Making Art In Sickness and Pain

I’m regularly surprised by how many of my artist clients (I work as a creativity coach) are suffering from chronic illness or chronic pain. Sometimes it seems as if every client is dealing with a pressing physical issue: back pain, intestinal maladies, arthritis,...

Three Simple Suggestions

Here are three simple suggestions from three creativity coaches to keep you on track with your art-making: “Begin each day with an affirmation.  Write your own affirmation or copy one from a piece of literature that inspires you.  Make it your practice to read your...

Big Changes Coming?

Among the interesting things I’m learning as I conduct interviews for an upcoming Life Purpose Boot Camp symposium is how long it takes folks to make a life change even after the meaning has drained out of their current enterprise—out of their profession, say, their...

Do You Believe You’re An Artist?

Frances had come to narrative painting late in life after 20 years as a corporate lawyer. Her paintings were large, powerful, and sold well. But she had the hardest time not bad-mouthing them, both for the full four months it took her to paint one and after each was...

The Art Show She Might Have Had

People come with a past and a personality. Marsha was no exception. Her sister’s accidental death at the age of twelve and her family’s collapse after that terrible death robbed Marsha of something: joy; confidence; hope for her own future; something. It also seemed...