CREATIVE PRACTICE FOR SENSITIVE & NEURODIVERGENT CREATIVE WOMEN

For creative women who want to make art with others, connect around shared interests, have lunch together, go for a bush walk together, and make a community art studio feel like home.

Think of it like a weekly retreat — a place to slow down, be in nature, make things, connect and be yourself without the pressure to perform.

You might be someone who is capable, independent and functioning well in many areas of your life, while also finding the world around you exhausting, overstimulating or difficult to navigate.

You might have a strong creative vision but struggle to give it consistent attention.

You might have lots of ideas, but find it difficult to turn them into something sustainable.

You might be socially capable but still experience loneliness.

Or you might simply want to spend time with people who understand your way of seeing things, your pace, your quirks and your need to express yourself.

The NEST group for creative women is intentionally held for the good part of a day so that being yourself amongst other women gradually becomes normal.

There is time to make, time to talk, time to eat together, time to walk, and time to simply be.

The aim is to create a small and committed community that quietly celebrates each woman’s way of being and backs each other as we slowly venture forth.

From that foundation, we can begin to find the people beyond our little enclave who will listen to and support our work — whatever shape it takes.

Perhaps you’re an environmentalist wanting to run forest bathing workshops, an artist wanting to exhibit, a writer wanting to be published in a literary journal, or simply someone who wants to take your creative practice more seriously.

We’ll learn how to track our nervous system so we don’t push ourselves too far, too soon.

We’ll learn how to take one step, then another, so we can make sustainable progress rather than burn out from the weight of our vision, or stall indefinitely because of fear of the unknown.

Whatever goal we have, whatever we turn our attention to during a session, a foundation of being here, now, is laid from the beginning.

In that way, we develop a practice of being inwardly still and receptive so we can experience a greater sense of wellbeing, and open ourselves to creativity in that wondrous and mysterious way that it arises — nothing personal, but emanating from our person.

Welcome to Hollow Vessel

Hollow Vessel is based at Allwood Neighbourhood House in Hurstbridge, Victoria.

We will be running one-to-two NEST groups throughout the school terms in 2027 and beyond.

The NEST group will run as a 4-week taster in mid-Term 4 in 2026.

The NEST group will be facilitated by Jasmine Powell of Hollow Vessel, a qualified social worker, writer and artist with lived experience, together with a trusted professional serving as a support worker.

Before sharing the details of the NEST group, I’ll explain how the group centres on therapeutic social work through creativity and connection.

Creative practice, connection and social work

This small, supportive group combines creative practice, guided reflection and social-work intervention to support people experiencing psychosocial vulnerability.

I don’t use the word “disability” to describe the people who come here.

The group is for women who identify as creative and with a sensitivity that shapes how they see and experience the world.

They are particularly suited to women who may be functioning well on the surface while finding aspects of social connection, emotional regulation, participation or creative development more difficult than they appear.

The groups provide a gentle, structured way to explore ideas, express yourself, connect with others and practice new ways of engaging with everyday life.

They are facilitated by a qualified social worker and a support worker and are designed around participants’ individual goals, strengths and circumstances.

What we work on

Depending on your goals, the NEST group may support you to:

• build confidence in social situations
• develop and maintain meaningful relationships
• reduce social isolation and increase connection
• recognise and communicate your needs
• develop emotional awareness and regulation skills
• understand your nervous system and recognise when you are approaching your limits
• explore strengths, interests and values
• establish meaningful routines and activities
• increase confidence participating in community settings
• identify barriers to participation and develop practical strategies
• try new experiences in a supportive, low-pressure environment
• develop greater confidence in your creative practice
• gradually build confidence in sharing your creative work with others

The intention is not to “fix” the parts of you that don’t fit easily into the world.

It is to develop a better understanding of yourself, your environment and what allows you to participate in a way that is sustainable.

What happens in a NEST group?

A typical session combines three elements:

Make

We spend time making something.

Activities are accessible and adaptable. You’re also free to work on your own projects.

The emphasis is not on producing something impressive. Making gives us something to focus on together and another way of exploring what is happening within us.

Reflect

We create space to notice what the experience brings up — thoughts, feelings, preferences, strengths, challenges and discoveries.

Reflection might be through conversation, writing, observation or simply noticing.

Connect

Conversation and shared activity provide opportunities to practice communication, connection and participation in a way that does not require you to perform or disclose more than you want to.

There is no expectation that you will be constantly social.

You can work quietly alongside someone.

You can join a conversation.

You can listen.

You can have lunch together.

You can go for a walk together.

Over time, these ordinary experiences can become the foundation for meaningful connection.

The emphasis is on gradual development.

You are not expected to become more confident overnight or participate in ways that don’t feel right for you.

From making to sharing

For participants who want to take their creative practice further, the NEST group can also provide a pathway toward sharing work beyond the group.

As confidence and readiness develop, optional support may include:

• identifying and developing a body of work
• thinking about how you want to present your work
• preparing work for exhibitions, markets or other opportunities
• developing an artist profile and creative identity
• exploring appropriate ways to share your work online
• understanding basic aspects of creative business development
• identifying opportunities to connect with wider creative communities
• gradually developing the confidence to speak about your work

This isn’t about turning your creativity into a business before you’re ready.

And it isn’t about forcing yourself into a version of “professional artist” that doesn’t fit.

The focus is on gradually building the confidence, skills and practical knowledge to decide whether — and how — you want to share your work more widely.

For some people, that might mean exhibiting.

For others, it might mean publishing, facilitating workshops, joining a creative community, selling their work, applying for opportunities, or simply becoming more comfortable allowing other people to see what they make.

There is no prescribed destination.

