Come to the table
You spend so much of your life knowing what needs to happen next and making sure it does.
For a couple of hours, nothing here needs to be strategic, impressive, or even good.
You make something with your hands. The conversation goes somewhere unexpected and real.
The part of you that is always managing the room gets to rest.
Next Public Ripple Experience: November 14
What is a Ripple Experience?
A Ripple Experience is a facilitated gathering built around making with simple materials and the conversation that unfolds alongside it.
I guide both.
It can be hosted for friends and family, offered as a public gathering, or commissioned by a leadership team, company, or board. I currently facilitate Ripple Experiences in homes, studios, public venues, retreat spaces, and workplaces across the Bay Area.
No art experience is needed. There is no model to copy, no technique to master, and no expectation that what you make must be good.
What happens at the table
Most people arrive carrying something—a deadline, excitement, nervousness, or the quiet certainty that everyone else will be more comfortable than they are.
We begin there. With whatever is actually true in that moment.
Paper and paint are waiting on the table. I offer a prompt, a constraint, or a question, then guide the group through the making. Sometimes each person works on their own. Sometimes several people add to the same surface, covering a mark, extending it, or taking the work somewhere its first maker did not expect.
There is something to do with your hands, so the conversation does not have to carry the whole weight of the gathering. It can pause.
It can change direction. No one is required to explain what they have made or disclose more than they want to.
By the end, colors have collided, decisions have been revised, and one person has often built upon what another began. What was made holds a record of the time at the table—not a finished product, but evidence of attention given and received.
What holds the experience
What happens at the table is open-ended. How I prepare and guide it is not.
Each Ripple Experience is shaped by six movements:
Reflect
Identify
Play
Personalize
Let go
Embrace.
They are not six activities to complete or steps everyone moves through in the same way. They inform the prompts I choose, the pace of the making, the questions I ask, and how we close the gathering.
Who holds the room
I’m Mansi—a writer, mixed-media artist, community facilitator, and the creator of the Ripple Practice.
I began as a journalist, earning my master’s from the University of Iowa, then spent nearly a decade writing for universities and a medical foundation. Much of that work meant paying attention to people whose lives and contributions were easy to overlook.
That habit of attention is still the work.
Since 2018, I have given more than 3,000 handmade tokens to people whose work often goes unseen. What began as one person noticing another grew into public Ripple Stations and, eventually, the Ripple Experience.
When I facilitate, I prepare the structure carefully, then pay attention to the people inside it—the pace of the room, what has been said, what has not, and when to offer a prompt or when to simply hold space for silence.
No one is asked to perform vulnerability or arrive at a prescribed insight.
I have shared this work at Stanford CCARE’s 2026 Compassion Showcase, and my first book is forthcoming from Schiffer Craft in 2027.
What stayed with them
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I loved creating something together first. It made it a bonding experience and less intimidating. I also enjoyed getting to see the evolution from group to individual work. Creating with everyone was fun and the lessons paralleled a lot of skills needed for life.
Anna Maria Brodkey
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Working under time constraints really helped the artist's block! And it still looked beautiful; probably more beautiful than if I thought about it much longer. Small things, quick projects, can be beautiful and leave a person feeling big.
Juliane Evans
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I was surprised at how at home I felt even with people that I had only just met. There was an ease and sense of experiencing something new together. Just everyone showing up to learn and play and be vulnerable. I don’t think that happens a lot in our world.
Laura Menezes
Choose the Setting
Join a Public Ripple Experience
Public Experiences bring together people who may or may not know one another. Each gathering has its own form, shaped by the place, the materials, and the people at the table.
They are held at venues around the Bay Area and last approximately two hours. All materials and light refreshments are provided.
Up to 12 people · $160 per person
The next public experience is November 14, 2026, at Treehouse Silicon Valley. We’ll begin on one shared sheet—paint, fingers, no brushes—then use what we have made together to create individual figures.
Not able to join this one?
Host a Private Ripple Experience
For the person who brings people together and wants a gathering that doesn’t ask anyone to perform, produce, or arrive with the right words.
Before we meet, we’ll have a 30-minute conversation about the people you’re hosting and what you hope to make room for. I shape the experience, bring all the materials, set up the space with you, and guide the gathering from beginning to end. A private experience gives us more time to arrive and to close than a public one does.
