Holly Gage is the creator and instructor of the Warrior Scar Jewelry workshops and co-founder of the Healing Phoenix Arts Program. Holly has been making jewelry for 47 years, has been published in over 85 publications, and has received several awards for her jewelry designs and her spirit of generosity in the jewelry community. Holly has instructed students of all ages with a soulful brand of creating during in-person workshops, interactive online classes, and retreats worldwide for almost 25 years.

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Holly was motivated to make a difference for trauma survivors after her husband, Christopher, and her son, Ryan, were critically burned in their mobile restaurant’s explosion. Their recovery was long and painful, and their post traumatic experience differed significantly, both physically and emotionally. These separate healing paths demonstrated that no two trauma survivors travel the same recovery path, needing very individual approaches to healing. Creating art is a compelling way to process those feelings.

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Six months after their accident, Holly volunteered as an Activity Director at Camp Susquehanna, a four-day summer camp for burn survivors ages 6 to 16. She presented the Warrior Scar Jewelry project where campers make keepsake jewelry replicating their scars, keeping their varying abilities in mind. “The paradigm shift from hiding their scars to honoring and sharing them as they became the centerpiece of their jewelry was truly exhilarating to see,” says Holly. She and Chris have been performing these healing workshops with both small groups and conferences for survivors of all ages. She has become peer trained to support burn survivors and their families through the Phoenix Society for Burn Survivors’ SOAR program.

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Christopher’s Post Traumatic Growth (PTG) was life-changing, and both he and Holly were intrigued by his dramatic transformation and positive attitude that he came by naturally. All too often,the negative aspects of PTSD are of predominant focus, so when the Gage’s learned of alesser-known concentration of psychology, Post Traumatic Growth, they becamedriven to make this teachable skill set available to as many as possible during theappropriate stages of recovery. Hence, both Chris and Holly became certified peersupporters by the Post Traumatic Growth program from the Boulder Crest Foundation.

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