Art Beyond Memory

You bring the stories. I bring the art

Together, we give those memories new life.

A gentle creative experience where your memories can become something you can see, touch, keep and share.

No art experience is needed. Just your stories, your memories, and a little time together.

Every Memory Holds a Story

There are moments in our lives that stay quietly with us.A place. A person. A sentence we still remember.

A photograph. A feeling. A small moment that, somehow, helped shape who we are today.

Art Beyond Memory is an invitation to bring one of those memories to the surface and give it a place to live.

Through simple creative techniques, conversation and personal guidance, your memory slowly becomes a visual page something meaningful that belongs only to you and your story.

How Art Beyond Memory Began

My name is Marcia Aftimus, and Art Beyond Memory began with my own memories and emotions

I was born in Brazil and now live in Canada, far from my two children. Being away from them made me think about the many experiences from my life that they had never known, stories I had carried with me for years.

One day, I decided to put one of those memories on paper. As I painted and drew, something unexpected happened.

I wasn't simply remembering the experience. I was reconnecting with it. Happy memories became something I could celebrate and preserve. More difficult memories could be looked at from a different perspective,

with new colors, images and meaning.

And I began to realize that our memories don't have to remain only inside us.They can become something we can see, hold, share, and one day leave for the people we love. That personal experience became Art Beyond Memory.

A Little About Me

I’m Marcia Aftimus, a Brazilian-born visual artist, mother of two, and the creator of The World Beyond the Surface,

an art project developed for healthcare and hospice environments. My work includes pieces created for a

hospital in Duncan and for Cowichan Hospice.

Over the years, I have become increasingly interested not only in making art, but in what art allows us to feel, remember, express and share.

This way of seeing art has also shaped the way I work with others. I especially value one-on-one experiences and small groups, where I can offer personal guidance, listen closely, and support each person as they bring their own emotions, memories and experiences into the creative process.

For me, the goal is not simply to teach an art technique or create a beautiful finished piece. It is to create a supportive space where art can become a way to explore something personal, give it form, and perhaps see it from a new perspective.

Art Beyond Memory brings together two important parts of who I am today: my work as an artist and my desire to support others as they explore their own emotions, memories and personal stories through creativity.

How the Experience Works

Before We Meet Your experience begins before our first creative session. I will invite you to choose something connected

to a memory you would like to explore.

It might be a photograph, a few written words, a phrase, a place, an object, a person, or simply a story you remember.

You will share that with me approximately one week before we meet.

From what you send me, I will prepare a personal creative kit especially for your story, so that when we meet, we already have a beautiful place to begin.

Our First Creative Session

Our first session is about creating the world around your memory. Using simple and playful techniques such as paint, sponges, stencils, stamps, colored pencils and markers, we begin by creating backgrounds, textures, colors and layers.

There is no pressure to know how to draw or paint. There is no right or wrong way to do it. I will be beside

you throughout the process, showing you simple possibilities and helping you discover what feels right for your page.

Each session lasts approximately 2–3 hours, allowing everyone to work at their own pace.

Our Second Creative Session

During our second session, the story begins to come alive. We bring your personal elements into the background you created; photographs, images, words, handwriting, details, colors and textures.

Little by little, the memory takes its own shape. Some pages may feel complete at the end of our time together.

Others may continue to grow later, as new thoughts or memories appear.

A memory does not have to have a final ending — and neither does your page.

A Personal Experience

Shared or One-on-One Art Beyond Memory can be experienced individually or in a very small

group of up to four people.

In a one-on-one experience, our time is completely centered around your story and your creative process.

In a small group, something else can happen. Although everyone is working with a different memory,

we are sharing the same human experience of remembering. There can be a quiet sense of connection in realizing that every person carries stories, emotions and experiences that have shaped their life.

We create individually, but we do not have to feel alone in our remembering.

More Than Making Art

You may come because you want to preserve one particular memory.But along the way, you may discover something else.
You may remember details you had forgotten.
You may discover that creating with your hands feels good.
You may want to make another page for another memory.

And perhaps one day, you will sit with your children, grandchildren, family or someone you love and say:

Did you know this happened to me? instead of having only the story to tell, you will have something beautiful and

personal in your hands to help you tell it.

A page that can begin a conversation.
A page that can preserve part of your history.
A page that says:This happened. This mattered. This is part of who I am.

Your Experience Begins Before We Meet

Art Beyond Memory is much more than the time we spend together at the table.

Your experience begins when you share your story with me.

Before our first session, I take time to listen to what you would like to explore and personally prepare for your creative process.

I research ideas, gather images and references, select materials, and prepare elements that may help your memory find its way onto the page.

Because every story is different, every experience is prepared individually.

Your experience includes personalized preparation, your individual creative kit and materials, two guided creative sessions of approximately 2–3 hours each, and my personal support throughout the entire process.

From the moment you share your memory with me, I am already working with your story.

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Investment

Personal Art Beyond Memory Experience

$230 CAD

Includes:

Personalized preparation based on your story or memory
An individual creative kit prepared especially for you
All art materials used during the experience
Two private guided creative sessions of approximately 2–3 hours each
Personal guidance and support throughout the creative process

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Small Group Art Beyond Memory Experience

$190 CAD per person

For small groups of 2–4 participants.

Each participant brings their own memory and receives individual preparation and materials while sharing the creative experience in an intimate group setting.

Includes:

Personalized preparation for each participant
An individual creative kit for each person
All art materials used during the experience
Two guided creative sessions of approximately 2–3 hours each
A small and supportive environment with personal guidance throughout the process

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Continue Your Story

Your first Art Beyond Memory experience does not have to be the last.

As new memories surface, you may feel inspired to continue creating — adding another page, exploring another story, or developing a collection of memories over time.

Continuing Creative Session

$50 CAD / 1 hour

Individual sessions are available for those who would like ongoing creative guidance, companionship and inspiration as their collection of memory pages grows.

One memory can become a page. Many memories can become the story of a life

Your Stories Matter

We all carry memories that deserve to be remembered.

Some make us smile.

Some remind us of the people we have loved.

Some help us understand where we came from.

And some simply remind us that we have lived.

Art Beyond Memory is a gentle space to honor those experiences through creativity, conversation and time together.

You bring the stories.I bring the art.Together, we give those memories new life.