The way to Self is being Uncomfortable
Gabrielle Javier-Cerulli

A few days ago I had a fitness assessment. The sad numbers weren’t a surprise, as I know I have a lot of work to do on my physical Self. The trainer advised me that the #1 word I cannot use while exercising is “comfortable.” If I’m comfortable, I’m not going to get the results I wish for. In order to change, I must get uncomfortable and pretty often. I need to sweat, move my body in ways that are different, be consistent, and try new things.

The same goes for expressive arts coaching, life coaching, expressive arts facilitation, and even therapy at times. If your goal is to find your life purpose, then you need to get Uncomfortable by way of really evaluating your life, hiring someone to help you, and also be open to taking some risks. If your goal is to get more organized, you need to get Uncomfortable with filing those papers every single day for the next 21 days until it becomes a habit even though you can make up excuses why those stacks can wait for another time. If you are suffering from an addiction, in order to cross over to the other side of it, there will be many days of being Uncomfortable, and that’s where the breakthroughs live.

So to summarize,

Comfortable = status quo

Uncomfortable = growth and progress

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My Creative Life Interview #18 with Creative Self-Development Coach Jamie Ridler
Gabrielle Javier-Cerulli
My Creative Life is a weekly interview, with the same five questions, with folks who are living authentically, creatively, and making a living out of their passions.

This week I’m honored to have Toronto's Jamie Ridler, a creative woman who lives and breathes the creative process and guides others in finding their authentic creative Self. Be sure to check out her website and blog for inspiration and for a visual treat! She is super nice so drop her a line, she'd be glad to chat. She can work with you over the phone!

BONUS: Check out her movement video below!

Website: http://jamieridlerstudios.ca/
Twitter: @starshyne

1. What do you do? (career wise - whatever you want to share)
I’m a creative self-development coach and the owner of Jamie Ridler Studios. My work revolves around helping creative, independent spirits step out of the shadows and be the star they are. I do this through coaching, workshops, products and online activities.

2. How did you prepare for this career? (formal and informal education, books, workshops?)
What a journey! In many ways I’ve been preparing for this work my entire life. I’ve always been a creative creature and grew up surrounded by books and paints, fabrics and puppets. My first love was dance and then the theatre. I discovered coaching after admitting to myself that the path I was on (a doctorate in drama) was taking me in the wrong direction. I did a great deal of soul-searching, brainstorming, discussing with friends and loved ones to get clear on my best skills, my deepest loves, how I wanted to make a difference and what I wanted to get out of a career. When I found coaching, it fit me like a dream. I did the core curriculum and then certification with the life-changing Coaches Training Institute (www.thecoaches.com). Later, to help bring my creativity and coaching together, I took a foundational program in Expressive Arts Therapy at ISIS in Toronto (http://www.isis-canada.org).

3. Besides living according to the values of creativity and independence, what other values are you honoring by following this path?
Life. Individuality. Sacredness. Love. Self-Expression. Courage.
I believe that we are here for 2 purposes: to be ourselves and to love our lives. Being ourselves involves knowing who we are, expressing and sharing the richness and the uniqueness that we bring to this world. And loving our lives means both tending them lovingly and also creating a life we’re wildly in love with. That’s the work I do. Delicious.

4. What struggles or challenges do you face, if any?
Growing what I offer into a business has been a challenge but also the most surprising and extraordinary opportunity for self-development. I had no idea that it could be like this. I’ve had to release all sorts of limiting beliefs about business, marketing, networking, sales and money. Now Jamie Ridler Studios feels like an exciting creative project full of connecting, inspiration, sharing, love and exchange. And that’s business. How cool is that?

5. Can you give some advice to folks who would like to do what you do?
Take the first step. We can all spend so much time preparing, training, reading, visioning, journaling, discussing, planning, that it takes us years to step into the adventure of our dreams. All of that is important but wherever you can, reach inside and find the curiosity and courage to take a step. That step will give you immediate and important information. We can wonder for hours about what something tastes like but in the second it takes to put it in our mouths, we know! So have a taste. See how it feels. And if you’re spirit says, “Yes!” take the next step. Dive in and trust yourself. The world needs your gifts. And if there’s any way I can help, email me at jamie@openthedoor.ca. I’m always interested in talking to helpers and creatives who are starting down the path to their dreams!




