Through coaching with art I have been amazed by the myriad of benefits that art brings my clients. I have found that once my clients start to relax with creating and externalising their images it opens up a safe and supportive space for deeper understanding and awareness.
Category: Coaching practice
Coaching With Art – A Framework
Many coaches have experienced working with art and creativity in their practice and have also experienced the insightful and transformative outcomes that come from working this way.
The art keeps on giving…
In my previous blog I looked at keeping records of the art just in case your client wants to refer to it or it comes up in the coaching conversation.
Keeping a record of clients’ art
I often get asked what records I keep of clients' art. One of the cornerstones of my record keeping is keeping a record of the art produced. In my last blog I looked at who keeps the art, client or coach, and what happens if the client chooses to leave the art behind.
Who keeps the art? Client or coach?
Who keeps the art produced by a client was a great question raised at the last Introduction to Art in Coaching workshop. On the surface the simple answer is the client as the image belongs to them.
Creating transformational conversations – a case study
Art in coaching has an ability to create transformational shifts in perception, understanding and meaning. Coaching with art enables our clients to access a deeper level of awareness. An awareness that may be unconscious to them and may be really difficult to articulate.
Using the language of art
When working with art in coaching, I find that most of the images created by coachees are abstract pieces of work where the colour, textures, mediums and marks made become the language that allows the hidden to come through.
Emerging themes
One of the great benefits of working with art is that hidden themes can start to emerge, adding richness and depth to coaching conversations. In this example, the heart motif became a recurring image in this person's work and had significant meaning for them. Emerging themes arise over time and through a number of images.
What’s your art story?
Whenever we think of art we have an instinctive reaction to it. If we don’t see ourselves as artistic or creative we tend to think of it as something elitist or as something that children do. For many of us it is not something that has a place in our everyday worl