Art Cures

Adriana Marchione, REAT, RSMT, Bridging Life and Art, Creative Therapist and Teacher, Filmmaker, Artist

Adriana is a filmmaker, teacher, speaker, movement educator and arts therapist. She supports people to bridge their creative expression and life experience.

01/01/2026

Happy New Year everyone!

Been nursing head colds over here, so the excitement of New Year’s Eve is take out pizza, chocolate peanut butter ice cream, wearing my fire red sweat pants, and watching Stranger Things.

Getting more reflective time than expected this holiday season, and still adjusting to winter nesting. I’m not complaining…

But do miss so many of you near and far.

12/31/2025

December always comes in a rush for me; wrapping up the end of the year, preparing for the holidays, showing up for work and clients, looking ahead to the new year, and the list goes on! I am keenly aware of how all of this activity is juxtaposed with shorter days and dormancy in the natural world. I feel the tension and then focus on patience knowing that rest is around the corner after the buzz dies down.

For many people I have the privilege of working with, creatives, deep thinkers and/or those who know the importance of spiritual growth, carving out quiet spaces to reflect is necessary. I have found that making space for contemplative time daily or weekly, vs. only allowing a slower pace during time off or on vacation, is crucial for my health on all levels.

I often see people running on empty and delaying self-care in relationship to exercise, meals, or regular hygiene. But putting off simple pleasures – such as taking time for a cup of tea, having a short nap during the day, or a leisurely walk – can also take its toll. Prioritizing creative and reflective time that feeds the soul is not only necessary but is also a sign of well-being.

Read the rest in my blog post "Art and Contemplation: Don’t Delay your Quiet Time" here: https://art-cures.com/art-and-contemplation-dont-delay-your-quiet-time/

Artwork by Maria Popova

12/24/2025

✨ Creative Gateways ✨
An Expressive Arts Series for Discovery and Reflection

Are you craving space to slow down, listen inward, and reconnect with your creative vitality?
Creative Gateways is an invitation to explore art, movement, and imagination as pathways for reflection, healing, and renewal.

Through visual art, creative writing, improvisational movement, and gentle somatic tools, we will gather in a supportive in person space to play, reflect, and restore. No art experience needed. Just curiosity and a willingness to show up as you are 💛

📍 Charlottesville, VA
🗓 Four Saturdays | Feb 21–March 14, 2026 | 1–3pm

🔗 Enroll via the link: https://art-cures.com/gateways/

12/17/2025

✨ The Fine Dance of Gratitude ✨

Many people use a gratitude list as a daily spiritual anchor. It can soften negative thinking, soothe inner pain, and offer a way to shift perspective when life feels heavy. Gratitude can be a place to rest when the world feels overwhelming. It can widen our view and help us breathe again.

And it is also true that gratitude cannot be forced. When we pressure ourselves to “be grateful” before tending to what hurts, we risk overriding our real emotions. We risk bypassing important needs.

This time of year brings beauty and joy, and it also brings its own tender weight. I know many people who are grieving, remembering loved ones who have passed, or feeling the ache of loneliness during holiday gatherings. Even in the rush of celebrations, melancholy can sit quietly beside us.

The practice is a dance. Holding what is precious while also honoring what is painful. Making room for gratitude without using it to silence the deeper truths within.

If you are navigating both this season, you are not alone.

Both your gratitude and your grief matter.

Both belong.

12/10/2025

Closing the Year with Creative Sanctuary
Saturday, December 13 • 1 to 2:30 pm ET

The end of the year often brings a swirl of errands, emotions, celebrations, and to-do lists. In the middle of all of that, it can feel rare to have a moment that belongs only to you. This Saturday’s Lab Time is meant to offer exactly that: a small sanctuary where your creativity gets to breathe. ✨

Instead of structured instruction, think of this gathering as a pause button for your inner world. A place to settle into your body, pick up whatever materials call to you, and simply follow your curiosity. Maybe you’ve been longing to sketch again, maybe you want to play with color, maybe you just want to sit among others who also value creative space. All of it is welcome. 🎨🧵💛

This is our final Lab Time of 2025, and it tends to carry a special feeling. People arrive with whatever the year has given them. Some come to reflect. Some come to reset. Some come to spark the beginning of something they want to carry into the new year. There is no right way to be here.

