"Today, people can be so disconcerted that they feel they are blades of grass, but when they who know their grandparents and great-grandparents were, they become trees, they have roots, they can no longer be mowed down.” - Maya Angelou

Tapping Into Our Strength

During tumultuous times, allowing our roots to anchor us can help to provide much needed stability and grounding. Through the work that I do with my clients and students, we use the personal storytelling process as a way to connect to the source of our roots and trace them back to the strength that we find in the generations that have come before us. Tapping into this strength helps us to find grounding in ourselves, opening up the possibility for new growth and development.

A few questions to consider…

  • What are some of your core strengths that you feel have been passed down to you from previous generations in your family?
  • How have these strengths helped to shape the course of your life?
  • In what ways can these strengths help to lay the groundwork for the next chapter of your life?

Creating a Family Tree, Strength of Inheritance

Create your own illustrated family tree, highlighting qualities from all of the different family members that you feel that you draw your strength from. Through this process, you can also experiment with incorporating words into your image. Consider exploring this concept literally or metaphorically, with the goal of creating a piece that honors the strength of your roots and all which has grown from that source.

Join us for our Winter & Spring Workshops

Join us for our 2017 winter workshops, or contact Family Heirloom Arts to set-up a free initial consultation so you can learn more about how we can help you write and illustrate your own heirloom book for your family.

“Inspiring to think about the possibilities that exist within my family for beginning to share our stories.”
– Paula, Workshop Participant

Oral History Interviews
Writing & Editing
Book Layout & Design