As a poet, I don't officially catalogue myself as artist, but I'm married to an amazingly talented artist. And I know more artists than I can count – painters, craftspeople, cooks, singers and performers, writers.
Those countless relationships certainly don't qualify me to gather 15 people together on February 27 at the Visual Arts Center of Richmond to consider the relationship between our core values, our beliefs and the art we create – o r creative endeavor for which we have genuine passion.
But for the past decade, I have worked – sometimes instinctively, other times by design – to help individuals and groups create a stronger sense of alignment between their actions and the universe (or team or organization) that they want to co-create.
All of which is to say that the deadline for registering for my full-day workshop at the Visual Arts Center – "Climbing the Right Mountains: Create Your Personal Vision" – is fast approaching. The workshop runs from 10:00 a.m. until 4:00 p.m. on Saturday, February 27. You can register here.
Here's how I describe the workshop at the Visual Arts website:
Are you climbing every mountain? Are you even climbing the right mountains? During this workshop, participants will chart out their own personal mountain ranges in a discussion centered on creating a creative life built around the things that matter most to you. Come prepared to explore how your personal values and your beliefs about yourself, others and the world can provide focus and energy for your creative work.
I'm probably more excited than you are about this workshop. Pieces of it feel very familiar to me, such as working with people to identify and explore the beliefs they hold about themselves, about others, about the world. Other aspects – specifically, helping people visualize their learning through some tactile and creative activities – is less familiar.
But what I do know, and what I experience almost every time I sit down to facilitate individuals and groups through work like this, is that the answers are in the room. The participants will take the space I help to create and redefine it in ways I simply can't envision in advance.
And that's what I am beginning to love about this new teaching space I am beginning to explore at the Visual Arts Center, through VCU's Nonprofit Learning Point, and with my own clients.