A social work approach

Social work looks beyond the individual to consider the relationship between a person’s wellbeing and the world around them — including relationships, environment, community, identity, meaningful activity and access to support.

This means we don’t simply ask:

“What’s wrong?”

We also explore:

What matters to you?

What gets in the way?

What helps?

What relationships and environments support you?

What allows you to feel more like yourself?

What would meaningful participation look like for you?

Creative practice gives us another way to explore these questions.

Sometimes we understand something by talking about it.

Sometimes we understand it by making something.

Sometimes we understand it by noticing what happens when we sit beside another person and make something quietly together.

Your goals come first

Before participating, we discuss what you would like support with and whether the group is appropriate for you.

Your goals might relate to connection, confidence, communication, emotional regulation, meaningful activity, community participation, creative development or another area of psychosocial wellbeing.

We then use the group environment and creative activities intentionally to support those goals.

You don’t need to arrive with a grand creative ambition.

You don’t need to be an “artist”.

You don’t need to be struggling visibly.

You simply need to have an interest in creativity and a desire to develop your life in some way through making, reflection and connection.

This is not an art class, and it is not group therapy in the traditional sense.

It is a therapeutic social-work group led by a writer and artist with lived experience that uses creative practice as a way of supporting psychosocial wellbeing, skill development, participation and, where appropriate, progression toward sharing creative work with a wider audience.

At its heart, it is a place to make, connect, become more deeply yourself, and gradually find your way into the wider world.

Okay, so that’s the context. These are the details:

NEST

Art · Writing · Self-care · Meditation

NEST is a creative practice group for women who want to make space for themselves, their ideas and their creative life.

Centred on art, writing, self-care and meditation, NEST is a place to slow down, turn inward and reconnect with what matters.

You might already have a creative practice, or you might simply feel that there is a creative part of you that wants more room in your life.

You may have ideas you’ve been carrying for years.

You may make things privately but find it difficult to share them.

You may want to write, paint, draw, make, develop a body of work or simply spend more time doing something that feels like you.

NEST is about creating the conditions for that to happen.

We’ll spend time making, writing, meditating, reflecting and sharing space with other women. There is no pressure to produce something, be productive, or explain yourself.

The intention is to develop a sustainable relationship with your creative practice — one that supports your wellbeing rather than becoming another thing you feel you have to perform.

We’ll explore how to recognise when we need rest, when we are ready to stretch ourselves, and how to move between the two.

We’ll learn how to listen to ourselves more closely, notice what gives us energy and what depletes us, and develop ways of caring for ourselves that make space for creativity rather than putting it permanently at the bottom of the list.

Creative development

For women who want to take their creative practice further, NEST can also include optional support with developing and sharing your work.

This might include:

• developing a body of work
• finding a sustainable creative routine
• overcoming creative blocks
• developing confidence in your creative identity
• preparing work for exhibition or publication
• beginning to share your work online
• exploring creative business ideas
• thinking about workshops, markets or other opportunities
• taking the first steps toward making your creative practice more visible

There is no expectation that creativity needs to become a business.

The point is to give your creative life enough space and attention that you can discover what you actually want to do with it.

Who is NEST for?

NEST is open to people who identify as women and who are drawn to creativity, reflection and a quieter way of connecting with others.

It may suit you if you:

• want more creativity in your life
• feel disconnected from your creative self
• have a creative practice but struggle to maintain it
• have ideas you want to develop
• want to write or make art alongside other women
• experience social connection more easily through shared activity
• want to develop greater awareness of your needs and limits
• are interested in meditation, stillness and self-care
• want to gradually build confidence in sharing your creative work
• are curious about where your creativity might lead

NEST is not about becoming more productive.

It is about creating enough space to hear yourself, make something, and discover what wants to emerge.

A place to put down roots before venturing further into the world.

Tuesdays 9.30am – 3.30pm

Running weekly on Tuesdays throughout 2027 during the school terms for 10-weeks each term.

4-week Taster run mid-term 4 in 2026.

Capacity of six women in the group.

Facilitated by Jasmine Powell of Hollow Vessel and a co-facilitator (facilitator TBC).

Cost for 4-week taster: $1,070.28*

Cost per 10-week term:$2,675.70*

*For NDIS participants, Jasmine’s role is billed as Capacity Building – Therapy Supports, and her co-facilitator’s role is billed as Core Supports – Social and Community Participation.

READY TO FIND OUT IF HOLLOW VESSEL IS RIGHT FOR YOU?

If NEST sounds like something you’ve been looking for, the next step is to book a 20-minute discovery call with Jasmine.

This is a relaxed conversation to talk about you, your creative interests, what you’d like to develop, and what you’re hoping to get from being part of a group.

You don’t need to prepare anything.

You don’t need to know exactly what you need support with.

And you don’t need to decide whether you’re ready to join before we speak.

We’ll talk about:

• what you’re currently making, writing or exploring
• what you’d like to have more space for in your life
• what you’re finding difficult or would like to develop
• how the group works and what participation looks like
• any questions you have about the NDIS side of things
• whether Hollow Vessel feels like the right environment for you

It’s also an opportunity to get a sense of me and the space before deciding whether you’d like to come along.

The groups are small and intentionally held, so finding the right fit matters.

Book a 20-minute discovery call below.

There is no obligation to join. The purpose of the conversation is simply to see whether we might be a good fit for each other.

Book a 20-Minute Free Discovery Call HERE

TO ENQUIRE email me: nobodyathollowvesseldotau

Hollow Vessel
Allwood Neighbourhood House
Hurstbridge, Victoria

Facilitated by Jasmine Powell, qualified social worker, writer and artist with lived experience and founder of Hollow Vessel.