Studio Loiola - Creative Wellbeing
with
Donna Loiola
Studio Loiola is a space to play, to make marks, and to find your way back to yourself.
Here you will find short creative courses designed not to teach technique, but to hold you gently and creatively. A safe container for whatever needs to move, settle, or simply be seen. No previous art experience is needed. Only your willingness to begin and play.
Through mandala making, drawing and painting as meditation, mark making for self-expression, and hands-on paper play, each course/session/workshop becomes a quiet practice of returning — to presence, to feeling, to your own creativity. A way home!
Whatever it is that brings you here
please know there is a place for you at Studio Loiola
Let me help you ….. FIND YOUR WAY BACK!
Choose your avenue
Mindful Mark Making
A weekly online session Mondays 7 - 8 pm.
A gentle practice of presence through mark making.
Monday Evenings, 7–8pm | Online - Option to purchase recording of session to do in your own time.
Mindful Mark Making is a weekly online gathering — a quiet hour set aside to slow down, breathe, and let the hand move without agenda. No drawing skill needed, no "getting it right." Just paper, a mark-making tool of your choice, and permission to simply be with whatever wants to come through.
Each session opens with a short grounding moment before easing into a guided mark-making practice, closing with a few minutes of quiet reflection. It is less a class than a shared pause — a small weekly ritual of presence.
The Benefits
A regular anchor — a consistent weekly moment of calm to return to, whatever else is happening in your week
Stress relief — repetitive, rhythmic mark making calms the nervous system and quiets a busy mind
Presence over perfection — a gentle way to practise being in the moment, without the pressure of "making something good"
Emotional release — a safe, wordless outlet for feelings that are hard to name or speak
Connection — a small, supportive group of like-minded people making marks together, even from a distance
Accessible creativity — no art background or special materials required, so everyone can take part
How It Works
This session is fee based but if this is an issue please do speak with me as we may be able to work something out. I do not want cost to be a barrier to joining.
A quiet hour, every Monday. Find your way back!
Mindful Mark Marking Schedule 2026/2027
Book a Session
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Settling back in …Feeling the ground beneath us.
W2 (14 Sept) — Easing In & Grounding. Making lines of colour and Anchoring into presence.
W3 (21 Sept) — My Palette: Tuning into personal, intuitive colour.
W4 (28 Sept) — Now: Where am I and how am I right now?
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Gathering In and Releasing what is no longer needed.
W1 (5 Oct) — Gathering & Releasing: Marking what no longer serves us.
W2 (12 Oct) — Autumn Palette: Welcoming new colour in, deciding what must go.
W3 (19 Oct) — Letting Go: Painting impermanence and non-attachment.
W4 (26 Oct) — Falling Leaves: Repetition, layering, and imperfect impressions.
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Honouring the pull inward and the dark evenings.
W1 (2 Nov) — Slow Line Drawing: Meditative lines to calm the nervous system.
W2 (9 Nov) — Candlelit Still Life: Exploring gentle shadows and quiet presence.
W3 (16 Nov) — Breath & Mark: Synchronising drawing with your breathing.
W4 (23 Nov) — Quiet Textures: Subtle, tactile textures on paper.
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Small warmths, gentle joy, permission to rest.
W1 (7 Dec) — Star & Light Studies: Exploring inner light and clarity.
W2 (14 Dec) — Wrapping Paper Painting: Crafting mindful, hand-painted paper.
W3 (21 Dec) — Gratitude Constellations: Mapping moments of reflection.
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A gentle beginning, not a resolution.
"Let this be a doorway, not a demand."
Week 1 — Blank Page Ritual: A short grounding exercise followed by covering a whole page in colour with no image — reclaiming the blank page as friendly, not daunting.
Week 2 — Word into Mark: Choosing one word or feeling for the months ahead and translating it into abstract colour and gesture, not text.
Week 3 — Seed Studies: Drawing and painting seeds, buds and beginnings — small, careful observational work.
Week 4 — Layered Intentions: Building a page in translucent layers (tissue, wash, ink) — each layer a small hope, none needing to be "finished."
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“Be as gentle with yourself as you would be with a friend.”
Week 1:Gentle Self-Portrait — An abstract, symbolic self-portrait using colour and shape rather than likeness to explore how you feel, not how you look.
