This post came about because of two emails I recently received that had me thinking about the 10+ years I was a decorative painting teacher, and the reasons I write this blog and visit so many others.
The first email was from Michaels Arts and Crafts and contained an advertisement about National Craft Month (which is this month, BTW). They had also included a video from a “Creativity Coach”. You can find the video here. She talked about how she likes to inspire her clients to find space in their lives for creativity and how it can bring so much joy to their world.
This got me thinking about my teaching experiences and how much I loved inspiring my students. I wanted them to learn from what I was teaching and to then continue on with the knowledge and apply it to some other project. I wanted to supply them with the “tools” that they could then whip out at any point to create something new on their own.
This brings me to the second email. It was from a former student of mine who took everything I taught her and just ran with it!! She does craft shows now with her painted items and to me that is the best compliment in the world!! It was so great to hear from her and find out that I had made such a impact on her creativity. Thanks, Nancy!
Over the years, I had quite a few students who did craft shows and who went on to teach their own classes. Every once in a while someone would ask me if I felt like I was teaching my competition and if I felt I would suffer for it down the road.
I always answered, “Absolutely not!!!” I felt that it was my job to teach my students to move forward with their talent and take it wherever they could. To be able to use their talent to make an income was awesome in my book. I didn’t have any secrets and shared all of my experiences, good and bad, in the hopes that they could learn what to try, or stay away from!
I guess in my own way I was their “Creativity Coach”, and many times my classes did turn into mini therapy sessions!! You cannot put 12 women in a room together and not expect that to happen! One student’s husband complained about the cost of her classes and she told him he had a choice: therapy or painting classes. Since my classes cost $40 for three hours you can guess which one he chose!!
I no longer teach for a variety of reasons, but discovered that by starting this blog, I could continue to be a creativity coach to anyone who stumbled upon it. I could inspire, create and continue to provide you with “tools” to use in your own creative endeavors. And along the way, I have discovered my own coaches through blogs that I obsessively read. These bloggers inspire me to try new techniques, different products or just to go do something fun!! I hope you will take a sec to check them out….
So, after that mad ramble, and assuming you are still reading!!!….I hope you will continue to hang around and allow me the privilege of being one of your creativity coaches!
Do you have a blog that inspires you? If so, please share it in the comments below so that I can check it out.
