Support our amazing co-facilitators

Top row, left to right:

Lisa Martinson: People and Culture Coordinator, Minnesota Orchestra, St. Paul, MN

Email: LMMARTINSON@gmail.com

Kathy Hrenko: Art Therapy Consultant, Kennett Square, PA

Website: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kathyhrenko/

Angela Sheik: Award-winning singer-songwriter-producer, Los Angeles, CA

Spotify: https://www.bit.ly/AngelaSheik_Spotify

Insta: @angelasheik

Website: angelasheik.com

Composer Reel: https://www.bit.ly/SheikComposerReel

Richelle Szypulski: journalist, photographer, artist, actor, Pittsburgh, PA and NYC, NY

Website: https://www.richelleszypulski.com/

Middle row, left to right:

David James: bassist and writer, Colorado

Substack: https://secularartist.substack.com/

Binderiya Byambasuren: comedian, Post-doc fellow, Washington, DC

IG: @bybinderiya

Toni Lovejoy: Fine Art, Architectural and Interior Photographer, Charlotte, NC

Website: https://www.mynameislovejoy.com/

Sara McMahon: papercut artist, improv actor, coach, improv educator and workshop facilitator, Seattle, WA

Website: https://www.saradelighted.com/store/p/pre-order-the-playdate-deck

David Westerlund: Unlocking Hidden Resources by Facilitating Meaningful Engagement | Consultant | Facilitator | Transformational Coach, Bellingham, WA

Website: https://www.bepresentdiscoverjoy.com/

Week 12

Support the Facilitators

beginning top row from left to right:

Sara McMahon: artist, educator, improviser based in Seattle, WA. Check out her new playdate deck! These make great gifts!

David Westerlund: consultant, designer, facilitator, leadership coach, improviser based in Bellingham, WA. Hire David to facilitate meaningful change in your organization. Give David a financial high-five.

David James: bassist, author based in the Denver metro area. Read his substack “The Secular Artist: The Atheist’s Companion to the Artist’s Way .“ Give David a financial high-five.

Angela Sheik: artist, composer, performers, speaker, educator based in Los Angeles, CA. Check out her website here. Listen to her on Spotify here.

Kathy Hrenko: art therapist, artist and creative spirit based in Kennett Square, PA.  You can find her on LinkedIn.

Rebecca Erlewein: writing, fibre arts, mending, autism, adhd, me/cfs, c-ptsd. She lives in Wellington, New Zealand. Connect with her on IG.

Lesley Tipton: educator, energy healer, and artist based in Northwest Arkansas.  Connect on LinkedIn and Instagram

Patricia Boes: portrait painter based in New York City, NY. Check out her website.

Merideth Hite Estevez: oboist, author, creative coach based in metro Detroit, MI: sign up for your free discovery call here. Donate to the work of Artists for Joy here. Preorder her book here.

We’d love your feedback! Fill out this form to tell us what you thought of this experience.

Join us for the next TAW Cohort in February!

Week 11

“Breakthrough” rooms discussion guide:

--Acceptance: Have you accepted anything you may have been avoiding during this cohort?

---Success: How have you redefined success in your life?

--The Zen of Sports: Have you experienced exercise to be meditative? Share about your experience.

--Building Your Artist's Altar: Do you have one? What is the most recent item you’ve added to your Artist’s Altar?

--Artist's Date & Morning Pages: Will you continue this practice once we are done with this cohort?

Pic-a-card exercise (Graydin)

Donate to Artists for Joy

Join the next cohort, which starts in February

Week 10

Tonight’s opening music: Florence B. Price’s album, Uncovered

Price was one of the first African American women who received recognition as a classical composer, having had one of her pieces performed by the Chicago Symphony in the 1930’s.

Break-through rooms discussion guide:

-Dangers of the trial: “Saying no can be the ultimate self-care.” When have you said no this week or during this process?

- Workalholism: Do you struggle with this? What's your bottom line??

- Drought: Have you experienced dry seasons? What helped the drought pass?