Sigh Dance inspired by MuseCubes from Jamie Ridler on Vimeo.

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NEA Budget gets $12.5 million boost!! Yahoo!
Gabrielle Javier-Cerulli

I received this from Americans for the Arts and thought you'd be interested!

Yesterday, Congress passed a $12.5 million funding increase as part of the FY 2010 Interior Appropriations bill for both the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) and the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH). President Obama is scheduled to sign this bill into law by October 31, which concludes National Arts and Humanities Month. The nation's two federal grantmaking cultural agencies will now each have budgets of $167.5 million, their highest funding levels in 16 years. As so many state and local governments have had to cut arts budgets across the country, this well-timed federal appropriations increase for the arts is a welcome infusion of funds.

Enacted FY09
FY10 Final Interior
Appropriations Bill

FY09 vs. FY10 Difference
NEA

$155 million

$167.5 million

$12.5 million increase
NEH

$155 million

$167.5 million

$12.5 million increase

The FY 2010 Interior Appropriations bill (H.R. 2996) was passed in the House by a vote of 247­­-178 and in the Senate by a vote of 72-28. Please play your part and send a quick e-mail to your members of Congress at the Americans for the Arts E-Advocacy Center and let them know how much the arts will benefit from this funding increase.

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My Creative Life Interview #17 with Landscape & Figure Painter Holly Friesen
Gabrielle Javier-Cerulli
My Creative Life is a weekly interview, with the same five questions, with folks who are living authentically, creatively, and making a living out of their passions.

This week I’m honored to have Holly Friesen, a creative woman with paints and with poetry. Most of her paintings reflect the natural environment but it's her figure paintings that really got me hooked on her work. Be sure to check out her lovely, calming creations at www.hollyfriesen.com.
Twitter @Holly59

1. What do you do? (career wise - whatever you want to share)
I am a working painter. Inspired by the living, breathing landscape around me, particularly the ancient rocks of the Laurentian mountains in Quebec.

2. How did you prepare for this career? (formal and informal education, books, workshops?)
Formally I studied Fine Arts at John Abbott College in Montreal where I was able to explore every medium from photography to printmaking, sculpture to performance art. From there I went on to York University in Toronto to study Fine Arts majoring in painting. I found the university environment to be stifling and confining and after three years, cashed in my scholarship, bought a motorcycle and headed for California. This bike trip was the beginning of my career as an artist. I carried a portable watercolor kit with me wherever I traveled. I learned to observe closely, to see beneath the surface and reveal what I saw in paint. I traveled and looked at great Art everywhere I could as well as studying with many different artists in different mediums. I sat with the rocks, rivers and forests and listened.

3. Besides living according to the values of creativity and independence, what other values are you honoring by following this path?
I am following what brings me spontaneous joy! This is both a blessing and a curse but I have no choice. I am following the path of all those who have gone before me and all those who will continue on ahead of me. The path of most resistance, the one where everyone keeps telling you not to do what you do so you have to be sure enough of your vision to follow it anyway. I have learned to trust my intuition and let it guide me.

4. What struggles or challenges do you face, if any?
Doubt. Always the gnawing doubt that I am not good enough to call myself a painter. Also,the images that evolve and want to express themselves come from deep within and reveal themselves through dreams and visions. Revealing these inner images can leave one feeling vulnerable and exposed. Viewers negative or positive criticism can be disruptive to the process so there is always a need for shielding & balancing the inner with the outer visions.

5. Can you give some advice to folks who would like to do what you do?
Do whatever it is that brings you joy, the rest will follow naturally; leading you to work
many, many hours with an unparalleled discipline and and devotion to what you do. To learn what you need to know, do what you love, live your passion!
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You will smile at this creative claymation from Italy
Gabrielle Javier-Cerulli
I'm in awe of this process! Hope you enjoy it too.

