I am SUPER excited to announce my new in person course FINDING YOUR CREATIVE VOICE. This is going to start out in February as a 6 week in person course but eventually I would like to create an online version so everyone can have access.
This class is especially for those who are held back by fear and probably have said to other people "I can't even draw a straight line" or "I don't have a creative bone in my body". Or maybe you are struggling to get back into art or writing and you are feeling "stuck".
I'd like to share a little about why I've created this course and my journey.
I’ve been making a living through art and design for awhile now - over 10 years. And I’ve noticed some things about myself. I am my own worst critic.
I have been know to be paralyzed by fear. I am a bit of a perfectionist and I just want to do the “right” thing. WHICH IS JUST THE WORST for creativity. It’s basically the OPPOSITE of creativity. Even when I was in art school - I would follow the directions of the assignment to the letter and then watch as students who made up their own rules get A’s while I struggled along. I was so frustrated!
I have always loved to paint, but every time I went to pick up my brushes and canvas and start a painting, I would freeze. I wasn’t sure what I wanted to paint and if I started - it always felt to stagnant, stale and just not “ME”.
I remember one time I took a painting class and I was painting clouds - I literally stood there for 3 minutes afraid that I would render the cloud “wrong”. The teacher came over and said “JUST PAINT IT!!”
But my brain would lock up every time I had a creative project to do. Fear would take over. I was allowing my own creative voice to get squashed by the inner critic inside me. You know the one, it says “If I do that, then everyone will think this about it…” or other versions of the same thing.
When we are kids we learned through play. We didn’t think too much about it, we took chances and showed our artwork proudly. But as we grow up, we learn that we need to do certain things to get approval. We realize that others are telling us what is “good” and “bad”. We get self conscious and our brain takes over, wondering what others will think about our work and our selves. We forget to play and sometimes our creativity becomes stagnant.
It wasn’t until I took Flora Bowley’s “Bloom True” course that I started to break through this fear. Her class is a intuitive painting class which walks you through a freeing and playful way of creating.
I began to get that feeling of freedom that only comes when you tap into your essence - those parts of your creativity that makes you unique. I felt this spark, after being burnt out for so long and I knew, THIS IS IT, this is the real ME, this is what needs to come out!
That class helped me not only begin to paint again, but it helped me in my other design and illustration work. I no longer would be paralyzed at the start of a project. I wouldn’t be terrified that I would make a mistake or do the wrong thing, because I was bypassing fear and tapping into that part of me that could create from a deeper place from a place of FUN, like when I was a kid!
After that, I found many books and talks that spoke to me about this playful and free side of myself. I became sort of obsessed with learning about what causes our brain to get into this "FLOW" state, where learning becomes fun and natural.
I began to regularly keep a sketchbook again and saw that what I would create when I got into that playful “FLOW” mode was really the essence of who I am as an artist. I found ways to observe what I liked and didn’t like, what was working for me and wasn’t working. And that freedom made it’s way into other parts of my life.
When you are able to express yourself fully - you experience more space, love and compassion in your life for yourself and others. Weirdly, you have more energy and are happier.
The bottom line is, we NEED to create. It’s who we are as humans. If you don’t get to release and explore that side of yourself, a part of you shuts down.
I can’t tell you how many people, after they find out that I am an artist/ designer tell me “ I wish I could draw” or “I don’t have an artistic bone in my body!” I definitely can relate, I have a mental block about math. Every time I hear the word “math” a little voice in my head says “That’s not for you!!” But, why is that block there? Because once, or twice or three times some misguided, but I’m sure well meaning teacher told me that I was doing it “wrong” or I wasn’t good enough and I SHUT IT DOWN.
I’ve been teaching for about four years and love seeing that spark that my students get when they find something that resonates with their inner artist. When they follow that sense of FLOW, they create amazing things with not as much effort as when they are trying to create from only their logical mind.
I created this course in order to take what I’ve learned on my journey and what I’ve seen work with my students and share it with you - In this course we are going to bypass that inner critic and help you create from a place of pure joy and play. You don’t have to create anything great or anything GOOD. You don’t have to create anything BAD. It’s all about play, exploration and reconnecting with that inner artist that we all have.
When we use our sketchbook, it is a place to take chances, it’s a playground where there should be NO JUDGEMENT. We will use fun exercises with collage, paint, markers and more to explore and observe. We will be using our sketchbooks as a journal as well, taking time to be in the moment and observe our inner artist.
Join me in this journey! If you sign up before January 19th, you will get the special early bird pricing. More details about the course HERE. You can also sign up for my mailing list and I will send you updates and deals about the course.