-Competition

-Artist's Date & Morning Pages: how are they going? What resistance are you encountering?

Start 10:42 with Himilayas Intro.

Week 9

Breakthrough rooms topic guide:

  • Discuss reading

    • “Fear is the true name for what ails the blocked artist. [...] The blocked artist does not know how to begin with baby steps.” What baby steps can you take to help unblock a creative effort? “Use love for your artist to cure its fear.”

    • Creative U-turns: “Think of your talent as a young and skittish horse that you are bringing along.” What obstacle or jump in your creative life makes your horse more skittish?

    • Did you do your morning pages this week?

    • Did you *read* your morning pages this week?

Week 8

Breakthrough rooms topic guide:

    • Cameron says that people often drop off in attendance around week 8. You are here! What keeps you coming back?

    • Survival: Has your inner artist found it difficult to survive? Share any survival tips.

    • The Ivory Tower–what role does/did academia play in your artistic process?

    • Gain disguised as loss: what have you gained in this round through TAW? What have you lost?

    • We will do task 3 as a group in Act III.

Week 7

Breakthrough Rooms Discussion Guide:

  • LISTENING: What’s so different about “tuning in” to creative whispers versus “thinking up” new ideas? How does this affect your posture toward creativity? How does it affect your process?

  • PERFECTIONISM: How has perfectionism played a part in your creative journey? Is it a part of what brought you to this group? Why?

  • RISK: How did you answer the question “If I didn’t have to do it perfectly, I’d try…”?

  • JEALOUSY: What are some areas of jealousy that might be pointing you in a creative direction?

  • MORNING PAGES: What’s a topic that keeps coming up for you in your morning pages?

  • ARTIST’S DATE: Is there someone in your life who inspires you with how they nurture their inner artist? What is something they do that you could emulate?

Answer the following with whatever comes to mind first. (page 125)

  1. As a kid, I missed the chance to _________________________.

  2. As a kid, I lacked _________________________.

  3. As a kid, I could have used ____________________.

  4. As a kid, I dreamed of being _____________________.

  5. As a kid, I wanted a ______________________.

  6. In my house, we never had enough _______________________.

  7. As a kid, I needed more ______________________________.

  8. I am sorry that I will never again see _______________________.

  9. For years, I have missed and wondered about _______________________.

  10. I beat myself up about the loss of ______________________________.

Now, write as many dreams as you have for yourself right now. Try to fill an entire page. Don’t lift your pen from the page until I say stop. Nothing is off-limits.

CRAFT Goals Worksheets

Pre-Order Merideth’s book

Join the Next Round of TAW

Donate to Artists for Joy

Week 6

Join the Next Round of TAW

Donate to Artists for Joy

Discussion Questions:

* THE GREAT CREATOR- “Money will come when you are doing the right thing” (Mike Phillips). Do you agree?

* COUNTING, MONEY MADNESS EXERCISES- What came up for you in this exercise?

* ARTIST DATE, MORNING PAGES- did you do them?

Act III Activity:

  • I have_____

  • I need_____ or I want_____

  • <Name>- I gotchu! I have: (the thing the first person needed)

Reflection Questions:

1. What did it feel like to write your needs down or state them out loud?

2. How did your perspective on what you have change as you considered it as an offering to another artist?

3. Who do you need to make your needs known to outside of this zoom call?

Week 5

What redundancies are showing up in your life? What possibilities might there be in them with a shift in lens?

“Breakthrough” Rooms Discussion Guide:

  • LIMITS, FINDING THE RIVER- “We startle ourselves by saying yes instead of no to opportunities.” Were there any new opportunities you said yes to this week?

  • THE VIRTUE TRAP- Does your life serve you or only others? Are you self-destructive?

  • FORBIDDEN JOYS- Did any of your answers surprise you? Did you try anything from your list?

  • Did you do your morning pages? Go on an artist date?

Week 4

“Breakthrough” Rooms Discussion Guide:

  • Page 81 says, "A process of identifying a self inevitably involves loss as well as gain." What have you perhaps outgrown or gained/lost in this process so far?

