilgrim," someone who is there to revere the culture, history and practices of the culture I am learning from while giving back in the form of learning.

Dia de los Muertos Festival, Astoria Park, Queens

Thanks to a grant from City Artist Corps, I organized the first ever El Día de los Muertos festival Astoria that took place on the Great Lawn in Astoria Park on Sunday, October 31st which coincided with Halloween. While the holiday has been traditionally observed in Mexico and in American cities with large Hispanic populations, the festival brought together various multicultural communities across generations in LIC/Astoria to engage in creative arts and crafts associated with the holiday. Even with so many other events going on and very little in terms of time and money, I have to say the event was very successful. The main event for the festival was the erection and decoration of the central ofrenda. An ofrenda. or altar, is a table created to remember those who have passed away, decorated with flowers, candles, fruit and even bread or sweets. Each person takes something to the offering table and engages in a prayer, a conversation with that loved one. For our event, each participant was instructed to write a letter, a prayer, a poem, or some other message for their loved one. Some brought a 4”X6” photo. They could craft a paper marigold or take one of the flowers, candy or fruit provided as an offering to the dead. Each person had a few moments to decorate the table and “speak” to their loved one. This ceremony was meant to be cathartic as well as creative. What made it successful was the cathartic creativity involved in writing letters and messages to loved ones who had passed away. Some people actually brought photographs of loved ones. Some brought flowers. Another group brought Dante, a a little dog dressed up as the dog in the movie “Coco.” This brought such a joy and relief to everyone present. At the end of the event, the ofrenda was filled with letters and offerings. It was very moving. More than one person cried (including me as I had a six-month memorial to my beloved uncle that very day that coincided with the festival.) I am so grateful that I got the opportunity to organize this event. Many people thanked me wholeheartedly for doing it. I believe it might be here to stay. Some of the other events scheduled for the festival included: -decorating calaveras or skulls -making papel picado, the cut up tissue garlands -making el día de los muertos design-inspired CoVID masks -assorted crafts for kids and adults Best of all, it was free! I hope to interest enough people in the community to make el día de los muertos festival an annual event. I believe that creativity brings community together and promotes well being and good will. Another great event brought to you by Atelier Eirené.

Expressive Arts for St Sophia Sunday School, St. Spyridon, Washington Heights NYC

After liturgy at the historic Orthodox Church of St Nicholas in Washington Heights, families enganged in expressive creativity by learning about iconography and making their own icons, going on a Byzantine bird scavenger hunt, painted churches, worked with clay to discover parts of their inner selves all in the name of Christian fellowship. I led the Sunday school creative workshops for close to a year.

Expressive Arts Workshops in Astoria Park

Astoria Park is the lungs of this corner of NW Queens. As a practitioner of mindful practices that incorporate eco-therapies, I have used the Park as my outdoor studio and stomping ground. I have facilitated Finding Your North Star workshop, Celebrate the Winter Solstice: Going Under, Burgeoning: A Spring Solstice Workshop, Mid-Sommers/St John's Festival and many walking meditations with sketches and journaling. As a rule I try to schedule workshops to mark the change of the seasons.

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