Emily vonSwearingen works with a variety of mixed and multi-media including 3-D, sculpture, ceramics, fiber arts, weaving, tactile collage, recycle/upcycle art, cultural art, nature art, painting, photography and video. She plays a diverse array of percussion sound makers, cultural drums, Indigenous style flutes and stringed instruments from around the world. She specializes in integrative learning, sensory engagement and in adapting materials, tools and teaching methods to be accessible and inclusive for people of all ages and abilities. She offers extensive experience in creating visual art and music-based programs for people with disabilities, at-risk youth and marginalized groups.
Emily’s interactive music and sound story sessions directly engage students in playing eclectic instruments to create non-narrative stories and include immersive “sound bathing” and group drumming circles to nurture socio-emotional learning. She also conducts workshops in creating percussion instruments from natural and recycled materials and carving Native American style flutes in cedar wood (and teaches how to play them!). Emily is a certified Sound Healer and certified Nature and Forest Therapy guide offering immersive nature and “forest bathing” sessions based on the Japanese principles of Shinrin-Yoku.
Her diverse history includes founding the Artist in Residency program at the former Denver Children’s Hospital and collaborating with over 115 schools and numerous organizations. She has been awarded multiple times as an individual artist/musician including by Arts in Society, Colorado Arts Partnership, Colorado YouthReach, Denver Arts and Venues, Denver Music Advancement Fund, Imagine 2020 and Take Note Colorado and to create and facilitate innovative arts and music based projects and programs. She is certified in SEL (Social Emotional Learning) and in early childhood arts learning with the Wolf Trap Institute.
