Spotlight on Claire Perkins 

August 1, 2010

Claire calls herself “The Artful Alchemist” because she uses her passions for art, journaling and dreamwork to spark alchemy in her clients’ lives. “Alchemy,” she says, “is the ancient process of turning lead into gold.  Artful alchemy is a process of turning whatever is leaden in your life into gold.” 

Certified as a Creative Journaling Expressive Arts Coach through Dr. Lucia Capacchione’s program, Claire describes her work as “art therapy without the therapist.”  You don’t need to be a fine artist to benefit from Claire’s healing arts.  In the expressive art process, you cut and paste collages and draw with crayons.  “It’s somewhat like a vision board,” she explains, “but at much, much deeper levels. Everyone becomes an artist of the heart.” 

“You need to get out of your head and into your heart,” she continues, “because that’s where you’ll find your true passion and joy.”  Using art and journaling together help you access internal messages and find your own answers as to how create lasting fulfillment and happiness in your life.  The idea is that by doing an art process, you “bypass all the garbage in your head and tap straight into the voice of the heart.”  It’s a direct connection. 

Claire uses a variety of tools to assist her clients to transform what’s not working into a “golden life.”  She conducts dream workshops twice a month, leads a Visioning group once a month, and offers Wonderful Wednesdays (an introduction to expressive arts) on the first Wednesday evening of each month. She is currently developing a series of online webinars covering the basics of dreamwork. Claire also loves to speak to groups about dreamwork and the expressive arts.  She offers personalized coaching in all of these areas and with grief recovery. 

A milestone in Claire’s life was the publication of her book, The Deep Water Leaf Society.  This memoir describes her journey from grief to healing after the death of her oldest son, Cameron.  It reaches out and touches every heart that has lost someone deeply loved, and it affirms that life not only continues on the other side but that our loved ones are only a thin veil away.  Her saga in dealing with her grief affirmed for her that Cameron was indeed alive and well and often communicating with her.

Claire says that The Deep Water Leaf Society also illustrates how the work she does as a coach actually worked for her.  She was just learning the expressive arts techniques as she dealt with her grief.  “I was able to apply all of the tools I teach to my own deep grief.  So The Deep Water Leaf Society is not only my personal story.  It’s a powerful guidebook for anyone experiencing a meaningful loss.” 

The title of the book came in a dream that brought her guidance about how she would recover from grief.  Some day, she may create just such a society for those who need help with grief recovery.  Currently, she’s working on a companion journal for her book which she plans will “turn my personal experience into a practical how to for someone else’s journey.”  Did we mention that The Deep Water Leaf Society was picked by Reader Views as their choice for the best nonfiction book of the year in 2009? It also received an honorable mention in the Life Stories category of the 2009 Writer’s Digest’s International Self-Published Book Awards. 

Claire lives in Mesa with her husband David, three cats and a dog.  Her son, Ryan, lives in Arizona and her daughter, Sarah, son-in-law, Justin, and grandson, Mace, reside in Colorado.  She is also a part-time caregiver to her mom, Theresa, who lives nearby. She is one of those rare, native Arizonans, born and raised in Phoenix. While she has lived in other states, she says, “We just keep coming back to Arizona. It’s home. It’s in the blood. My husband and I are desert rats at heart.” What she likes best about Arizona is “the fabulous weather we have 9 months of the year --if you can survive the summer to enjoy them, that is!”

Something very few people know about Claire is that she loves to garden. “You’ve got to love a state where, with a little planning, you can be enjoying your own home-grown, fresh picked produce nearly year round.” What would she choose if she was about to have her last meal on this planet? “Since I'm leaving the planet anyway, there's no need to think healthy, so I'm going out with a bottle of wine in one hand and a chocolate fudge cake (heavy on the icing) in the other!”

Claire says she found AZHCC by synchronicity.  She was at SWIHA one day, picked up a holistic newspaper and saw an ad for the chamber.  “Wow, what a good fit!” she thought.  She came to lunch, loved it and the rest is history.  For two years she volunteered to manage the membership database, and now she’s overseeing the Peace Mandala project. 

How did Claire become “The Mandala Lady?”  She says she was deeply inspired by President Janet Gangl’s story of peace at the January meeting. She thought “that fits perfectly with what I do.”  Together they brainstormed and decided that it was a much bigger vision than either had guessed.  Eventually they chose to make the Peace Mandala a year long project so that all AZHCC members could participate.  Claire takes all the magazine pictures and words that are contributed and artistically creates concentric rings, building outward, one theme at a time.  Everyone who chooses to contribute can, and then Claire creates unity with whatever she is given. 

Do you have dreams that you’d like to unravel?  Do you have grief that you haven’t resolved?  Would you like to transform your path into a golden life?  Contact Claire Perkins, AZHCC’s Mandala Lady and the Artful Alchemist. (www.ArtfulAlchemist.com)