By donation, open to everyone, held in a warm and supportive atmosphere.

If you feel called to join us:
Saturday, December 13
1 to 2:30 pm ET

DM me or comment below to save your spot.

12/04/2025

Last Lab Time of 2026 | All Are Welcome | December 13, 2025

As we move toward the close of the year, many of us feel the quiet pull toward our creative lives, even when the days fill quickly and the weeks move fast. Lab Time is a space to answer that pull with intention. It is a simple, spacious virtual studio where you can show up for your practice in the company of others who are doing the same. 🌿

There is no assignment to complete and nothing to perform. These ninety minute sessions are designed to help you settle in, listen to what wants to emerge, and work with any medium that supports your expression. You might draw, paint, write, move, sew, or explore a creative thread you have been wanting to follow. 🎨✍️💃🧵

Lab Time is offered by donation and held with care. It is perfect for anyone who wants a gentle structure to help make space for their art before the year ends. 🤲

The final session of 2025 happens:
Saturday, December 13 from 1 to 2:30 pm ET

I would love to create alongside you during one of these gatherings. If you would like to attend, just DM me or comment below to RSVP.

🎨 Credit: Kathy Lunzman, created in a recent Art Cures Lab Time

11/28/2025

Turkey and gravy step aside In my family, food is art! Appetizer spread by my aunt and ice cream truffles made by my mom and brother. 🎨

11/26/2025

As we move toward the holiday season, gratitude is on everyone’s mind. Yet for many of us, this time of year can bring mixed emotions. We might feel thankful for what is good in our lives while also holding sadness, grief, or loneliness. Both can be true at the same time. 🌿💛

In my latest blog post, I explore how to honor the full range of your feelings without forcing gratitude or bypassing what needs attention. Creativity, embodiment, and honest reflection can help you hold the complexity of being human. 🎨✨

Read the full post here:https://art-cures.com/how-to-practice-gratitude-without-bypassing-emotions//

11/19/2025

Do you ever feel the pull to create, but the hours slip by before you even open the paint, the notebook, the sketch pad, the song, the movement?

You’re not alone. Creativity isn’t gone. It’s waiting. And sometimes all it needs is a container to finally breathe.

That’s what Lab Time is; a shared virtual studio where you show up for yourself alongside others doing the same. No assignments. No pressure. No finished product required.

Just 90 minutes of intentional creating with gentle community energy to hold the space.

Bring what whispers to you:
🎨 paint or collage
✍️ journaling or poetry
🎧 music or sound
💃 movement or somatics
🧵 sewing, beading, crafting
or something brand new you want to try

This is your permission slip to say: Yes, my creative life matters too.

Lab Time is by donation, pay what you can. Community supported, heart centered, process over perfection.

Ready to carve out space for yourself?

✨ Upcoming Lab Times
🗓️ Monday, November 24 • 6:30–8 pm ET
🗓️ Saturday, December 13 • 1–2:30 pm ET

Let’s make some art, together.

💬 Comment the word CREATE or send me a DM and I’ll send you the details.

11/12/2025

How are you holding up these days? What growth opportunities are present for you? What is stirring you creatively? Are you following a thread, or have you lost the thread?

11/11/2025

Do you crave art time but it escapes you as you manage the demands of daily life? I have an invitation for you..

Lab Time is a creative space where we come together to work on our own practices and projects. Providing the opportunity to carve out time for expression can open up possibility, curiosity and healing.

We’ll gather online for 90 minutes with clear intentions and creative flow. Bring whatever calls to you, paint, paper, writing, music, dance, and join a community that supports your creative practice.

✨ Upcoming Lab Times
🗓️ Saturday, November 15 • 1–2:30 pm ET
🗓️ Monday, November 24 • 6:30–8 pm ET
🗓️ Saturday, December 13 • 1–2:30 pm ET

Lab Times are by donation, pay what you wish.

💌 Comment below or DM me if you’d like to join and I’ll send you all the details!

11/10/2025

It’s hard to describe the beauty of fall.

🍃

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San Francisco, CA

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http://www.art-cures.com/

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Adriana is an arts therapist, movement educator, teacher, speaker, and filmmaker. She supports people to bridge their creative expression and life experience.