Sparking Art and Creativity

“Creativity often consists of merely turning up what is already there. Did you know that right and left shoes were thought up only a little more than a century ago?”
— Bernice Fitz-Gibbon

A Journey with the Muses

Awakening and Deepening Creativity

“Wake up to the present moment! In the moment, a glorious profusion of sensation, emotion, and stirring thoughts translate themselves into inspiration. You have the freedom to weave these inspirations into dreams, into art, into a reality you can step into with celebration."

— Jill Badonsky, Author, The Nine Modern Day Muses (and a Bodyguard)

What happens in Muse Journey

Experience creative obstacles magically transforming a little each week as we study and apply the creativity tools represented by the Modern Day Muses.

Muse Journey participants...

get focus and momentum for creative endeavors
develop strategies to utilize strengths effectively
reveal obstacles and break through creative blocks
celebrate the ability to create, laugh and see life anew
learn to see and respect yourself as a creative person
surround yourself with inspiration and creative brilliance

Muse Journey

Long-Distance Format, by phone and email, weekly
A facilitated Creativity Group embracing study, play, and support!
Group size is between 4 – 8 people.

Next series starts in January and goes through April 2008.
For best price, make deposit by December 1, 2007.
See tele-conference Schedule to find out more about Launch Special.

We cover creative principles that the re-invented Muses represent and how to apply them to one's unique creative process and project/s.

The span of time that this class series covers, 16 weeks, provides the continuity needed to grapple sufficiently with the obstacles each artist experiences. Sometimes these obstacles are persistent habits that need to be replaced over time with new tools and ways of thinking.

There are 12 meetings by phone over 16 weeks, with some breaks
(or 15 meetings, if you take advantage of the optional offerings)

Via telephone conference call, you participate in:
• Muse of the Week discussion
• Sharing results of self-selected and assigned exercises
• Exchanges about successful application of Muse priniciples

Via private Yahoo! group, you get to
• Extend your learning about creative awareness
• Ask questions of a certified creativity coach
• Practice building effective creative support

Via creativity guidance you receive by phone and online,
• you get recommitted in a new way to creative work, and
• your project gets the anchor it needs to thrive.

See Schedule for free tele-conference calls
to sample the program and take advantage of promotional discount.

Muse Journey

Muse Partners Format
Also a long-distance format, Muse Partners is customized for pairs of people, like life partners, artist partners, good friends, and such. Partners do not have to live in the same city, but when you do, there can also be a local component. A great way to implement and solidify the skills learned in creativity coaching and study of the re-invented Muses!

• Local Partnering - via telephone conference call, email, and face-to-face studio sessions. For people in or near Mountain View, CA or Athens, GA

• Long-distance Partnering - telephone meetings, email followup, Yahoo group.

For more information email musejourney@sparkingart.com.

Also see Schedule for free conference calls.

Muse Journey

Muse Workshop Format, one-day, in-person
These delightful opportunities can be contracted privately in any location. Hosts and sponsors receive free tuition spots, depending on the number of total attendees.

1) Modern-Day Muse Workshops both introduce the re-invented Muses and re-inforce study done in the phone and online group formats.

2) Holidays with the Muses cover one or more Modern-Day Muses per workshop with a focus on holiday goals and arts & crafts. These Muse "Play while Planning" Intensives are ussually held on a Saturday or Sunday, 11am - 4pm, and can also be contracted for week days.

3) Stepping into Spring with the Muses and Summer Days with the Muses happen in the warmer months of the year and may take place in outdoor locations.

Some dates may be scheduled for California (in the greater San Francisco Bay Area) and in Georgia (in the Athens-Atlanta area).

For more information email musejourney@sparkingart.com.

Magical Muse Journey

Weekly, in-person format
Magical Muse Journey can be contracted three months in advance for pre-formed groups. The series usually begins mid-September, and then again in early to mid-January, but it can be set for any part of the year. The 12 class series spans 13 - 16 weeks, with some breaks, minimum 8 people. Please inquire about coordinating a group for reduced tuition.

Email musejourney@sparkingart.com if you are interested in hosting a class or workshop at your church, in your home, at work, or some other venue.

What are the The Modern Day Muses?
We use the book, The Nine Modern Day Muses (and a Bodyguard), 10 Guides to Creative Inspiration for Artists, Poets, Lovers, and Other Mortals Wanting to Live a Dazzling Existence, by Jill Badonsky, M. Ed., and other resources for Muse Journey.

The book is currently out-of-print with the original publisher, but will be out again soon. Muse Journey participants can purchase the book through Sparking Art Studio. Or you might be able to find used copies on amazon.com.

See The Muse Cards, a new SoulCollage® Suit based on the Nine Modern Day Muses.

THIS CREATIVITY CLASS BENEFITS ANYONE!

Muse Journey is for all artists in any stage of creation...
...for visual artists, designers, performing artists, musicians, writers, storytellers, filmmakers, dancers, craftspeople, teachers and inventors...

...for experienced artists
Muse Journey deepens awareness of the creative process and an artist's unique strengths and challenges. Working artists find that this study/play series can transform a stuck place quite quickly and provide the artistic nutrition that is needed to produce.

