Workshop Chronicles :: An Entrepreneurial Journey
Today's date is actually December 3, 2007, and last night was my first foray into professional teaching. I have organized workshops, art groups, retreats and boutiques over the years, all with great success, and have been toying with the idea of making it an official piece of my career pie for many months. In November of this year I decided to take the plunge, and last night I had a trial run workshop with seven fabulous women on my dining room table. I provided a mountain of art supplies, a space to create and minimal instruction and they gave me invaluable feedback and insights into how these workshops might be structured for maximum creative impact.
I decided to write about my journey into teaching to offer readers a glimpse into the process of starting a creative business. It is terribly easy to look at successful artists and enterpreneurs and think the journey must have been rosy and blissful from day one, when the reality is that any endeavor is a process that has moments of bliss, yes, but also challenges, frustrations and surprises. I am barely 24 hours into this new adventure and I've already been given information that tells me my initial ideas might not be quite on the mark. By the time last night's workshop was wrapping up, the path I thought I'd be on as a teacher already started shifting.
One of the greatest lessons I learned with Swirly is that there must be a balance between making something happen and allowing new directions to divert your attention. I had a clear "big picture", long term vision for Swirly that always stayed intact, but in terms of the specifics of how I got there on a day to day basis, that shifted and morphed quite a bit as new opportunities arose along the way. I have a vision for my teaching - and this blog and my artwork - that are all interconnected and part of the same picture, but I am well aware that the tactics I choose to assemble this puzzle might not be the best methods. I have to be willing to explore other avenues and ideas as I receive input, advice and opinions from my potential audience. It is a process I have learned to enjoy immensely.
The fear of being wrong is a powerful one indeed, and it prevents many people from putting their ideas, visions and creativity out in the world. I actually find the possibility of being wrong positively freeing. I explained to my group last night what my ideas were, and immediately followed that up with an admission that I might be totally wrong. How wonderful! I might be way off, and because of this there is absolutely no need to get attached to my ideas. And guess what? It looks like my ideas about making these workshops as accessible and effective as possible might not be the best. Maybe not WRONG, but perhaps not as potent as they could be. The exciting part of this is that it looks like I have been thinking too small, and I will serve myself - and my clients - better by thinking bigger.
I will be writing about this throughout the year, sharing the process with the goal of providing a realistic, inspring story of realizing a dream. Accomplishing grand dreams are fabulous, of course, but it is all the steps we take to get to those moments of triumph that make the experience worthwhile.
Christine Mason Miller
in Workshop Chronicles, Creative Process
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Reader Comments (6)
your da bomb, chickie!
i'm so glad you're writing about this process. i'd love to hear some of the feedback you received too!
"Accomplishing grand dreams are fabulous, of course, but it is all the steps we take to get to those moments of triumph that make the experience worthwhile."
I love this line. The process really is important piece to the puzzle.
Congratulations on your new journey!! and a huge THANK YOU for welcoming all of us into your journey. I'm having such an inspirational and learning time so far with your postings, I can't wait to keep reading each day. You are indeed planting a "seed" in my life...May the harvest come to you ten times fold.
Have an Artsy & Flourishing New Year!
Congratulations on your new journey!! and a huge THANK YOU for welcoming all of us into your journey. I'm having such an inspirational and learning time so far with your postings, I can't wait to keep reading each day. You are indeed planting a "seed" in my life...May the harvest come to you ten times fold.
Have an Artsy & Flourishing New Year!
Something similar is said about this in Paul Arden's book, "It's Not How Good You Are, Its How Good You Want To Be." Essentially, he says to seek out criticism, because this will teach a person more than playing it safe. In fact, he says that if there is no criticism, chances are good that the person *is* playing it safe--too safe!
xo
Kate