‘Everyone can cut loose’: Easthampton artist’s business Cut Loose collage workshops uses crafting as a tool for wellness

By ALEXA LEWIS 
Staff Writer
Published: 06-20-2024 9:05 AM

EASTHAMPTON — Michael Sjostedt has always been a creator with an entrepreneurial spirit.

In college, he used these predispositions to start a bustling clay bead business, handcrafting and marketing his own wares. Now, he is celebrating the one-year anniversary of Cut Loose, a workshop series that uses the art of collage to help people explore their relationships with their innermost selves and “cut loose” from perfectionism.

Creativity has always been in Sjostedt’s blood. Throughout his life, art making has been an important part of decompression and overcoming difficult periods. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the healing power of art became all the more apparent to him as the world navigated trying times, and even more so as he grappled with the loss of several loved ones in late 2022.

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