Up to eight people · 2½ hours · $2,500
Private gatherings may include up to twelve people, with an additional fee of $250 for each person beyond eight.
The fee covers our planning conversation, preparation, all materials, travel within 20 miles of Los Altos, setup, facilitation, and cleanup. You provide the space and, if you wish, something simple to eat or drink.
Because each gathering is prepared individually, I host no more than one private Ripple Experience a month.
For Leadership Teams and Boards
For a group that spends most of its time together inside agendas, roles, and deliverables—and wants to spend a few hours differently.
We’ll begin with a planning conversation about the group, what it is carrying, and what you want to make room for. I adapt the experience to your setting and group size, bring all the materials, and guide the gathering from beginning to end. People encounter one another beyond their usual roles. The conversation has somewhere else to go.
Typically 10 to 20 people · Up to 3 hours · Starting at $5,000
This format is for experiences commissioned by a company, organization, or board. The fee includes planning and coordination with your team, adaptation to your setting, all materials, setup, facilitation, and cleanup. The final proposal reflects the number of participants, location, and degree of adaptation involved.
“We truly appreciated the Ripple Experience and having you facilitate it, including the impromptu sharing. You are a natural. We all continued to talk about the Ripple Experience that evening and the next day.”
“I appreciated how much intention you put behind each part of it. I am grateful for the opportunity to step outside my usual routine and connect with everyone.”
“What has stayed with me is that collaborative art is about the experience, and not about the product… although I loved walking away with a little piece of our time together.”
From the WELA board retreat
Women Entrepreneurs Launch · September 2026
Practical questions
Most people arrive with some version of this concern. You do not need artistic experience, and you will not be taught or tested on a technique. The materials are simple, the prompts are open, and there is no correct result to produce.
What if I don’t consider myself creative?
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No. A Ripple Experience is a facilitated creative gathering, not therapy or mental-health treatment. You will not be asked to process trauma, diagnose yourself, or disclose anything you would rather keep private.
2
Is this art therapy?
You can pass on a question, remain quiet, or make something without explaining it. Participation does not require disclosure. I will offer invitations; you decide how you respond to them.
What if I don’t want to share?
3
In a home, backyard, studio, retreat space, or another setting where the group can gather comfortably around a table. Travel within 20 miles of Los Altos is included in the private fee. For locations farther away, write to me and we can discuss what is possible.
Where can a private experience be held?
4
Wear something comfortable that can tolerate a stray mark of paint. I will also provide aprons and gloves. I bring all the art supplies and materials you’ll need. For private gatherings, the host provides the space and refreshments.
What should I wear or bring?
5
That depends on the form of the gathering. Sometimes people leave with an individual piece. Sometimes the work is shared, altered, or exchanged. The end product changes with the energy of the room. My invitation is to experience the process and embrace whatever form what we make takes.
What happens to what we make?
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What if someone has an accessibility need or food allergy?
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Tell me when you inquire or register. I will let you know what the venue allows and adapt the materials, pacing, or setup where I can. For public gatherings, accessibility varies by venue.
What happens after I inquire?
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I’ll reply to arrange a short conversation about your group, the setting, and what you hope to make room for. If the experience feels like the right fit, we’ll choose a date and confirm the details together.
What is the cancellation policy?
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Public experience registrations are nonrefundable, but you may transfer your spot to another person. Please email me with their name before the gathering.
For a private experience, a 50% nonrefundable retainer reserves the date. The remaining balance is due 14 days before the gathering. With at least 14 days’ notice, you may reschedule once and apply the retainer to the new date. If you cancel with at least 14 days’ notice, the retainer is forfeited and no further payment is due. Cancellations or requests to reschedule with less than 14 days’ notice are nonrefundable.
Cancellation terms for organizational engagements are included in the proposal.
If I need to cancel a gathering, you may choose a full refund or move your payment to a new date.
Bring your people to the table
You may already know whom you want around the table, even if you do not yet know what the gathering should be.
Tell me about the people, the place, and what has made you want to bring them together. We can begin there.
Ask about hosting a Ripple Experience
Would you rather attend one first? Join the list to hear when the next Public Experience is announced.