In my intuitive painting classes and workshops I always create talking circles where people can take a few minutes to share about what I like to call their “point of greatest aliveness”. And one of the most beautiful and poignant moments in these containers of trust is when someone will speak out loud, often for the first time, these four magic words: “I am an artist.” They way they say it can run the gamut from shyly to incredulously to boldly to fiercely with a great burning pride. But there is always something so incredibly tender underneath how they express this new found realization. When most people come to my studio it’s because they have begun to feel the stirrings of a deep desire to express themselves creatively. And to express that longing with paint. They know, because it’s the promise that I make, that they can explore these longings in a safe environment where they won’t be judged or criticized or held to some impossible yardstick of perfection that they could never achieve. But when they come to my studio they also have a secret desire. One that is so secret that they can’t even let THEMSELVES know that […]