'In many shamanic societies, if you come to a medicine person complaining of being disheartened, dispirited, or depressed, they would ask you one of four questions:

When did you stop dancing?

When did you stop singing?

When did you stop being enchanted by stories?

When did you stop being comforted by the sweet territory of silence? ' Gabrielle Roth

what do you need to feel well, happy & thriving?

At Art Yourself Alive we strive to bring awareness to the profound healing & transformational power of creativity, culture & the Arts for wellbeing, mental health, personal empowerment & community cohesion.

We do this through:-

Sharing the lived experience stories of how others have overcome their own challenges through their creative practice, through the Art Yourself Alive podcast - Season 1 available now - Click HERE

The invitation to participate and experience personal & community wellbeing through creative practice, brought to life through Doodle Cafe - More HERE

Offering bespoke speaking & consultancy for the advocacy of mental health and lived experience voice through creative practice & engagement - More HERE

For more information about the Art Yourself Alive mission & Founder Vikki Parker click HERE

Interested in the Research?

For more detailed evidence of the power of the Arts in Health & Wellbeing you can download the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Arts, Health and Wellbeing Inquiry Report 2017 as a great starting point here -

Creative Health Report

Free in your mind ~ At home in your body ~ Joy in your heART

Art Yourself Alive Values

art yourself alive ~ Podcast

Conversations with creativity & mental health

Sharing Lived Experience Stories of how Creativity can literally save your life or allow you to access deeper levels of aliveness in yourself.

Inspirational journeys of self-discovery that can inspire your own self-healing focus

'One day you will tell your story of how you've overcome what you're going through now, and it will become part of someone else's survival guide'

Brene Brown

Listen Here

Doodle Cafe ®

Mindful Doodling for Wellbeing

A delicious, joyful, colourful permission to embrace your creative flow state, immerse in mindfulness & set intentions for your own wellbeing, in a safe, non-judgemental space.

Doodling is for everyone, no art experience needed.

Inner child joy meets grown-up wisdom

Doodle Cafe is a unique process blending intuitive drawing, breath, practising presence, intention & reflection ritual & developing the inner landscape of self awareness.

From solo workshops to courses to blended collaboration within wellbeing programmes or with other creative health modalities, Doodle Cafe ® can be crafted to suit your needs in supporting the mental health of your community or workplace group to embrace creativity as a toolkit for thriving.

Simple, flexible, portable, pop-up, fully resourced workshops.

Brought to your space

Email Vikki at artywisdom@vikkiparker.com for bespoke doodle journeys for Workplace Wellbeing & Private Bookings

Doodle Cafe ® is a registered trademark

Licensing opportunities available later in 2023

Registration for Doodle Cafe ® Facilitation Training Coming Soon

Curious about what it involves? Take a peek ...

Written, produced, directed & edited by Vikki Parker. Filmed by Latest TV, Brighton. Original music co-composed with & produced by Hilary Burt Music

arts & Mental Health Advocacy

Public Speaking & Consultancy

This healing journey, this life journey, this connection journey

TOGETHER

Educating ~ Inspiring ~ Empowering

Helping each other heal and thrive.

Book me, Vikki Parker, for public speaking, community talks & creative, interactive mental health educational sessions. Online & In-Person.

Experienced public speaker & interviewer ~ live / audio / video. Former actor & drama teacher (16 years in Education - Secondary & Primary). Podcast Host. Freelance Artist. Integrative Arts Psychotherapy Informed. Trauma Informed. Energy Healer. Personal Story & Lived Experience Network (LENs) Champion Southeast UK.

See some of my talks here:-

Panel speaker at More Culture Less Medicine - Brighton

Keynote speaker at Belongcon - Brighton

Keynote speaker at Inspiring Talks - Brighton

Offering bespoke talks for:-

Community Groups
Workplace Wellbeing
University Life
Education - Age 5-18

Email for Details

the mission

Founder Vikki Parker ~ intuitive artist ~ survivor

Thriving

As a neuro-divergent survivor of childhood developmental trauma & family mental health crises, Vikki attributes her present day mental health and daily self-care practice to a deep commitment to creative expression that allows her to hold the intensity of her experiences & find space to breathe.

Learning

Educated in Psychology (BSc Hons), Theatre Studies (MA), Therapeutic Application of the Arts (IATE), Secondary Drama Teaching (PGCE) & self-taught as a Visual Artist, she founded Art Yourself Alive as a personal commitment to sharing the deeply profound power of creativity for all those seeking holistic ways to navigate their own life journeys.

Commitment

As the founder of Doodle Cafe - since 2019, she has developed and crafted a deeply healing & grounding process that embraces joy, simplicity & connection. Ever evolving, the doodle journey aims to capture these principles to live by, always seeking to expand our understanding of self. A healthy society happens when individuals are happy, sovereign & empowered.

Artist

Her own creative process weaves together intuitive doodling, abstract acrylics, poetry, theatre & song/soundscapes. You can see more of her personal expression here.