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Creative Support for
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for Artists, Performers & Writers Support, Community, Creative Growth Inspired by the informal gatherings of artists and writers that nurtured creative genius in the past, this salon is a place to grow ideas, share dreams, progress on projects, and feel supported. This is where you can find thoughtful attention to the full range of practical, emotional, and existential concerns that are part of the creative life. It's a place to learn and share wise, compassionate, and courageous approaches to reaching creative goals. And it's a place to have fun with others who probably know what it's like to be in your shoes. The salon is based on the premise that the personal, emotional, and social dimensions of doing artistic work and building a life to sustain it are as important to your sense of success and satisfaction as gaining technical proficiency. Members have been involved in all kinds of artistic, writing, and performing activities. The primary focus of the salon is on helping creative people overcome isolation, be mutually supportive in their advancement toward individual goals, and providing a sense of community to people who's work, aspirations, and priorities in life often go unsupported and misunderstood by others. The group provides an opportunity for showing work and getting comments on it, but the emphasis is on supporting each person's creative development, not on the critique of specific works. In the process, any of the obstacles to a satisfying creative life might be addressed, including problems with: "day jobs" and money; time management; self-exposure; self-promotion; perfectionism; procrastination; distractibility; creative isolation; self-criticism, inner demons, and blocks; confidence, persistence or self-discipline; choosing, starting or finishing projects; submitting, publishing or exhibiting work; and just about anything you can think of that comes up in a creative person's life. In addition to dealing with problems, the salon provides an energy boost and acts as a mood elevator. It helps individuals recognize their own progress and growth and helps celebrate victories and achievements along the way. Through sharing the joys and struggles of the artist's life, a good many of the group's members also have formed significant friendships that extend beyond the meetings themselves. The salon has a maximum size of seven and can be organized whenever at least four people are able to join. It meets in my office, in the Noe Valley neighborhood of San Francisco, in the evening. For details about the group and a free phone consultation to decide if it might be right for you, give me a call. |
