Anchor the Shadow — Cyanotype Art Therapy Workshop in Cheltenham

Meet the part of you that protects, and make it visible in deep blue through cyanotype sun-printing.

What has this been trying to protect?

We all carry a part of us that steps in to keep us safe: the one that goes quiet, or takes charge, or smooths everything over. It is easy to treat that part as a problem. Here we do something different — we make it visible, and we ask what it has been guarding all this time.

We work with cyanotype, an old sun-printing process that turns light and shadow into deep Prussian blue. You place objects, plants and shapes on light-sensitive paper, let the sun do its work, and watch an image appear that you did not entirely plan. It is a quietly powerful way to look at the protective parts of yourself with more curiosity and less judgement.

This is the first in-person gathering of Return to Self, Term 4 of The Atlas Creative Circle.

What the morning looks like

· Arriving, settling, and noticing how you are today

· A short grounding practice before we begin

· Cyanotype printing, with all materials provided

· Time to look at what appeared, and what it might be saying

· A reflective close, and one small thing to carry into your week

What to know: all materials are provided. Wear clothes you do not mind marking — cyanotype chemistry stains. Tea and a warm welcome included.

The Atlas is a creative circle for those who carry more than words can hold. In most approaches art is a tool inside a talking frame — in the Atlas, the creative process itself is the therapy. No art experience is needed, and sharing is always your choice. All you need is to arrive.

Facilitated by Valerie Ogorodnyk, certified art therapy facilitator and founder of Active Kreative. One of five in-person gatherings in Term 4: Return to Self, running from 10 October to 5 December 2026.