“The purpose of art is washing the dust of daily life off our souls. The chief enemy of creativity is 'good' sense. It takes a long time to become young.” -Picasso.
My signature ‘Coaching with Art’ workshop explores the science behind neural pathways - how and why we often repeat the same patterns of behaviour, even when they always achieve the same results. At work, excessive pressure to perform and succeed can negatively impact our creativity, with anxiety, fear of judgement and perfectionism all limiting our productivity and problem-solving skills.
When making art the brain slows down, allowing us to be more mindful, to focus on one task and to let go of any judgements or fears that are holding us back from thinking creatively or speaking up and voicing our ideas.
Using my learnings from a professional Art in Therapy qualification, I ask all participants in my workshop to draw with me, while I help them put words to any thoughts and ideas that arise. Using art in this way can spark creative flow, increase confidence and improve wellbeing at work.
When I talk about using art in coaching, I often hear people respond with their limiting beliefs - ‘Oh, I can’t draw’ or ‘I was terrible at art at school’ - but it is absolutely not necessary to be traditionally ‘good’ at drawing to benefit from this workshop.