...for people re-discovering themselves as artists
Muse Journey focuses energy on one's unique creative desires and needs and propels the emerging artist gently through blocks often experienced in the creative process. These blocks can be due to resistance, fear, procrastination, overwhelm, or perfectionism

Testimonials

"I joined the Muse Journey class because I felt stuck in my creative writing process and was looking for a "jump start" to get me going again. The exercises we did in this class series did more than that… every week I would get excited to try a new technique, address a different aspect of my writing, take new risks and revel in a new-found sense of freedom. It was truly a liberating process.

Jeanne Etcheverry, Technical Writer
San Francisco Bay Area

"During the Muse Journey classes, I started listening more intently to music and singing more on a daily basis. I found myself tinkering around more on my keyboard and creating a few ditties here and there. These are little steps but very important, because I was stuck creatively for a long time. For me, music is the key to feeling better about myself. Now, I plan to write in a journal daily, so re-immersing myself in music has spilled over into wanting to explore writing."

Sonia Jhao, County Housing Coordinator
Redwood City, CA

"I was astounded to learn about the wide range of Muse tools and exercises that I can use to get into a creative mode. I had always read about paying attention to one's breathing, but Laurel taught us some techniques that really stuck with me. The centering sequence, meditating on my intention, and forming one affirmation (from the amazing amount of positive feedback I got in class) are now what I use to start my creative time every morning before I go to work, and I am doing my blind contours and drawing daily. This class works!"

Seth Kouros, Engineer
Silicon Valley, CA

" I had a wonderful adventure in Muse Journey. I learned to be more playful in my daily activities which led to opening up to thinking of myself as creative again. The Nine Modern Day Muses, especially Bea Silly, and Laurel, too, facilitate play, which is very important for me since I get too serious about many things in life."

Dana Corteone, Graduate Student
Sunnyvale, CA

"In Laurel’s studio environment I really enjoyed the camaraderie with the other creative searchers in the class. Over twelve weeks we experienced many different ways to support our own and each other's creative energy. Laurel is very good at facilitating creative exploration individually as well as in a group. Before you know it, you are doing things you probably would have not done before! Like acting in front of your other classmates!"

Sandy Howland, Events Planner
San Jose, CA

"Laurel excels in posing the right questions, finding the right words of encouragement and providing exercises that are fun and payoff in unexpected ways. I've made major progress in the creative writing I do outside of my day job, and I appreciate the substantial change in my perception of myself as a creative person. It was a great experience!"

Victoria A. Lansing, Writer
Mountain View, CA

Laurel Aston is a Certified Muse Facilitator and a Certified Kaizen-Muse Creativity Coach, trained by Jill Badonsky in the KMCC program.

Muse Walks and Hiking with the Muses

Awakening the Body to Creativity
An Introduction to Muse Journey

“A week ago it was the mountains I thought the most wonderful, and today it's the plains. I guess it's the feeling of bigness in both that carries me away.”
— Georgia O'Keeffe

Playful presentation of the Nine Modern-Day Muses is combined with a meditative walk or more vigorous exercise as well as acquainting yourself with the Muse Journey creative community. Take a group Muse Walk locally or join us for longer Hiking with the Muses in the foothills of the Santa Cruz Mountains.

See Schedule.

For past and current Muse Journey participants and Creativity Coaching clients, this is a great review and catch-up time.

For prospective students of Muse Journey, it is an excellent opportunity to talk to current or past participants. One attendance on a hike or walk satisfies the Introduction required to register for the 12-week Muse Journey class. See description above for
A Journey with the Muses .

For Muse Walks, we usually take a tour of a beautiful garden, in a setting on the peninsula, which provides inspiration. There is a short presentation and a creative activity. Please allow 2.5 - 3 hours for transportation, the walk and gathering.

For Hiking with the Muses, we cover up to 3 - 5 miles in in the foothills and have a short presentation with a creative activity, sometimes at picnic tables under cover. Please be in good physical shape to take this class. Hiking is around Cupertino, 280, and along Skyline Ridge. Allow four hours for this class including transportation.

You will need any or all of the following: backpack, hat, good walking shoes, and for cooler weather, layers of clothes. Bring sunscreen, snack or lunch, and journal. You must be on time!

Please email musejourney@sparkingart.com.

Creativity Coaching

For individuals of any age or artistic persuasion

“Creativity is the celebration of one’s grandeur, one’s sense of making
anything possible.”
— Joseph Zinker

Telephone, online, and in-studio ( Mountain View, CA)

Laurel is a graduate of the Creativity Coaching training program founded by creativity coach pioneer Jill Badonsky, M.Ed., and Robert Maurer, Ph.D., UCLA, using effective methodology developed specifically to address 21st century challenges to creativity.

See Creativity Coach

Creative Companions

Artists’ Support Group with Coaching

“When you affirm your own rightness in the universe, then you co-operate with others easily and automatically as part of your own nature.”
— Jane Roberts

A mix of artistic development, coaching with Laurel, and support from group members.
Twice a month meetings. We request you consider a three month commitment after the initial visit.
Minimum of 4 people required.

Eight week session in January - February 2008.

See more Sparking Art programs:

Creativity | Self-discovery | Kids | Healing