Welcome

Welcome to Expressive Art Coaching,  my name is Vicki Johnson. I have a masters in counseling, and I am a certified Life and Wellness Coach as well as a creativity coach. My intention for creating this site is to show you how using Expressive Art activities can open up your mind and heart to what is possible. And why Expressive Art Coaching is such an effective coaching process.

Expressive Art Activities can help you find clarity and  direction, get unstuck, make better informed decisions, reduce stress, strengthen creative and intuitive skills, set meaningful long lasting goals. and get along better with friends, family and at the workplace.  It is used by  individuals, groups, and with businesses. Participants do not have to have any art experience.

Expressive Art Coaching is successful because it is an embodied approach (produces something that is tangible and representational)  that provides both the client and the coach with  a more comprehensive understanding  of  the client’s deeper beliefs about the goal or issue. That happens because the process of creating draws on a deeper, less conscious level of knowing. The product as well as the process can be processed in a more holistic way by the client. And the coach, as a witness, is better informed to support the client.

Coaching involves helping the client help themselves.  The client is the expert when it comes to their life. That is why Expressive Art is so useful in coaching. It helps the client find the answers within themselves…promoting more self-esteem, confidence and a stronger personal investment in the outcome.

The difference between process non-directed and directed  methods of creating.

Non-directed art is focused on the process of making art rather than on an end product. This is especially true of non-directive Intuitive Painting and Collage. During the process, images, colors and lines arise onto the paper or canvas from a deeper place of inner knowing within the artist. These marks and symbols  resonate with and inform the creator. The creator gains clarity and self-awareness. In Intuitive painting especially, blocks come up as negative self-beliefs and once known can be more easily dealt with.

A more directive approach which focuses on a certain theme or intention is taken when  someone is looking for clarity or direction around an issue or seeking a goal. The coach uses Expressive Art activities to set the stage for the client to find the answers within  themselves. They choose creative activities for the client that generate self-exploration as well as providing the opportunity to explore goals on a deeper level.  At the same time the coach  uses powerful open ended coaching questions to  generate new perspectives of what is  possible within the client.  The art exercises are also given as homework.