Taproot Arts and Insight: Val Gilman Coaching for Artists- Life, Business and Creativity
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Creative collaboration in the time of Covid

8/30/2020

1 Comment

 
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Ok- I'm going to be honest- when I was driving home after that gallery meeting on July 8 I was kicking myself for stumbling into more than I had time for again. What had I gotten myself into!

I had suggested, as we were all trying to figure out how to make our gallery function during lockdown, that we could think about using more of the space instead of less, that we could experiment with site specific temporary installation, seen only from the front and not entered.

​I was thinking about the vertical space. I was thinking about space instead of just walls. And I was thinking we needed to shake it up.

I was not thinking of doing it the next month. 

It was insane. I had just gotten chicks for the first time ever and they were growing fast in our living room and I was on a frantic mission to build a chicken coop. I was (and am) still working full time as a coach and small business owner, not to mention being a single mom. I have no time!

And the work that I really wanted to show, had been planning to show for my solo exhibit that had to be cancelled due to the pandemic, was labor intensive ceramic wall fountains. They were no where near done.

The fact is that my creative life had stalled during covid, and I felt like I was shriveling up. My studio was a dumping ground and a chaotic mess of tools used to build the coop. All the art projects that I had been working on, that had end points that made sense, had kind of fallen out. I was starved for something that made sense and in some weird way this did. 



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Today, after removing the front wall, the collaboration blossomed into something really beautiful. It was like the gallery took a huge breath of air and sunlight and opened its heart to us. ​

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Are you an artist or a creative trying to juggle too many balls at once?

2/20/2019

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​​Have you ever felt like you are juggling and all the balls are about to fall down around you? You have multiple projects and types of work going at once. It starts off well- exciting even. But so easily you lose the control, one ball falls and it feels like they are all going down.  

This is common for creatives because you have a lot of ideas that pop up and seem really exciting- it feels great to dream something up and put that starting energy behind it. But the anxiety and low self-esteem can so easily be triggered if you can't get a good rhythm going, and the balls begin to drop.


I know this feeling well- in fact just last week it came up for me again. It can feel deeply undermining- like you are a fool to think you are capable of making your dreams happen. But the fact is that it is a sign- but not one of incompetence. It is a sign that you are stretching!

So what do you do?

Do you have to give up the variety and complexity that seems so endemic to who you are?

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Three reasons your creative project is stalled and how to get it moving!

7/21/2015

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You dream up a creative project that feels right on, and gives you a lot of joy to imagine it, but it never really gets off the ground. In fact after dreaming of it for so long, not only does it lose its joy, but it can actually begin to be a drain on your confidence!

I have so been there, and it is painful!

The thing is that you are an adult and you have a ton on your plate. 
It is really hard to prioritize a creative project when you need to pay the bills, tend to the kids, get the car fixed, buy groceries, and have some sort of a social life.

Not being able to get past that first hurdle of getting the project firmly in the line-up of priorities can be what keeps a person from doing their creative work for years and years, and this is a travesty.

The world needs your creative work!
If you have a creative itch it is because it needs to be expressed and if you need to express it there are others out there who need to be able to connect with it! It is part of the collaborative project of our human culture- we are all in it together and we need each other’s wisdom, questions and creativity. 

I believe firmly that each of us has something very particular to offer the world and it is our job to do it. And it is not always easy to know what that thing is and to find the energy to make it happen.



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  • Home
  • About Val
    • Val Gilman
    • Val's art >
      • Portrait Sculpture by Val Gilman
      • Val's Art Website
      • Studio Visit
  • Coaching
    • Coaching for Artists
    • How does coaching for artists work
    • Will Art coaching help you? a quiz
    • Free initial consultation
    • interview/coaching exchange
  • Offerings
    • Spring Workshops 2025
    • Taproot Artist Circle
    • Pottery Classes
    • Weight health with love
    • Taproot Virtual Co-Working
  • Free things
    • Youtube channel
    • Blog
  • Contact
    • Contact
    • Scheduling
  • FAQ