About

Please Note:
Sunrise Expressive Arts Studio will be permanently closing it’s doors in East Vancouver at the end of June 2024.

Sunrise Expressive Arts Studio (SEAS) is an Art Therapy  Studio located in the Hastings Sunrise neighbourhood of East Vancouver. 

SEAS offers a private oasis where we can make time and space for ourselves within the complex urban landscape of the Lower Mainland.  It allows for space and time to explore the world through our senses, activate our imaginations, engage playfulness, curiosity and self-expression, and connect to ourselves through the process of creativity and art-making. 

In order to cater to a wide spectrum of creative impulses and preferred mediums, the visual art materials and supplies at the studio include, but are not limited to: paper, pencil crayons, oil pastels, markers and felt pens, chalk pastels, watercolour paints, acrylic paints, canvases and easels, air drying clay, papier mache, pom poms, crafts, embroidery thread and sewing supplies, textiles, t-shirt making and designing, tie dying, yarn, collage images, sensory toys, beads, needle felting, organic and natural materials, stamps and ink pads.

 By offering an interdisciplinary approach to the creative process, we emphasize the common thread of imagination that weaves together all creative art forms. This way of working emphasizes how to let go into each moment, while extending the creative process indefinitely. At SEAS, there is an invitation to combine the visual arts with poetry, photography, spoken word, dance, mindfulness, movement, improv, theatre, digital art, drumming, movie making, podcasting, and nature-based crafts together into any sequence or combination. 

SEAS was founded in October 2020 by Nicole Parekh, MA, RCAT, RCC, DVATI. Nicole is a long time East Van resident and artist, as well as a Registered Canadian Art Therapist, Registered Clinical Counsellor and Expressive Arts Therapist. Her professional training includes completing a post-graduate diploma in Art Therapy from the Vancouver Art Therapy Institute, followed by a Master’s of Arts in Expressive Arts Therapy and Psychology from the European Graduate School.

Facilitating an art studio environment that is conducive to therapeutically exploring a variety of arts supplies and modalities was a main part of Nicole’s twelve+ years of experience working as an art therapist in a community health center for adults living with complex health issues in Vancouver BC. Nicole practices an interdisciplinary approach to Art Therapy which is heavily influenced by the field of the Expressive Arts Therapies. Both practices stem from the belief that creative self-expression is an innate human ability that can increase quality of life and support us all in coping with stressful life experiences and adapting to change.

Working with a diverse and varied group of adults and children throughout her career, Nicole has experience working with folks who are hoping to increase their quality of life, develop resources and find some support around:

• Anxiety, depression and trauma
• Stress Management
• Addiction and Substance Use
• Grief and loss
• Identity exploration (including gender, sexuality, and ancestry)
• Pain management
• Anger Management
• Personal Growth
• Creative Blocks
• Professional Burnout
• Life Transitions
• Self-Esteem and Self-Confidence
• Family Conflict
• Relationship Difficulties

No previous art or therapy experience is required to benefit from Art Therapy.