Yesterday I led my first painting and collage art visioning class with five wonderful women. I met Cynthia at a holiday fair last month (she designs beautiful bead-embellished utensils and serving ware) and she asked if I would come to her house and hold a workshop for her and her friends. At first I thought, “Why is she asking me? I have no formal art training and would hardly consider myself an ‘art teacher.’” (Us coaches call that “gremlin talk!”) Her enthusiasm was contagious and I found myself saying, “Yes!”

This is yet another example of where I’m so glad I said “Yes!” to a new opportunity even though I had know idea what to expect. The afternoon turned out to be full of fun, exploration, creativity and of course much laughter. We each created unique pieces that said something meaningful about ourselves.

I painted an image of a lotus blossom, which represents spiritual unfolding and enlightenment. The lotus flower starts of as a small bud at the bottom of a murky pond and then, drawn by the sunlight, slowly rises to the surface to unfurl its beautiful petals. I loved that symbol of ascending from the darkness and muck to opening and blooming in full elegant expression. Just like what happened when I moved from the initial doubt and fear about the workshop to stepping into the gifts that I bring. And now I want to hold more painting workshops to provide the time and space for women to tap into their creative essence.

The lotus flower symbol resonated so much with me that I now refer to my Unfolding Your Life Vision collage books as Lotus Blossom Books instead of plain old accordion books. The pages open up like petals on the lotus flower, bringing purpose, clarity and affirmation to your life vision.

[tags]painting, art, creativity, workshop, lotus blossom, visualization, life coaching, art visioning[/tags]

This week’s Ladies Who Launch blog topic is on “New Year’s REVOLUTIONS.” Yep, you read that correctly — revolutions not resolutions! What a fantastic concept! You can check out my posting along with other’s at the LWL blog.

[tags]Ladies Who Launch, new year’s resolutions, goals[/tags]

The year 2007 holds tremendous potential and I need a map to guide me on the adventure ahead. During a recent session with my coach, she had me visualize the landscape of my future vision. Where does creativity, fulfillment and, yes, even fear reside? What are the colors and sensations of this place? Where am I in this picture?

Using my notes and memories of this vivid place, I picked up my art supplies this morning and started mapping out my path on a large sheet of paper. I laid down colors and lines. The forest of fear was easy for me to depict (I know it well!). Yet, to my surprise the rest of the landscape came with ease as well. Words sprouted up in the different areas — “growth,” and “fertile ground,” in the spring grass, “flow” and “connection” in the river and of course “playful” and “friendship” in the pink flowers.

When I finished, I realized that this isn’t a map of foreign, unchartered territory. It is a map of my current journey and I’m on the right path of following my heart!

Go ahead and pack your bags — visitors are welcome! Where will your map take you? What features are in your landscape? What’s it like on your journey?

[tags]creativity, life coaching, art, future vision, painting, art visioning[/tags]