A Canvas of My Year - Reflect, Renew, and Reimagine

As we approach the new year, we often think about beginnings and resolutions. But how often do we pause to reflect on where we’ve “arrived” at the end of the year?

"What does the word, "arrival" mean to me?"

December offers us a unique opportunity to pause and reflect. The celebration of Advent before Christmas, often seen in traditions like Advent calendars and gift boxes, reminds us of its deeper meaning. The word “Advent” itself means "arrival"—a wonderful opportunity to ask ourselves: What does this word, "arrival," mean to me?

A Canvas of My Year: Visual Collage Reflective Workshop

Participant in deep reflection, engaging with a wall of images that capture meaningful moments from their year.

To explore this idea of arrival, we introduced a visual collage workshop, inviting participants to create a reflective canvas of their year. Participants selected from over 100 images to piece together a personal visual narrative that reflected their year’s experiences. The goal of the session wasn’t about creating perfect artwork but rather an honest representation of their journey through the year—embracing both the highs and lows, with self-compassion.

During the process, participants were encouraged to recreate their chosen images, transforming them into personal reflections of their emotions and thoughts from the year, rather than being confined by the original compositions. It was inspiring to witness how this creative exploration allowed individuals to let go, trust the process, and create with intention. By leaning into their instincts, they reimagined and reshaped the images into unique expressions of their lived experiences through the year.

Participants were encouraged to explore their creative abilities by creating textures for the selected images. They engaged in activities such as crumpling, tearing, cutting, and painting over the images to highlight the emotional experiences of their year.

This workshop was open to all, regardless of artistic experience. Many participants found a sense of relief, solace, clarity and courage as they revisited their year through this creative process. Through their visual creations, they gained the courage to revisit both challenging and joyful moments, embracing their experiences as a whole instead of avoiding one or over-dwelling on another.

The activity also fostered a shared space for connection. Participants reported finding solace and empathy as they recognised the common humanity in their stories. Often, we can grow accustomed to the loneliness of our thoughts and emotions, becoming hesitant to open up. However, through honest art-making—piecing images together in ways that spoke to the participants—they not only embraced their unique experiences but also discovered shared humanity within the group. Suddenly, one’s pain no longer felt bigger or smaller than another’s. What emerged was the

understanding that we’re all human, navigating change and growth.

Participants carefully crafting collages, recreating their selected images to reflect their year

This resonates deeply with the words of Stanley Kunitz in his poem, The Layers:

"Though I lack the art

to decipher it,

no doubt the next chapter

in my book of transformations is already written.

I am not done with my changes."

Time never stops for us, but we can give ourselves the gift of time by pausing to reflect on where we’ve arrived this year. Doing so allow us to anticipate with hope and intentionality as we prepare and wait for the new year’s arrival.

Wishing you and your loved ones a blessed Christmas and a happy New Year!

Don’t miss our workshops for 2025—we’d love to see you there!

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A Canvas of My Year: Reflect, Renew, Reimagine Workshop Photo Gallery