Week 2:Soft Materials Session — Working with pastels, chalk, and blending tools for a deliberately soft, forgiving mark-making experience.
Week 3:Comfort Colour Study — Exploring the colours that feel most soothing personally, building a small palette of comfort.
Week 4:A Letter in Colour — A wordless “letter” of encouragement to oneself, expressed entirely through intuitive colour and gesture.
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Something in us stirs before we notice it stirring.”
Week 1:First Green — Observational and intuitive studies of emerging shoots and buds, noticing the first signs of change.
Week 2:Wet-into-Wet Blossom — Loose watercolour blossom studies, intentionally embracing unpredictability and bloom.
Week 3:Waking Line — Faster, looser gesture drawing to shake off winter stillness with energising warm-ups and playful mark-making.
Week 4:Colour Waking Up — Mixing vibrant spring greens and pastels, exploring how colour itself can feel like waking.
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“Ease is not the opposite of effort — it is effort finding its own current.”
Week 1:Water Studies — Fluid ink and water washes, letting the paint move and pool with minimal control.
Week 2:Tide Lines — Layered horizontal washes evoking the coastline and tide (a nod to the Silver Coast landscape).
Week 3:Moving the Body, Moving the Mark — Standing or large-arm drawing to loosen the connection between body and mark.
Week 4:Flow Collage — Torn and layered paper collage exploring movement and layering rather than a fixed composition.
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“Let yourself be as vivid as you actually feel.”
Week 1:Bold Palette Play — Working with an unusually bold or unfamiliar colour combination, noticing your internal emotional response.
Week 2:Flower Studies — Loose, expressive floral studies in gouache or acrylic, celebrating abundance over accuracy.
Week 3:Colour and Mood Mapping — Choosing colours intuitively to represent your week's emotional weather.
Week 4:Vivid Abstracts — Large, energetic abstract pieces using the boldest, most celebratory colours in your palette.
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“We are held together by threads finer than we imagine.”
Week 1:Thread and Line — Stitching, weaving, or thread-on-paper work exploring connection, patience, and repair.
Week 2:Shared Page — A page built in response to a partner's marks (in person or asynchronously) to create a gentle creative dialogue.
Week 3:Mapping Relationships — Abstract mapping of the people and places that nourish us, using colour and line rather than words.
Week 4:Weaving Papers — A simple paper-weaving technique combining pieces from earlier in the year, literally interlacing the months.
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“We close the year not by finishing it, but by finally seeing it whole.”
Week 1:Looking Back Collage — Using scraps, photos, or offcuts from the entire year's sessions to build a deeply reflective collage.
Week 2:A Year in Colour — Choosing one distinct colour per month of the year and arranging them into a personal colour timeline.
Week 3:Gratitude Marks — A page built entirely from small, rhythmic marks, each representing a single moment of gratitude from the year.
Week 4:Closing Circle Piece — A final, open, unstructured session to create freely, followed by a short reflective pause on how your practice has shifted.
Gift Card: Mindful Mark Making Session
Give the gift of creative sanctuary and inner calm. When you purchase this voucher, a beautifully designed digital gift card and unique booking code will be sent directly to you or your loved one’s inbox, ready to be redeemed for any of our private, small-group weekly sessions.
Make YOUR Marks!
Give the gift of presence, stillness, and creative awakening. This digital gift card creates a space for a loved one to join an intimate, online , private Mindful Mark Making session. Perfect for anyone looking for a gentle way to quiet a busy mind or just play creatively.
Intuitive Painting Workshops
A monthly deeper dive into painting without a plan,
guided only by what wants to emerge.
A space to simply paint.
Intuitive Painting is not a class. It is a held space for creative play — where you follow your own hand, and no one can get it wrong.
There is nothing to learn here. No technique to master, no "right" way to hold a brush.
We begin with a short grounding activity. This is our way of arriving fully before we pick up a brush with intention. From there, the space is yours to paint what wants to come out of you, without explanation or agenda. Whatever appears on your page is simply what IS true for you in that moment.
No critique. No comparison. Nothing to share, ever. This space is open to complete beginners and experienced creators.
Workshop details
2 hours of painting with some reflection and journaling. Once a month.
2 hours, held once a month (usually the last Saturday of the month)
Fully online — join from wherever feels comfortable and private
No experience needed
Why this practice?
Stillness — Unstructured creative expression offers a rare kind of quiet that talking alone doesn't always reach.
