Find creative joy and tend your inner light.
Creativity Circles, Workshops, and Tools for Growth
Creative joy is medicine.
Sometimes we lose touch with the part of ourselves that knows how to play, experiment, make a mess, and follow our whimsy.
Center for Spark is a place to find that part again.
Through creativity circles, workshops, and simple tools for growth, we use art as a way to slow down, listen inward, and discover what’s waiting to be noticed.
You don’t have to know what you’re making. Follow a color. Make a mark. Tear something up and put it back together. Let an image emerge. Sometimes what comes through surprises you. Sometimes it tells you something you already knew but hadn’t found words for yet.
Art has a way of speaking for the intuitive parts of us that words can't reach.
And something happens when we create alongside other people. We each have our own page, our own process, and our own discoveries. Then we share what emerged.
There’s a particular kind of connection that happens when we create together, share what emerges, and let ourselves be seen.
No art experience required.
Just curiosity, a willingness to play, and a place to begin.
Come find your spark.
Alison has a terrific energy that transmits compassion and excitement around therapeutic uses of art. This lightness and positivity opens up amazing opportunities for learning and self-exploration. A truly magnificent training experience!
- - Jonathan B., Clinical Intervention Specialist
Transformational! I left feeling more relaxed and inspired than I had been for many months.
— Andrea T., Therapist
Ali’s energy is contagious. She creates a space where everyone feels welcome and you leave feeling uplifted.
— Morgan L., Social Worker
Center for Spark
Creativity Circles
Art Workshops
Tools for Growth
About Ali
I'm Ali McKleroy, an art therapist turned creative guide, author, and lifelong artist. I've been a licensed therapist for more than 20 years and hold a master's degree in art therapy.
Center for Spark is separate from my therapy practice. It's a place to step outside the roles and responsibilities of everyday life and reconnect with your creative self.
Through creativity circles, workshops, and creative tools, I create experiences that invite you to slow down, get curious, play, and see what emerges when you give yourself permission to create.
My background in art therapy, mindfulness, somatic work, and parts work shapes how I design each experience. You don't need any therapy background or art experience to take part, only a willingness to show up as you are.
Join a Creativity Circle
A Creativity Circle is a small gathering where we come together to slow down, make art, and listen to what’s alive inside.
Each circle has a theme and follows a simple rhythm designed to help you shift out of your usual pace and into a more open, playful, intuitive state.
We begin by sharing cacao together as a grounding ritual. Cacao contains theobromine and other naturally occurring compounds that can support a sense of warmth, alertness, and well-being. We use this moment to arrive and set an intention.
Then the music begins.
With a curated playlist creating the atmosphere, you’ll be guided into a period of quiet art-making. There’s no right way to do it and nothing to figure out. You might paint, draw, collage, write, or simply follow whatever catches your attention. The invitation is to let yourself enter a state of flow and see what emerges when you stop trying to make something “good.”
At the end, we come back together to share what we discovered. You can talk about your piece, listen to what others noticed, or simply be witnessed in what you created.
People often leave feeling lighter, happier, more relaxed, and more connected to themselves. When you’re fully absorbed in making something, the mental chatter can quiet, time can fall away, and you can become completely immersed in the moment. There’s a freedom in being here, now, with nothing to accomplish and nothing to get right.
That state of flow can create space for fresh ideas, unexpected connections, and a different way of seeing something you’ve been carrying. You may discover a new idea or possibility that couldn’t quite find its way through words.
Who it’s for: Anyone who longs for more play, creative joy, self-connection, and meaningful connection with others.
Details: Small groups of up to 12 participants, held in a warm, welcoming space in Sebastopol.
“I left feeling more relaxed, inspired, and connected to my creativity than I had in months. The experience was joyful, engaging, and genuinely refreshing.”
[The workshop] made me feel like a kid again and reminded me how much joy there is in simply creating.”
“The balance of guidance and freedom was wonderful. I came away with new ideas, a fresh perspective,
“Ali creates such a warm, uplifting space. Her enthusiasm is contagious, and the experience gave me both practical tools and a deeper connection to myself.”