The Pause Practice

The Pause Practice: Slow Art for a Fast World

Life is moving fast. Many of us are carrying full schedules, constant notifications, endless decisions, and the pressure to keep up. Over time, that can leave us feeling overstimulated, scattered, disconnected, and mentally drained.

The Pause Practice is a calming creative workshop designed to help you slow down, settle your attention, and reconnect with yourself and others through simple, meditative art-making.

This is not about being “good at art.” It is not about making something perfect. It is about using creativity as a practical tool for grounding, focus, stress relief, emotional awareness, and connection.

Research on digital media and multitasking shows that constantly switching between streams of information can make sustained attention more difficult and increase cognitive strain. A 2023 meta-analysis found a negative link between media multitasking and sustained attention, while a 2016 study found that 45 minutes of art-making significantly lowered cortisol, a biological marker connected to stress.

In this workshop, Rise Again Collective brings those ideas into a simple, accessible experience: slow art, guided reflection, and a structured pause from the speed of everyday life.

What We’ll Do

During this 2-hour workshop, you will be guided through a relaxing, repetitive pattern-making activity using simple lines, shapes, and marks. This process is designed to give your attention one clear place to land, helping the mind slow down while your hands stay gently engaged.

We will begin with a brief grounding and check-in, then move into a creative prompt around noticing what you may be carrying and giving yourself permission to pause. From there, you will create a slow, meditative artwork using repeated marks and patterns at your own pace.

There will be space for quiet making, optional reflection, and gentle connection with others. No one will be required to share, explain their artwork, or talk more than they want to.

You will have space to:

• Relax through calming, low-pressure creative practice
• Recharge by stepping away from constant input and focusing on one simple creative process
• Reconnect with yourself and others in a grounded, welcoming space

No art experience is needed. All materials are provided.

Who This Is For

This workshop is for anyone who wants a slower, more grounded creative experience.

You may connect with this workshop if you:

• Feel overstimulated, scattered, or mentally tired
• Want a break from screens, notifications, and constant productivity
• Are looking for a calming activity that does not require artistic skill
• Want to reconnect with creativity in a low-pressure way
• Enjoy reflective spaces, quiet connection, or hands-on making
• Are curious about using art as a practical wellness tool
• Want to spend time with others without needing to perform, explain, or be “on”

You do not need to identify as an artist. You do not need to be “creative.” You only need to be open to slowing down for two hours and trying something simple.

About Rise Again Collective

Rise Again Collective offers creative wellness and expressive arts workshops rooted in self-expression, emotional awareness, stress relief, reflection, and connection. RAC workshops are grounded, accessible, and evidence-informed, while allowing room for each workshop to have its own theme, purpose, and creative process.

Our work is not clinical therapy. It is creative wellness: structured, intentional art-making experiences that help people pause, reflect, connect, and return to themselves in practical and meaningful ways.

Tiered Pricing

Rise Again Collective uses tiered pricing to help keep community workshops more accessible.

Please choose the ticket level that best reflects your current capacity:

• Community Rate: A reduced-cost option for those who need a lower price in order to attend.
• Standard Rate: The suggested ticket price that helps cover materials, space, planning, and facilitation.
• Supporter Rate: A pay-it-forward option for those who are able to contribute more. This helps support accessible pricing for others.

No one is asked to explain their choice. No one is turned away. Choose the option that fits your situation honestly and sustainably.

Refund Policy

Tickets are refundable up to 7 days before the workshop.

Because materials, space, and seating are prepared in advance, refunds are not available within 7 days of the event. If you can no longer attend, you may transfer your ticket to another person by contacting Rise Again Collective before the workshop begins.

If the event is canceled by Rise Again Collective, all ticket holders will receive a full refund.

Event Details

Date: June 20
Time: 1:00–3:00 PM
Location: The Greenhouse / Good Work Institute
65 St. James St., Kingston, NY 12401. Street parking (no meters).

Limited seating. All materials provided.