Ease — Painting without a goal or an audience allows the nervous system to settle, gently, at its own pace.
Trust — Following your hand instead of your head, without needing to justify a single mark you make.
Permission — Creativity restored as something you simply are, rather than something you have to be good at.
How 2 hrs unfolds
First 15 Minutes — Arrive & settle. A short grounding activity to help you land in the space and quiet the internal "what should I paint" voice.
90 Minutes — Open painting. Unstructured time to follow your own inclination — in silence, in flow, at your own pace.
Last 15 Minutes — Quiet reflection. Space to notice what emerged and how you feel. No requirement to speak or share.
Questions answered
How can I benefit from Intuitive Painting? This practice offers a rare kind of stillness — a chance to quiet the mind, ease stress, and reconnect with your own instincts without judgement or goal. Many people find it restores a sense of playfulness and permission that everyday life doesn't always allow.
Can I do this anywhere? Yes — as this is an online session, you can join from wherever feels comfortable and private to you. All you need is a little space to paint undisturbed and a device to connect with. I do encourage you to ensure that your time is uninterrupted.
Will I have to share my images? No. What you create is entirely yours, with no expectation or requirement to show or share your painting with anyone — myself included, unless you choose to.
What paint can I use? Anything you already have works beautifully — acrylics, watercolours, gouache, or even poster paints. There's no "correct" paint for this. If you're starting from scratch, a simple, affordable set of acrylics or watercolours is more than enough.
Will it be expensive for me to do? Not at all. This is designed to be accessible — basic, budget-friendly paint and paper are all you need. There's no requirement for professional materials; simplicity is part of the practice.
Can I use other materials with the paint? Yes, absolutely. Feel free to bring in pastels, pencils, collage scraps, or anything else that calls to you. Mixed media is very much encouraged.
What is the format of the 2 hour session? The session opens with a short grounding activity (around 10–15 minutes) to help you arrive and settle. This is followed by an extended period of open, unstructured painting time. The session closes with quiet time for reflection and journaling usually lasting 15 minutes.
Will there be time to reflect at the end? Yes — the final part of the session is set aside for quiet personal reflection. There is no requirement to speak or share. It is simply a space to notice what emerged and how you feel, before returning to your day.
Come as you are. Paint what is true for you. Find your way back.
The last Saturday in every month for 2 hours — 10am - 12noon.
The space will be held open for you with nothing to prove and nowhere to go wrong.
Spaces are limited. Check out the years schedule below.
Book a Workshop here!
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Paint Yourself Free! Let the brush and colour tell your story. September’s Intuitive Painting workshop is all about landing however you need into your internal landscape and letting your soul express itself freely.
What colours, images and marks are waiting to show up?
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BUY WORKSHOP PASS HERE!
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BUY WORKSHOP PASS HERE!
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BUY WORKSHOP PASS HERE!
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BUY WORKSHOP PASS HERE!
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BUY WORKSHOP PASS HERE!
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BUY WORKSHOP PASS HERE!
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BUY WORKSHOP PASS HERE!
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BUY WORKSHOP PASS HERE!
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BUY WORKSHOP PASS HERE!
Give the gift of presence, stillness, and creative awakening. This digital gift card creates a space for a loved one to join an intimate, private online Intuitive Painting workshop. Perfect for anyone looking for a gentle way to quiet a busy mind or just play with their creativity. 2 hours of paint, colour and freedom to be!
Gift Card: Intuitive Painting Workshop
Gift a sacred space for a loved one to play, let go, and explore colour without judgment. This digital voucher arrives instantly via email, allowing the recipient to book into our monthly fluid painting workshop and set up their own expressive art station at home.
Paint! Play! LIVE!
Creative Wellbeing Workshops
Online Courses & Workshops to do in your own time and at your own pace.
SOON TO BE RELEASED!
Mandala Making — circular, repetitive marks that soothe and centre
Drawing as Meditation — slow, mindful drawing as a form of presence
Painting as Meditation — colour and brushstroke as a way of listening inward
Playing with Paper — tactile, low-pressure creative play
Mark Making for Self-Expression — marks as a language beyond words
Mandala Making as Safe Containers — pattern and repetition as a way to hold what's difficult
Handmade Accordion Books — small, foldable books you make with your own hands, to carry your creative practice wherever you go