About HeartTending

Dream Warrior Story Mask

Since the beginning of time, we have gathered in circle to drum, sing, dance, tell stories, weep, laugh…even howl. It is within the safety of circle we feel empowered and connected. In the light of this connection, we are free to call up what is hidden in the depths of our hearts, give it voice through colorful imagery, and honor its truth by telling our stories.

HeartTending helps us weave our own pieces together towards wholeness, birthing self-acceptance and heart-centered strength. It reconnects us with our own authenticity which then expands to a deeper connection with others.

Conceptually, HeartTending is founded in our human capacity for self-healing through art. To this end, ritual, art-making, and storytelling are synthesized into a holistic process that provides a way for individuals to uncover and give “voice” to the hidden effects of buried trauma including shame, grief, fear and pain, as well as access new inner resources of forgiveness, joy, wisdom and strength.

HeartTending serves as a bridge between ancient and contemporary methods for reconnection and healing. The ancient past comes alive through intentional circle ritual, creating a safe and sacred space for the discovery of stories buried within the imaginal cave of one’s own heart. Through art-making, past merges with present and future into a timeless visual story of wholeness and balance. When we gather together in storytelling—sharing our descent into the heart and back—we deepen our sense of belonging and community. We become empowered and reconnected.

Ritual creates a safe container in which healing and positive change can harmoniously occur. Practicing ritual in a manner similar to our ancient ancestors brings into our existence the immense power contained in the past and in its symbolic archetypes.

Art-making playfully accesses the unconscious and brings to light anything still lurking in the shadows. It gives voice to the repressed or undiscovered aspects within each of us through color, shape, and texture.

Storytelling, non-linear and organic in nature, resides within the marrow of our bone. Speaking authentically makes visible our rage, pain, vulnerabilities and fears, and places them out in the open, side-by-side with our joy, compassion and strength.

Power and Symbolism of the Circle in Ritual: The circle—throughout history, and across all cultures—has been a widely accepted symbol of wholeness, oneness, balance, and eternity. A circle closes a space, holding all that is within it safe, strengthened and protected. It is an ancient symbol—a space where all things and all people are equal.

“Everything an Indian does is in a circle, and that is because the power of the world always works in circles, and everything tries to be round.”

From the book, Black Elk Speaks: Being the Life Story of a Holy Man of the Oglala Sioux by John G. Neihardt

I have witnessed those who attend my healing art workshops emotionally release deeply buried images and feelings. Many of them have shared with me how the process brought forth stories and feelings they hadn’t previously been in touch with. One soft-spoken woman remarked, “I didn’t even know how much anger I had inside until I started painting. As you were guiding us through the cave meditation, I forgot anyone else was in the room. It all just came pouring out onto the canvas.”

The methods I employ for HeartTending are based on my belief that self-healing occurs as one embodies what is arising while creating the art regardless of any meaning attributed to the art and any understanding reached thereafter through the analysis of it. In my opinion, the actual process of creating art, and whatever arises while in process, results in a spontaneous embodiment of the meaning itself (whether that meaning is ever intellectually understood or not).

My beliefs and methods are not intended to replace or diminish the healing impact of analytical approaches or professional art therapy. My intension is merely to employ my experiential learning and contribute, through HeartTending, an alternative or supplemental approach to the current body of healing practice and theory. My ultimate goal is to offer an art-based approach to reconnection and self-healing and empower individuals who prefer to explore alternative and holistic methods.

To “heal” means to recover, to rebuild, to rectify. HeartTending helps facilitate all three.

Kim McAndrews, HeartTending®

© 2013 Kim McAndrews

Meet Kim McAndrews

Kim McAndrews, HeartTending® Founder

Through her previous experience as a licensed foster parent for traumatized teens, and her ongoing studies in psychology, art and spirituality, Kim discovered the combination of art-making, ritual, and storytelling to be a tincture for reconnection and self-healing. She calls this three-fold process, HeartTending. 

It was through my earliest experiences as a foster parent—making art with my teenage daughters as a way to bond—I first discovered that connection, as well as emotional and psychological self-healing, can be facilitated and nurtured by the process of creativity. At the time I did not know formal art therapy existed. Nor did I intentionally employ art as a means for calming distress. I simply did what I naturally did … I “made stuff,” and I invited the girls to “make stuff” with me. Together we learned that, with much patience and mutual encouragement, our creative sessions were a beautiful way to build confidence, connection and a new form of constructive language through play. Art-making also became a “voice” for safely expressing emotions and memories related to stress, loss and trauma.

My views on the capacity for self-healing through creativity began taking shape as I watched my foster daughters in the process of creating art. Regardless of the nature or intensity of emotions that were being expressed in the images they created, and the ways in which they used the art materials (e.g. drawing slowly with soft pressure or scribbling feverishly with heavy pressure), when they were finished, they were generally more relaxed and displayed a sense of peace and relief. This appeared to be true whether they were engaged in a lighthearted craft project for fun, or a more serious process of drawing or painting emotional distress. In the case of the latter, rarely did either girl ever “understand” the meaning behind what she painted or drew. Yet, the peace that followed could not be disputed. Each girl appeared to “process” her own inner distress without ever extracting a significant intellectual understanding of the meaning of the art she had created. In our house, art-making became a way to self-heal via process rather than analysis. 

Years later, my love for psychology, spirituality and self-healing took new flight when I began combining my personal art-making sessions with circle ritual and discovered new lines of communication with my own subconscious. This process also made me feel more connected to the “soul of the world,” and began teaching me—through poetry and powerful imagery—how to extend my healing beyond the personal and forge more harmonious earth paths. New contradictions started arising through my art—shadow and light, pain and peace, fear and courage—and I began experiencing deeper feelings of compassion, empathy, connection and equality than I had ever experienced before.

By bringing my shame, my fears, and anything that feels like a “valley” into the light of my own consciousness—by turning my shadow into art and giving it visual voice—I am learning how to better hear the calling of my own soul, and act upon it lovingly and responsibly.

Kim McAndrews earned her BA in Liberal Arts with a concentration in Psychology from Antioch University–Seattle. She is in the process of earning her masters in Clinical Mental Health Counseling and Art Therapy.