Restore + Explore: Reflective Writing and Intuitive Collage
Sun., May 4, 2025, 8:30–11 a.m.Sun., June 1, 2025, 8:30–11 a.m.Sun., June 8, 2025, 8:30–11 a.m.
Public: $40, Members: $30
Education and Visitor Center, Roger’s Classroom, and various garden locations
During each workshop, instructors Kimberly Lee and Victoria Clayton explore a different garden or work of art, followed by a nature-inspired creative writing prompt. As you connect with the beauty of the natural world, you’ll be encouraged to observe and reflect for inspiration and personal insight. Back in the classroom, we’ll continue the theme of each garden visit through intuitive collage-making, creating pieces that reflect your inner landscape. These collages will serve as a springboard for further journaling, deepening your connection to nature and your creative journey.
Join us for a journey to the serene beauty of the Japanese garden, where we’ll discover Suiseki stones, cherished as expressions of art and harmony in the home. With journaling prompts, we’ll reflect on the meaning of home and belonging. Back in the classroom, we’ll carry this reflection forward, crafting collages that delve into the themes of home and thresholds. Where do you feel truly at home? How can you carry this feeling with you, wherever you are?
Head to the galleries with us to explore the work of Mary Cassatt, whose impressionist art challenged societal limitations through innovation and resolve. We’ll reflect and write about the barriers we create for ourselves and what it takes to move beyond them to fulfill our goals. Returning to the classroom, we’ll craft collages centered on the theme of possibility, focusing on the limitations we’re prepared to release and the opportunities we’re ready to embrace.
The Shakespeare garden features a variety of lush plants and blooms, some mentioned in the literary giant’s masterpieces and others cultivated during his time. Surrounded by nature, we’ll engage in a meaningful letter-writing exercise, reaching to the past for wisdom and insight. Back in the classroom, we’ll turn our focus to the present, creating collages that will offer inspiration as we move forward with both purpose and courage.
Step into the kitchen garden, a space of growth and nourishment, as we explore the connection between nature and self-discovery. With thoughtful prompts, we’ll develop our own affirmations, considering the qualities we wish to nurture within ourselves. We’ll return to the classroom to create collages infused with images that celebrate our strengths and nurture our growth as we step into what’s next.
About the Instructors
Kimberly Lee, J.D., is a versatile writer, editor, creativity coach, and facilitator with a passion for nurturing the imaginative spirit. A graduate of Stanford University and University of California, Davis School of Law, she is a Guided Autobiography, SoulCollage®, and Journal to the Self® facilitator and serves on the board of Amherst Writers & Artists. A teaching artist with Hugo House, the Writing Salon, and the Loft Literary Center, Lee has led workshops at numerous retreats and conferences, including the Omega Institute, Arts & Healing Initiative, and the Expressive Therapies Summit. Her stories and essays have appeared in numerous publications and anthologies, including LA Parent, Words and Whispers, Toyon, and Minerva Rising, and on the BetterSleep app. She has served on the staffs of Literary Mama, F(r)iction, and Carve magazines. Lee trusts in the magic of miracles and synchronicity and believes that everyone is creative.
Victoria Clayton, M.A., brings a wealth of experience as an award-winning journalist, fiction writer and magazine editor, as well as a lifelong yoga and meditation practitioner. Her work has appeared in the Guardian, The Atlantic, the Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times, Forbes, Open Mind, Barrelhouse, Literary Mama, and many other publications. She has taught as an adjunct professor of communications at California Lutheran University and as a visiting instructor of literary journalism for the Intuitive Writing Project. Clayton has also served as a writer/editor for academic institutions and nonprofits, such as the California Health Care Foundation; the University of California, Irvine; and Providence Foundations. She’s certified in Reiki and UCLA’s Dance for All somatic movement program. She holds an M.A. from the Missouri School of Journalism and is an active member of the American Society of Journalists & Authors and SoCal Science Writing.
In-Person Class Ticketing Policies
Tickets are not sold at the door for this event.
To join the waitlist for this event, please email publicprograms@huntington.org. A space is not guaranteed, but you will be contacted if a space becomes available.
To receive a refund, you must cancel at least 5 days prior to the event. Cancellations made within 5 days of the event will not be refunded.