
Leader
- Kathie MacDuff
Kathie MacDuff is an artist, graphic designer and journalist who captures her artistic passions within her signature program, Creative Journaling. For the past 26 years, she has been teaching creative journaling as well as courses in watercolour, mixed media and a wide assortment of paper arts including book binding.
She is the Expressive Arts Team Lead at Wellspring Calgary where she’s been a regular facilitator offering many and varied courses over the past fourteen years in person and on Zoom. She was a forerunner instructor with the Tom Baker Cancer Center leading to the establishment of their Medicine in Art initiative and was involved with a year-long research program with the Primary Care Network Pain Clinic studying the effects of creativity on pain and depression.
She facilitated classes at the Good Shepherd Art Studio in Calgary since its inception in 2006 to 2022 and is a regular guest instructor and speaker at many retreat and conference centres throughout Alberta and British Columbia.
Most recently, she relocated to British Columbia where she works as Associate Director of the Sorrento Conference and Retreat Centre overseeing Expressive Arts programming amongst other things.
Her vision is to facilitate creative experiences that encourage connections, validate emotions, and nourish the soul. She finds fulfillment of these goals thanks to the wonderful people she gets to hang out with!

Journey with John O’Donohue (Tuesdays)
Creative Journaling Zoom: Journey with John O’Donohue
In our recent “JOY” study, I was deeply moved by John O’Donohue’s writings on ancestors to the point that I thought this next session must be about him. He said, “If our style of looking becomes beautiful, then beauty will become visible and shine forth for us.” How can we encourage this way of seeing? Maybe by immersing ourselves in his philosophy, his thoughts and words, we will come to appreciate more beauty. In this six-week session, we will learn a little of his life and explore his feelings on belonging, life’s thresholds and other concepts including beauty, all the while allowing his poetic insights to influence our pages.
$75 for six weeks – Online every Tuesday, March 28-May 2, 2023
9:00 a.m.– 10:30 a.m. PST (10:00 –11:30 a.m. MST)
In Creative Journaling, a theme is presented and participants are invited to use words, imagery and a variety of mixed media techniques to unearth, explore and record their unique responses, thoughts and emotions. Participants are united in hope, support and camaraderie as they uncover their inherent creativity. A safe and creative space is born where negativity is banished leaving only room for meaningful connection, self-expression and healing.
Also offered on Thursday evenings…
Payment process
The following is very detailed information about paying with a credit card through Sorrento’s online booking system. Please don’t be overwhelmed, it is actually very easy once you’ve gone through it. Otherwise, please call 1–866–694–2409 and the office will be able to arrange an E-Transfer.
- Click here to begin the process
- Enter March 28 (the day the class begins) in the Arrival Date space (ignore the departure date) Record the number of adults you are registering and scroll to the bottom of the page.
- Click on Program and scroll to Sorrento Centre Program-Expressive Arts and click on it; then click on Search. The class will show in Online Events (no need for accommodation) and press Book It.
- Complete the form if you’ve never taken a class from Sorrento or fill in your name and email address and press Find and the program will complete the form for you.
- Press Continue and click on Creative Journaling. You’ll click on Continue a few more times to bypass the meal option etc.
- At the bottom of the page is a tiny box to check which says, I have read and agree… (The $150 deposit does not apply here even though that is what it says). Click Continue and your next page contains an edit feature for you to make any corrections.
- Click Continue again to get to the Payment Information page.
- After completing this, click Make Booking and you are done! Phew!