Our Team
Kelly Darke
(She/Her/Hers)
Owner / Art Therapist
Kelly Darke, M.Ed., ATR-BC, BFA is a board-certified art therapist, published author, former K-12 art teacher, professional artist, and speaker. Since 2010, Ms. Darke has worked with adults and children with various developmental and emotional needs through the use of art therapy. She has provided art therapy services to adults with traumatic brain injury as a way to help improve their cognitive functioning and improve coping skills, including stress management. She has also worked with children as young as five years old learning to cope with anxiety.
Kelly has presented at local and national conferences on the use of art therapy with transgender youth, published a book chapter on the benefits of art therapy using digital art with TBI clients, and published articles on the benefits of art making. In addition, Darke and Scott-Miller co-authored: “Art Therapy with Transgender and Gender-Expansive Children and Teenagers“, which is now available.
Ms. Darke earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts as well as a Masters of Education from Wayne State University in Detroit, Michigan. When she is not helping others, Ms. Darke spends her free time with her family and making art of her own.
Shannon Scott-Miller
(She/Her/Hers)
Director of Community Outreach and Education
Shannon Scott-Miller, MA, ATR-BC is an art therapist in private practice who is active in advocating for LGBTQ+. With a Master of Arts in Art Therapy from Vermont College of Norwich University, she has been a practicing art therapist for two decades. She has worked with University of Michigan Healthcare Systems creating and implementing programs for medically ill children and adults for outpatient, inpatient and intensive care settings. She was executive
director for the Art Therapy Studio in Cleveland, Ohio for 5 years developing programs throughout Northeast Ohio. She has taught art therapy coursework for Sienna Heights University and acted as Community Art Therapy Program Coordinator for Adrian College. She is the former president of the Michigan Art Therapy Association and past board member of the American Art Therapy Association. She has presented nationally and internationally on art therapy with medically ill patients and providing affirming care to for transgender youth. She is currently working collaboratively with health care systems in Cleveland to provide cultural competencies for medical and mental health workers related to working with gender-expansive youth.
Grace Kelly
(She/He/They)
Admin Assistant / Writer / Facilitator
Grace Kelly is Kelly Darke’s oldest child, raised with the core values and practices of the Mindful Art Center at every turn. Grace officially began working for and with the Mindful Art Center in 2016, at age 13, when they curated the Metro-Detroit Queer Youth Art Show at the Mindful Art Center’s original Livonia location. Since then, Grace’s work for the Mindful Art Center has evolved to include administrative assistance, website building and maintenance, workshop development and facilitation, writing, and more.
In their own work, Grace is an artist, with a focus on collage and fiber, and a musician, trained in classical composition and piano. Grace has a passion for writing, and has written essays on the topics of communication, and on transgender issues.
In 2023, Grace opened an outdoor venue, the Antique Alley in downtown Ypsilanti for a season of open-mics, small concerts, and vendors. After the Antique Alley closed for the winter, Grace refocused their work on the Mindful Art Center.