It has been my discovery that the creative vortex, lies within the realm of the sacred–where inspiration & acceptance meets the structure of rooted expansion– fire meets tree and the art of creation is born. Spirit is made manifest.
The Fire Tree Method ® has been birthed out of a desire for deep connection, to self and Other and to experience freedom & true self-expression– to create without inhibitions, realize our creative potential by aligning with our authentic selves and to manifest these visions into reality. Transforming ourselves. Transforming our world.
creativity + structure = freedom
The Fire Tree Method ® is based on Melissa D’Antoni’s personal discovery of a paradoxical yet fundamental universal truth: to be truly free, we must have structure: a foundation—or roots, a core of with which to expand from. This is the place of transcendence; the creative vortex, where spirit and form collide. Structure acts as a catalyst to bounce off of— a corral for creativity to interact, experience, dance, play and discover oneself.
The Fire Tree Method ® was developed after 20 years of intense personal transformation, training, research and self-discovery with the creative process as a channel for authentic self-expression, deep connection and Self-Realization. As a creative, I yearned to live a creative life that was fulfilling, engaging and supported my desire to be free of any self-imposed limitations, one that was grounded in tangible creation and abundance. This exploration was launched by my experience with Michelle Cassous’s Point Zero Painting with Barbara Kauffman at The Painting Studio: Center for Creative Exploration in San Francisco and apprenticing later on with Chris Zydel of Creative Juices Arts , a process approach to painting, which first gave me a taste of this expansive channel for self-discovery and allowed me to express repressed emotion, awaken and reclaim dormant parts of myself, and harness the power of the creative moment. I began to feel awake and alive! And yet there was more. I was lead to a clinical masters program in Transpersonal Counseling Psychology with a focus in Creative Expression and Expressive Arts Therapy. I craved to ground this new awakening: Emotion is energy. Creativity is energy. And as creative beings, we are the conduits for its expression. It was one thing to express it and it is another thing to harness it for co-creation…and become fully Self-realized.
At the time I discovered this radical painting approach, I began working with Master Coach and spiritual teacher, Dorothy Divack at the Center of Excellence. With Dorothy’s inspirational philosophy of self-empowerment —I learned from her powerful transformational tools and trainings and I was able to create a strong foundation for grounding the expressive arts and transformative arts – the integration of these modalities is where I found the most profound change in my own life. This is the path of the Fire Tree.
“That which we resist, persists.” – Carl Jung
“…and that which we accept, transforms.” – Melissa D’Antoni
Circle of Self Actualization
the expressive + transformative arts.
The expressive/transformative arts utilize all of the creative arts modalities as a vehicle for expansion, self-discovery, transformation, and change. The expressive arts welcome all ages, abilities and levels of creative experience. The expressive arts include but are not limited to: painting, drawing, writing, poetry, movement, dance, music, drama and sand play and are engaged with the intention of journeying into a deeper place within oneself or the collective.
Non-verbal creative self-expression is a powerful channel to the life force within each of us.
Life is full of energy and emotions that need to be EXPRESSED. When this energy is suppressed or repressed, we become DEPRESSED-feeling stagnant, lost or stuck in addictions and unhealthy patterns. The expressive arts are a healthy alternative way to experience, feel and release emotions and fear that keeps us from living & creating our highest potential.
Sometimes the expressive arts are used independently and they can be a powerful offering of deep insight when used together. For example, after creating a painting one might write a story or poem based the experience of the painting and then there might be a movement that wants to express itself from the painting. Besides generating a sense of joyful experience, the expressive arts can provide a deeper way of knowing, they can guide us to our truth! They allow us to get out of our minds and more connected to our hearts, bodies, and intuition.
The Fire Tree Method ® is grounded in the experience of creative and intuitive process with intensives and immersions in the painting lab. Individual sessions and retreats offer an architecture for supporting a strong foundation for which creative visioning and manifestation in life experience is achieved.