I am in the middle of a site update to reflect some exciting changes. Eye of Fire Studio, where the tools and support to engage, ignite and transform your creative life will be available, is joining Nan Weed Studio, where I continue the journey into my own creative underbelly. It’s already proving to be an exciting, dynamic new year!
Recently I completed the two year training in creativity coaching with the Creativity Coaching Association, a professional organization for those of us who have a passion for facilitating the creative process of other people, in addition to maintaining our own creative practice. During that training I worked with, among others, the incredible Eric Maisel (therapist, writer of numerous books on the creative process & a coach much in demand), the generous Gail McMeekin (therapist, long time coach & author of “The 12 Secrets of highly creative women”), and with Bev Downs, the enthusiastic director of CCA.
There is short feature article about me in the current issue of the CCA newsletter in which I write about how sailing has been an important metaphor in my life.
http://www.creativitycoachingassociation.com/newsletter-current.shtml
Information about coaching with me is available here, on this site – just click on the page link “creativity coaching” in the black bar above.
Currently I am totally immersed in the Intuitive Painting teacher training program taught by the incredible Chris Zydel of Creative Juices Arts, and I’m really excited that I’ll be sharing this powerful, energizing, and deeply transformative process with you later this year, through workshops and weekly painting sessions. Being able to teach and facilitate this process, which has underlined so much of my artwork for years (though I didn’t have a name for it), is becoming the cornerstone of my work in the world.
Intuitive Painting is not about product, not about creating a beautiful or interesting or provocative painting, not about creating “a painting” at all. It’s about painting as a verb, about the process of putting brush to paper. It’s about learning to recognize the deeper motivation in the moment, about learning to trust that the impulse is a step along the path….the paint put down is the record of the journey. Intuitive painting is a meditation practice, mindfulness with paint. It leads me to where I want to go, even if I was not consciously aware of the desire before the journey began. The practice is about learning to recognize those deeper motivations, learning how to stay in the moment, learning to trust my own intuition to provide me with what I need, learning to set aside judgement in order to be more authentically original and expressive. The paintings are always powerful, once in a while beautiful in a satisfying way, always a journey deeper into my core. It’s not a quick, spontaneous paint sketch tossed off in half an hour. Usually the completion of an intuitive painting takes hours, days, sometimes weeks to complete. But completion is not the focus; the journey is what’s important. Discovering new personal imagery can be exciting and energizing. Whatever is needed in the moment appears in the painting. The only skill needed is the willingness to be present and to work with all that takes you away from being present, in the moment, with all of yourself, in full colour. Intuitive painting is a dance, a spontaneous expression, a meditation. It has a form which, along with the guidance of the facilitator, keeps bring you back to your center so that you stay on your personal painting journey. It’s private and personal and powerful, like you!
I look forward to staying in touch with you and to being a part of your creative journey in the months ahead.
Nan
My studio is a container, both physically and metaphorically, for the stirring up/the holding of creative energy and how I can play with and develop it in my life. In the past couple of years I have been working toward a way to share with others the multitude of ways that I have learned to coach myself through the ups and downs in my years of creative practice. For those of you who value the role that creative practice does – or potentially could – contribute to your lives, my intention is to support the development of personal creative energy no matter where along that path you may find yourself.
You can have my undivided attention in individual creativity coaching or can be part of a supportive group in one of my workshops. More information is on the pages listed on the right.
Nan
