I Want you to make your art.
You have bold, beautiful ideas for things you want to create in this world. You can see, smell, taste, feel, and hear your creative dreams and you just know you are meant to make them a reality. Or maybe you’re not really sure exactly what you want to make, but you feel like you have something inside you that’s bubbling up, and you’re ready to start coaxing it out.
Right now, it probably feels like your creative dreams are far away, like you’re not exactly sure how you can possibly make them happen. Or maybe they’re starting to show themselves in the 3D, but they’re not fully formed because you haven’t really spent that much time actually working on them. Maybe you start working on your next painting, but you get frustrated by your current skill level. Or you never sit down to write your novel because you just haven’t been feeling inspired. You desperately want a body of work that proves you’re a real artist, but you haven’t really made the time for it.
A lot of us are waiting for someday, when we will magically be free of our responsibilities to our jobs, our families, our health…that’s when we’ll make our art. That’s when we’ll feel inspired and free to create. Once we quit our job or move across the country, we’ll finally have the time to record that album.
However, I believe it’s up to us to create the container for our creativity now. I believe that the more space we make for creativity in the present, the more we’ll be gifted the space for even greater creativity.
Does this sound familiar?
You WANT to be creating amazing things in the world but you’re not making time to actually create them
You feel creatively blocked or stuck
You’re not even sure if you are creative anymore
You’re spending your time on other people’s priorities and neglecting your own
You know you’re an artist but for some reason you don’t really feel like a real artist
You just don’t feel like you have time for creativity, because you have so many other responsibilities
Imagine This Instead:
You have a solid body of work that you can show off proudly
You feel more satisfied with your life because you’re making time for the things that are important to you
You can say with confidence that you’re an artist
You feel a deeper connection to your intuition, your imagination, and your inner child…and you’re having fun on a regular basis
You’re making time for your art regularly
Remember when you were a child, and you felt free to create whatever it is that you wanted to create? Maybe you spent the afternoon writing a story. Or you were entranced by a world you created out of flower petals and acorn caps in the backyard. You were connected to your imagination, your intuition, your inner artist.
That artist is still inside you. That intuition and imagination is still inside you. You just have to make space for them.
How do you make time and space for your art?
You might not like this answer…but I believe the way we make space for more creativity is through structure. You can’t have SPACE without BOUNDARIES. Rivers have banks. Forests have edges.
As a creative being, I imagine you probably have a complicated relationship to structure. You might openly resist it. I certainly have.
But I’m not talking about rigid, restrictive structures. As artists, we need nurturing structures that hold and support us. We need space dedicated to our creative practices. We need protected time reserved for doing the things you love. We need people who believe in us and encourage us to keep going.
This is where I come in.
WHO AM I?
I'm Maria, creativity guide & artist of many mediums: music, poetry, illustration, and flowers, to name a few. I'm also a certified BTB feng shui practitioner, an herbalist, and a permaculturalist. As a child, I was always working on some creative project or another.
Once I grew up and entered the “real world,” though, prioritizing my creativity became a lot more challenging. My projects got pushed aside because of hectic schedules, work responsibilities, and general adulting. It was deeply frustrating, because I knew I was an artist, yet I wasn’t making art very often. I felt a desire to create so many things, and yet at the same time I felt uninspired and unsure where to start.
Now, I start most days drawing or writing. Sometimes I work on long-term creative projects, and sometimes I follow my inspiration to unexpected places. I feel more connected to my intuition and my inner child since…well, since I was a child. I feel like I’ve remembered how to have fun, and I feel deeply connected to my sense of wonder.
What changed? I created structures to support my creativity. I set up a space in my home, I blocked off time in my schedule, I gave myself specific prompts, and I surrounded myself with people who encouraged me and held me accountable.
I’ve been guiding people through their creative practices for years, since before I realized that’s what I was doing. I used to work as a music teacher, and what I loved most about the time I spent with my students was not so much teaching them the technical aspects of the piano or the violin. What I really enjoyed was getting to know each student’s needs and quirks, and watching their relationship to music grow over time. I loved showing them that they could learn to do things that seemed hard at first, and watching their excitement as they made progress with regular practice, guidance, and encouragement.
