New Moon Magic Studio and Gallery is stocked with colorful supplies.
Submitted Photo
S. ABINGTON TWP. — Kim Simmel believes art is a powerful healing modality that enhances well-being, improves self-awareness, and helps individuals explore their emotions. She describes herself as a lightworker who works with the higher realm to help raise consciousness to a higher level. That’s what she emphasizes in her art studio, New Moon Magic Studio and Gallery, at 307 Layton Road.
Simmel specializes in abstract art, working in mixed-media acrylic and acrylic with a touch of oil pastel. She sees this form of art as a powerful healing tool that encourages introspection, leading to self-awareness and understanding.
“Abstract art is a creative process that helps in reducing stress and anxiety,” she said. “It provides a safe and non-verbal space to express and process feelings.”
The artist sees her studio as a powerful healing and creative space not only for herself but also for others. In her classes, she teaches her students not only creativity but also empowerment and gratitude. She helps them fulfill their potential through positive affirmations so they can do anything for the higher good.
“My studio has no plan, no rules and no boundaries,” she said. “We are here together to experience freedom, love, compassion and strength. We are here together to co-create through creative energy, not just to raise the vibration of ourselves, but to help raise the vibration of the universe to keep the light shining bright.”
The classes
Classes she offers include:
• Gelli Plate Printing Classes — These feature experimentation and spontaneous creation, helping with mindfulness focusing on the present moment. It is a stress-free creative outlet that is used in art journaling and mixed media. The class experiments with colors, textures and techniques.
• Sweet Embellishments — This creates self-discovery, a sense of accomplishment and boosts self-esteem. It calms the mind and body and can be a cathartic experience.
• Mixed Media — This class encourages emotional expression through creativity, builds confidence and improves focus. It helps reduce stress and anxiety and boosts self-esteem.
• Paper Play — This therapeutic creative outlet helps with emotional expression, focusing on the present moment. It offers a sense of control, clarity and a form of meditation.
These classes will continue through July and can be booked at newmoonmagicstudioandgallery.com.
All children under 18 must be accompanied by a parent.
A spiritual journey
It all started when Simmel had a spiritual awakening during COVID. She has been a nurse for 32 years but quit due to safety concerns. She became a shut-in for an entire year, never leaving her house once.
“In that time, I would talk to my deceased grandmother’s picture, have coffee, cry and slosh paint around on small canvases all from my dining room table everyday,” she said. “I had no voice yet as an artist.”
When the pandemic hit, she had just started teaching herself how to paint, searching for a purpose in life.
“I needed a hobby to help take away the daily stressors of a nurse,” she said. “One morning, I was painting a canvas and I did not like the colors that were presenting to me, so I picked up sand paper to make marks. I ended up tearing into the canvas by accident and I became frustrated from what just happened. I started to cry again, with the tears running down my face. I put the canvas on the floor and walked away.
“The next morning came, and I started my same ritual all over again. I got a cup of coffee, picked up my brush, picked up that canvas that I walked away from and started to talk to my grandmother’s picture.
“I said to her, ‘I do not know why I was crying yesterday because I put a hole in the canvas. Painting should be a beautiful experience, and I am not leaving my house anyway to sell anything’. I then said to her, ‘Grandma, I am not a quitter.’”
Simmel said she decided to repaint the canvas with different colors, sloshing paint around again. But this time, she kept seeing broken angel’s wings in the artwork.
Crying and yelling at God, she asked, “Why am I getting broken angel’s wings?”
She then heard a voice that said, “Pick up your oil pastels.”
She did so, and started to paint. More instructions followed, which she obeyed.
Later returning to the canvas, she said she noticed “weird lines and a number three” that she didn’t remember putting there.
“I knew something just happened and came through me,” she said. “I knew I had to look up ‘three.’ As soon as I typed in ‘three’ on my phone, it automatically came up ‘angel #3.’ Angel #3 stated that I was creative and I needed to get out of my home.
“Now remember that I have been in my home for a year and never leaving once. I never knew what angel numbers were. I knew it was my time to start moving. … I investigated my painting with others and it was pointed out to me that I did not just have the number 3. I had the number 93, and that the yellow line was an angelic script. I investigated the number further and knew that I had to build my studio.”
After going through a variety of experiences, she realized she was having a spiritual awakening. She said that although her husband didn’t understand what was happening, he was very supportive.
“I told him that I had to make my studio, and it had to be done now,” she said.
Making it happen
Simmel’s husband, who recovered from COVID, gave her $14,000 — which he’d planned to use to buy a truck — to build the studio.
“My studio was finally done after three months,” she said. “I moved my art supplies in and whammo! Spiritual paintings started riving out of my soul. It was leading me on my self-healing journey. My studio has become a healing conduit for me. I study and do my education on how powerful we are. I found my voice as an artist. I am an intuitive spiritual abstract expressionist. I am a ‘lightworker’ who works with the higher realm to help raise the human consciousness to a higher level.”
The studio and gallery also serves as a shop where customers can buy unique art. To learn more, follow New Moon Magic Studio and Gallery on Facebook, Instagram and X or email Simmel at newmoonstudiomagicstudioandgallery@gmail.com.
