ARTS + STRENGTHS BASED CREATIVITY COACHING / FACILITATION

​In my most recent practices as both a Therapeutic Arts Practitioner and Creativity Coach / Facilitator I utilize the visual image in very different ways, as a Therapeutic Arts Practitioner the visual image is an obvious vehicle for creative wellness. As a Creativity Coach / Facilitator the visual image is used as a vehicle to explore and facilitate personal growth and development. For this post however, I am just going to focus on my practice as a Creativity Coach / Facilitator and return to my practice as a Therapeutic Arts Practitioner in the future.
 
My practice as an arts + strengths based Creativity Coach / Facilitator has not just happened over night. I have done my coach training receiving my Certified Coach Practitioner and Certified Flourishing Creativity Coach certificates. I have also completed other professional development training related to coaching. This training is also informed and supported by a diverse educational background that includes, a Master of Education in Adult Education, Bachelor of Education (Visual Arts Specialist), Bachelor of Fine Arts in fine arts, Certificates in Photography, Advanced Design Thinking, Non - Profit Sector Management, PLAR (Prior Learning Assessment and Recognition) and a Therapeutic Arts Practitioner Certificate. Along with these credentials I am also an Accredited Certified Strengths Practitioner.
 
It is not just these earned credentials, but also the twenty plus years of designing, facilitating and even managing arts based / arts infused learning programs for a diverse range of learners that has  provided me with the practical experiences to move into and engage in an arts + strengths based coaching practice.

​The services I provide today as a Creativity Coach / Facilitator enable clients and participants to explore and discover their creative strengths through the Creative Strengths Recognition Process, collectively design communities of practice through the Drawing Connection Process, and engage in community arts programs through the Community Arts Facilitation services. All three of these services are supported by the Creative Learning Design Framework. The Creative Learning Design Framework is an arts based / arts infused learning design process comprised of three components, Visual / Creative Knowing, Visual / Creative Connections and Visual / Creative Effects. On the surface, this framework may seem simplistic, but this framework has emerged as a result of an interdisciplinary mashup that has really been in development over the past ten years.
 
The Visual / Creative Knowing component derives from my studies and experiences in the Visual Arts, Arts Education, Design Thinking, Positive Psychology and even uses theories and methods from my newest practice as a Therapeutic Arts Practitioner. The Visual / Creative Connections component comes from studies and experiences in Adult Educations, Non - profit Sector Management, the Community of Practice framework and other learning organization models. The Visual / Creative Effects component utilizes theories and methods from Arts - based Evaluation, Prior Learning Assessment and Recognition processes, Appreciative Inquiry and various strengths assessments. In many ways each component is a framework within itself. This ever evolving framework is now the stage on which I can engage in my practice as an arts + strengths  based Creativity Coach / Facilitator.