DuPage County Board Awards Grant to The Awakenings Project for Launching "Healing through Art" Workshops -- a Community Wellness Program

Art Therapist, Dianne Samp MA, LCPC, will head the wellness sessions starting on September 6, 2025, at Naperville Art League & Gallery, 508 N. Center Street in Naperville, IL. Registration information is below...

WEST CHICAGO, IL --- The DuPage County Board has awarded a grant to The Awakenings Project to launch "Healing Through Art," an affordable, innovative wellness program designed specifically for area residents seeking personal growth, stress management, and creative expression. No prior art experience is necessary and all supplies are provided. It will be offered at Naperville Art League & Gallery, 508 N. Center Street in Naperville as a series of four art workshops on Saturday afternoons September 6, 13, 27, and October 4 from 1:30-3:30 PM. Cost is $20 each or all four for $60. More workshops will be available in 2026.

The Awakenings Project, a non-profit founded in 1996 and based in West Chicago, has served the DuPage County community for nearly three decades through creative expression programs focused on mental health recovery. The organization also publishes an award-winning literary journal The Awakenings Review and operates an art studio at 164 Division Street in Elgin, IL. This generous grant now helps the organization expand its proven expertise even further through developing and providing community wellness workshops.

Dianne Samp, MA, LCPC (Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor) is the art therapist who will lead the workshops along with support from the Awakenings Project staff. Sessions guide participants through drawing, watercolor, and other creative techniques while integrating lessons on stress reduction, mindfulness, and emotional wellness. Exercises are designed to give participants tools for managing the everyday pressures of daily life and may be especially useful for individuals who are care-givers.

Dianne has a private practice where she utilizes expressive therapies including art to develop holistic care plans for her clients. Additionally, she is a Certified EMDR Therapist, Embodied Yoga Teacher, iRest Meditation Teacher, and Somatic Experiencing Practitioner. She specializes in working with individuals struggling with anxiety, trauma, performance anxiety, and women in transition facing the quandary of what to do next in their lives.

"Each session leads participants through techniques teaching grounding, mindfulness, breathwork and bilateral movement," Dianne explains. "They will also learn what I call Squiggle Art. It's non-threatening mark making. With eyes closed and using the non-dominant hand, there's no judgment as they place marks on paper. Once they open their eyes, they'll continue filling in the spaces of what they've drawn. This exercise can be very calming."  

BELOW ARE TWO EXAMPLES OF THE "MARK-MAKING" experience where a Micron Pen was used.

Other art techniques may yield an even more tactile experience such as using oil pastels where participants can actually feel what they're creating. Watercolor will also be added to the roster of approaches. At the end of the workshop series, participants will be able to put all these mediums together to make whatever they want.

"Mental health is not under the rug anymore," Dianne observes. "Our society is coming around to grasping that mental health is as important as physical health. We all get anxious, sad or mad. When one feeling gets bigger than the rest, these techniques can help a person not get stuck in that negative space. Now they can help themselves better manage their feelings, be more empowered and less helpless."

Workshops are designed to be self-contained so participants can either register for one or all.

Each session can accommodate up to 17 participants ensuring personalized attention and meaningful connections.

Registration opened on July 15, 2025, for the first series and is still accepting participants. The second workshop series opens in January 2026. Interested residents can find additional information or sign up here: awakeningsproject.org.

About The Awakenings Project

Founded in 1996, The Awakenings Project is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization based in West Chicago, dedicated to improving lives through creative expression.

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