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My Creative Life Interview #16 with Courtney Konecny, Creative Arts Therapist in Rochester, NY
Gabrielle Javier-Cerulli
My Creative Life is a weekly interview, with the same five questions, with folks who are living authentically, creatively, and making a living out of their passions.

This week I’m honored to Courtney Konecny, a smart and talented licensed art therapist in Rochester, NY. She loves what she does and wholeheartedly believes in the healing process that can happen when using the creative/expressive arts. Be sure to check her out at www.ArborArtTherapy.com


1. What do you do? (career wise - whatever you want to share)
I am a creative arts therapist working in private practice as well as a painter & mixed media artist

2. How did you prepare for this career? (formal and informal education, books, workshops?)
I obtained my undergraduate degrees in psychology and fine art and during that time I was perfectly ok with the thought of spending my life as a nomadic starving artist. Then one day, can't really say when, someone told me about the field of art therapy and my whole life sort of shifted, and it all just began to make sense! So I pursued my graduate degree in creative arts therapy, went through the long hours that it took to become a fully credentialed art therapist, and threw myself into books and art...it was a thirst for knowledge and alot of self-educating and practice.

3. Besides living according to the values of creativity and independence, what other values are you honoring by following this path?
Healing on one's own terms, knowledge, the right to be an expressive human being and honoring that in others. The value of living outside the box...and then building the box around yourself...that's a biggie.

4. What struggles or challenges do you face, if any?
I would have say there are 2 huge and quite frustrating struggles I have faced since entering this field 7years ago.
The 1st, is the realization that many people do not take my craft seriously...and even more don't even understand what I do! I have had to really put myself out there in the community to educate people because I truly, passionately believe in the healing power of creative expression. And most people do not get it.
The 2nd, is that I do not have nearly enough time anymore to focus on my own work. I honestly, not for a minute, thought that would ever become an issue for me. But, 1 demanding career and 1 toddler later, and it has taken its toll on my ability to find balance for myself. I never thought I would long for the starving artist dreams!

5. Can you give some advice to folks who would like to do what you do?
Never lose sight of the reasons you are choosing this path... the art and your clients. They are both gifts beyond imagination.
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What is Expressive Arts Coaching and Facilitation?
Gabrielle Javier-Cerulli
What is it?

Think of the process as a fusion of creative expression and personal development work. Participants may gain clarity around an issue, such as finding one's life purpose, and/or get in touch with one's creative Self. The process tends to be a place of discovery with Aha! moments peppered throughout a session or workshop.

What forms of creative expression are utilized?
This is a sample list of the different ways coaches and facilitators engage you in the creative process for clarity and self-discovery:

Visual Arts: painting, drawing, collage, clay, masks, sculpting, sand tray, mandalas, mixed media

Writing: poetry, haiku, journaling, memoir writing, creative writing, short stories

Music: drumming, singing, music-making, listening, song writing, sounding

Movement: dance, breath work, authentic movement

Drama: storytelling, theater games, role playing

Who would be interested in a workshop or session?
Anyone who is interested in one or all of the following:

  • unleashing and widening the space for their creative Self to surface
  • finding answers and exploring ideas about their careers, life purpose, self-esteem, and relationships (such as a spouse/partner, family, friends, colleague, or boss)
  • someone who currently works in the creative arts such as writers, artists, dancers, designers who are experiencing a block or who wishes to dive deeper into their art form or explore another
Why would someone choose to attend an expressive arts coaching or facilitation workshop or session?
They are ready to try something new and different, and believe that something can happen while engaging in art-making. They are excited to venture into a deeper understanding of themselves while engaging in the creative process whatever form that may be - writing, collage, drumming, etc.

Anything else?
Expressive Arts Coaching and Facilitation can be therapeutic but it is not therapy. There are expressive arts/creative arts therapists, art therapists, music therapists, and drama therapists who do some coaching and facilitation BUT a coach or facilitator usually is not providing therapy because they are not licensed nor is it the focus of their work. Coaches and facilitators do not diagnose. Some clients work with a coach/facilitator as an alternative to, or as a complement to, their traditional talk therapy.

Lastly, the client does not need to be artistic to reap the benefits of this style of personal development! The focus is on process not product.

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