  • Discuss reading

    • honest changes: What changes are you feeling led to make that may surprise you?

    • buried dreams: What dreams did you uncover this week?

  • reading deprivation: how did it go? What did you learn

  • Artist’s Dates and Morning Pages: Any resistance coming up? Discuss, if so!

Artist’s Date Idea Google Form

Join the Next Round of TAW

Artists for Joy Artist’s Date Idea Database (we will add your responses here after tonight’s workshop!)

David’s slides on letting go

Donate to Artists for Joy

Week 3

PREPARE YOURSELF FOR READING DEPRIVATION! *You’ve been warned*

Self-portrait worksheets

Lens-Shift Worksheets

“The Artist’s Joy” (Merideth’s Book) Preorder!

Donate to Artists for Joy

Free Discovery Coaching Call with Merideth

“Breakthrough” rooms Topic Guide:

  • Discuss reading

    • Break out rooms topic guide

      • The book talks a lot about synchronicities. Have you experience any since starting this process? Share about them.

      •  Has anyone in your life ever used shame as a way to motivate you? Are you motivated by shame yourself? Discuss.

      • Have you been doing your Morning pages and/or your Artist Date?

      • We will do an activity during Act III together! (Lens Shifting)

Week 2

Self-portrait worksheets

Enneagram Podcast Series

“The Artist’s Joy” Preorder!

Partnership Agreement

Donate to Artists for Joy

Free Discovery Coaching Call with Merideth

“Breakthrough” rooms Topic Guide:

  • Discuss reading

    •   poisonous playmates & crazy makers–Name one way you drew a sacred circle around your creative recovery this week.

    •   skepticism–If you’re willing, name one of your secret doubts.

    •  Did you write any morning pages and/or go on an artist date?

    • We will do a coaching activity with naming values for the last 30 minutes.

Week 1

Tonight’s Links:

Partnership Agreement

Donate to Artists for Joy

Free Discovery Coaching Call with Merideth

“Breakthrough” rooms Topic Guide:

  • Discuss reading

    • Shadow Artists– What are a few reasons someone might be afraid or reticent of claiming the title “artists”? If that’s you, share your reaction to that title as you feel comfortable.

    • Protecting the Artist Child Within–Maria Montessori said, “Play is the work of the child.” How much play is there in your creative life? What sounds fun to play with today? 

    • How did the artist’s date go? And the morning pages? Discuss any resistance that came up! 

Week 12: Support the facilitators

beginning top row from left to right:

Sara McMahon: artist, educator, improviser based in Seattle, WA. Check out her new playdate deck! These make great gifts!

David Westerlund: consultant, designer, facilitator, leadership coach, improviser based in Bellingham, WA. Hire David to facilitate meaningful change in your organization. Give David a financial high-five.

David James: bassist, author based in the Denver metro area. Read his substack “The Secular Artist: The Atheist’s Companion to the Artist’s Way .“ Give David a financial high-five.

Jessi Rosinski: flutist, educator, well-being guide based in Boston, MA. Check out her website. Join Jessi’s community, Radiance Point, to cultivate your optimal internal space. Give Jessi a financial high-five.

Johanna Burian: horn player, performer, arranger, educator based in the Denver Metro area. Read more and sign up for horn lessons here. Give Johanna a financial high-five.

Toni Lovejoy: artist, photographer based in Charlotte, NC. Learn more here.

Angela Sheik: artist, composer, performers, speaker, educator based in Los Angeles, CA. Check out her website here. Listen to her on Spotify here.

Trina Drotar: painter, educator, writer, event coordinator, editor, publisher, reviewer based in Sacramento, CA. Website under construction right now, but check back here regularly for updates. Read her other work here.

Merideth Hite Estevez: oboist, author, creative coach based in metro Detroit, MI: sign up for your free discovery call here. Donate to the work of Artists for Joy here.

Respond to our feedback form and be entered for a chance to win $50 towards a free 1-hour coaching session with Merideth.

Kristin Vanderlip’s Summer sessions