erica pang

Art Therapist / Painter / Creatress

i believe CREATING ART CAN help us OPEN The DOOR To MEETING OURSELVES.

My story

I believe creating art is one of the most important tools for Self Discovery. When I got to know the creative language of my soul, I was able to create a life that was more aligned to my desires. My choices became clearer and I began to understand myself on a much deeper level. However, giving myself permission to create was the hardest hurdle I had to get over. In my last year of Art school, my professor told me I shouldn’t pursue painting anymore. I took his advice and stopped creating any art for 3 years.

During those years, I was completely lost. I didn’t know who I was, I didn’t know what I wanted, what I liked or disliked. I ignored every part of my being and kept searching for myself. It wasn’t until I immersed myself in meditation and yoga that I heard my Creative Spirit wanting to be freed.

After a spiritual experience on the Big Island of Hawaii, I finally let go of all the voices that told me ‘I can’t’ and picked up the paintbrush again. For the first time in years, I painted for me, just because it felt good in my soul. This led me to participate in an art show and sell my first painting. From that point on, all my old beliefs started to shed and I knew there was no going back to living non-creative life. I also knew it was my mission to help others do the same.

Now, I am so grateful that I get to live and breathe my two favourite things: Art and Healing.

  • BFA from Emily Carr University of Art & Design, major in painting

  • Master’s level diploma from the Vancouver Art Therapy Institute

  • Over 10 years experience facilitating art in various settings with a focus on painting instruction, for corporate team-building and creativity workshops.

  • Over 6 years of Art Therapy work in schools, women centres, community centres, rehabilitation centres, senior homes and private practice.

EDUCATION & CREDENTIALS: 

online sessions

Begin the quest of fully understanding
yourself by making art in the comfort of your own home. I offer 1:1 sessions to help guide
you back home to yourself.

corporate wellness

Implement creative wellness into your workplace. Help your employees de-stress, build connection and communicate effectively with simple art-making techniques. No art experience is required.

peer consultations

Curious about the field of Art Therapy and how to actually become one? I offer 60 min sessions, where you can ask me anything about my journey. I share resources, tips and my full support.

artist
statement

Painting is a spiritual experience for me, and I take the process of making art as an opportunity for setting and following intentions. My painting begins with ritual—the scent of incense; the focus on deep breathing; the awareness of the energies around me. These are some of the ceremonial processes that connect me to my art.

I write affirmations on the first layer of my canvas—a process of blessing the piece and its creation. Then, I use flow and movement to explore the relationship between my spirituality and my artistic expression, weaving images of life—leaves and flowers, birds and insects—as an evocation of growth and energy. Each brushstroke is an intuitive dance that draws images from within myself to the canvas, but my choice of colours is always intentional.

I feel most myself when I am painting. But the process of painting is also transformative, and each piece teaches me something new about who I am. As Hugh Prather puts it, “always a new painting, always a new me.” For me, art is an interactive process of change, whereby creation does not only produce a painting. It also generates a new artist and, at my most hopeful, a new world.

get to know me deeper

what do i love?

Ocean views and sounds, deep conversations with friends and strangers, cooking for hours and feeding people that I love, forest walks, tending to my house plants, Saturday morning pancakes, sunflowers and anything colorful.

What is my ethnicity?

I am a proud Chinese Canadian! Growing up I never appreciated my culture but in the past few years, I am making it a mission to reclaim my roots. Right now, I am learning the art of Chinese painting and tai-chi as a path to reclaiming my ancestry.

Astrological sign?

Aquarius Sun, Capricorn Moon and Scorpio Rising.

Also, I’m a Projector in Human Design.