The heart behind Fernlight

This photo is of Bee, sitting on their knees in front of a bookshelf. They're white, with short brown hair, brown glasses, and a striped shirt tucked into a jean skirt. Their hands are on their head and they're smiling softly.

Bee Deratour (They/Them)

Hi there, I'm Bee — the hands, heart, and occasional chaos-gremlin behind Fernlight Studio.

Fernlight grew from a simple belief: creativity and care belong at the same table. I created this space as somewhere people can make, rest, breathe, explore, and reconnect with themselves without pressure or performance. As a queer, autistic human, accessibility, authenticity, and nervous-system-aware spaces are deeply important to me. Whether through art, Reiki, workshops, or community offerings, my work is rooted in the idea that healing and creativity are not separate practices — they nourish one another. To be very honest - Fernlight is more than just a place - it’s my entire heart.

The Artist

Art has been my north star since before I knew what direction meant. I'm drawn to color, texture, the quiet wisdom of the earth, and the stories our bodies carry. My work often explores healing, embodiment, chaos, and the strange, tender places where pain and beauty overlap — though sometimes it's simply playful, illustrative, and created just for the joy of it.

When I create, I'm not trying to learn not to try to impress anyone. The real magic lives in the process. In the studio, I aim to tell my truth in a way that's gentle enough to embrace. My hope is that something in the work — the palette, a subject, a contrast, an emotion — helps you feel a little more seen.

For a long time, I felt confined by what I thought I had to create to be seen as a "valid" artist. Now, in my 30s, I'm learning to exist more loudly, vibrantly, and unapologetically, and realizing I've been valid all along. My hope is to help others arrive at that realization too, so that together we can take up space in this world without apology.

The Healing Facilitator

My healing work is intentional, intuitive, and grounded. I don't believe my role is to fix anyone - you’re not broken. Instead, I offer support, presence, and gentle guidance as people reconnect with themselves and discover what healing looks like on their own terms.

I'm trained in all three levels of Usui Reiki and hold 200-hour certifications in both Kundalini and Hatha yoga. My approach is trauma-informed and shaped by lived experience, ongoing learning, curiosity, and deep respect for the individuality of every person who walks through my door.

I know that not every modality resonates with every person, and not every path unfolds the same way. My goal is to meet people where they are, honor differences, provide accommodations when needed, and help create experiences that feel supportive, sustainable, and authentic.

I offer Reiki and creative healing experiences for people who are burnt out, overwhelmed, neurodivergent, or simply craving a moment to exhale. There is no pressure to perform, achieve, or become someone else. Just space to arrive as you are and take a damn breath again.

The containers I create are the ones I always wished existed: soft, sensory-considerate, flexible, trauma-informed, and deeply human.

A person wearing white is standing at the head of someone with long brown hair and an eye pillow laying down. The person is white and their arms are out palms up in front of them. Behind them is soft lighting. This is reiki.

Where Art & Healing Meet

Art and healing aren’t separate worlds to me. They’re two languages saying the same thing. Art is how I explore what aches and what shines. Healing is how I give it room to transform and become.

Through Fernlight Studio, I create intuitive offerings that merge these languages into moments of grounding, self-discovery, and quiet joy. When you step into this space, you get to show up exactly as you are, even if “as you are” today means frazzled, hyper-focused, overstimulated, dreamy, grieving, hopeful, or anything in between.

I’m learning it’s okay to move slowly, take breaks, and begin again in new ways, at new tempos. Healing isn’t linear, and creativity doesn’t need to be constant to be real. Rest, uncertainty, and returning when it feels right are all part of the art & the healing.

Fernlight Studio is both my reminder and my invitation to keep growing toward the light, one gentle unfurling at a time. (Yes, that’s a fern pun.)

A close-up of a black and white kitty named Pawcasso. His nose is black, too and he has large whiskers.

Outside the Studio

I, like all of us, am many things. I’m a whole person beyond paintbrushes and energy work. I love forests, ferns, ritual-making, and getting lost in conversations about healing, identity, and growth. I’m a goofball, a thoughtful hermit, and a champion for people showing up authentically.

I’m queer, autistic, and neurodivergent, and these parts of me shape how I live, create, and hold space- which is why accessibility, inclusion, and honoring individual paths are central to everything I do.

My husband and I are cat-parents to two purrfect little gremlins: Pawcasso and Monticifer (aka Paws and Monty). I’m a major bookworm and will happily talk about books with anyone, anytime - especially romance, fantasy, queer stories, historical fiction, YA, and thrillers. You can find my bookstagram at @readwithbee! Poetry holds a special place in my heart too, with hopes of publishing my first collection someday.

Music is another love - Maggie Rogers, Noah Kahan, and Alex Warren are currently holding my heart alongside Josie Edwards and David Wimbish.

I could go on and on but instead, I’ll just invite you to reach out, connect, explore my art, and share in this journey with me.

All my everything,
Bee

A sweet orange furry baby (a cat) is curled up in a hammock.

Thank you for being here.