I also have years of experience working with small arts-focused organizations, and am especially good at finding more efficient systems of doing things, leaving more time and space for the creative work. Even though a lot of artist types resist structure initially, I’ve seen it do so much for us when we really embrace it.
Do you need a creativity Guide?
The truth is, I can’t answer that for you. I don’t think everyone does. If you are already making art consistently, amazing. If you already feel inspired and excited about your creative projects most of the time, fabulous! Those are really valuable skills and I truly am so happy that you have found a way to make your art a regular part of your life.
But, if you’ve tried prioritizing your creative practice and for whatever reason it just doesn’t seem to stick, maybe it’s time to try something different. If you’ve been feeling uninspired and discouraged navigating the world of creativity on your own, maybe it’s time to expand your support system.
If you know that you thrive when you have gentle encouragement, focused guidance, and nurturing accountability, creativity coaching might be a good fit for you.
Why WORK with Maria?
My approach to creativity is a grounded and practical one that also leaves room for magic and inspiration. Maybe you’ve tried the advice about “changing your habits” but it feels a bit dry and boring. Maybe you are enamored with the idea of following your intuition and inspiration whenever it strikes, but you struggle with consistency.
One of my superpowers is that I have a really solid blend of artist-brain and practical-brain. I love imagination and inspiration, and I fully believe in magic. I am also really good at creating systems and structures that support efficiency and results. The people in my life often describe me as “grounded.” I could go off on a tangent right now about a message I received while meditating with a plant, and I could probably get almost as excited telling you about the new project management software I’m using.
I know what it’s like to be a creative being who resists structure, and I know how to create structures that support creativity.
THE DETAILS
What’s included:
Three months of creative support
This gives you enough time to establish a new habit and work out any kinks, so that you have the tools and motivation to keep it going for many months afterwards.
Biweekly 60-minute coaching calls (6 total)
Together, we’ll work through what you most need in order to support your creative practice.
Weekly accountability and encouragement via email
I’ve found that actually showing my art to someone, and hearing what they have to say about it, is one of the most potent ways to inspire myself to keep going. This isn’t a formal critique — think of it as gentle accountability (I will remind you if you forget!) and nurturing feedback (I’ll tell you what I love about your work! Even if you’re self-conscious about it, and even if it’s a pretty rough draft in need of lots of edits, I promise you there is still something in it that is gold. And hearing someone reflect that back to you can be incredibly nourishing.)
Botanical art print
Choose your favorite of my botanical art prints, or I’ll pick one to support you based on what you are working through. I believe that taking care of our outer environment has a direct impact on our inner environment, and I created these prints with the intention of bringing more intention, beauty, and magic to your space and your life.
Investment:
one payment of $1200 or three monthly payments of $400
FAQs
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My role as a creativity guide is to provide accountability, strategy, inspiration, encouragement, and motivation to help you reach your creative goals and tap into deeper levels of creativity. Think of me as your fellow explorer, walking beside you as you navigate the magical forest of creativity.
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It takes time to build a habit, and I want you to come away from our time together feeling like you’ve established a solid creativity habit.
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I believe that we are all creative. If you have a desire to make art or work on a creative project, I believe you can benefit from a creative practice. I also believe that creativity doesn’t have to be writing poetry or painting landscapes or playing the piano. You might express your creativity through cooking, home decor, getting dressed in the morning, or any number of other things!
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I’m not a business coach, so we won’t be focused on your career or making money. However, I believe the first steps towards an artistic career that can support you financially are developing your skills and creating a body of work. A consistent creative practice helps a lot with both of these.
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Unfortunately, no. You also have to do the work on your end, and I cannot control you. (Nor do I want to - free will is important!) However, I truly believe that if a creative practice is really important to you, and you commit yourself to showing up for yourself during and outside of our calls, you can make this happen for yourself! And I’ll be here to support you along the way.
Not sure if coaching is the right fit at the moment? Get to know me better:
All flower & plant photos on this page are by Annie Spratt.