Now we're cooking with gas!

Wow, what a week! And one that left me thinking ...

I just finished teaching my free 8-day course - maybe you took part? I always feel the same way at the end of this course - exhausted but happy. It's a bit like that feeling you have after a really long hike in nature. It's the kind of tired that means you sleep like a baby.

Free courses like this one are a well-known and well-tested marketing strategy. They give people a taste of what it would be like to work with you and they allow you to understand your audience better. But it's so much more than that for me.

It's the one time of year when I get to share my passionate beliefs about art with a live audience who are willing and eager to listen. It's when I get to prove my ideas by setting assignments and then watching the results. My team and I work really hard to make sure that people experience shifts in their art and/or in their mindset. 

We answer questions, we explain concepts in different ways, and we build a community of people who support one another.

The whole thing takes a month or so to prepare and then we go full on for one week and it feels as though all I do for that time is talk and type.

At the end of a week, we are always amazed and thrilled at the changes that have occurred. So much of art-making is really about mindset. We simply have to remove the blocks, and limiting beliefs, and negative voices and all of a sudden we are flying!

I also think there's something about being in a group that really motivates many of us. It helps so much to just be with other people who care about the same things instead of feeling all alone in our workspace.

We are now starting to welcome people into the full 12-week Find Your Joy program.  This is the last time this course will run in this format. I am not sure yet what the future holds, but I feel the need for a change and I know I need space to allow new ideas to come in.

The course may become something that is self-paced (meaning you work through it alone) or it could become much longer and more gently-paced. And of course, there's always a chance that a new idea will strike me and I'll do something completely different.

I think this kind of space is vital for creatives - especially when we're on a high from what we just achieved. Think about those times when you made a painting that you really loved and then got caught up in trying to replicate it. You loved the feeling of success so you wanted it again. 

But by hanging on to the past, you blocked something new from coming in. Only when you stopped trying to repeat past glories, could you make new and exciting artwork.

I think teaching is the same. It would be very easy to get over-excited about this latest free course, and tell myself that I must do it again next year. But what if there is something else I could be doing? What if there is something else I could be making? If I stay busy in the replication process, there is no space for new ideas.

I feel like this is an important idea to share this week - I feel like there may be people who needed this message. If that's you, I just want to say that you don't have to hold on to your old way of working or the style of your last series.

You are connected to a well of endless creativity. All you need to do is make space to hear the whispers. This might mean taking a break, going on a course, or going away to a new place. If you allow space and welcome in new experiences, your new art will start to flow effortlessly.