Where we began

Liz was feeling directionless and overwhelmed with all of her creative practices. She also felt she wasn't doing enough to get her work ready and out there for others to view. This felt like a consistent pattern - getting so far along in an endeavour and then becoming aimless at the point where she might want to get work out into the public eye.

Liz needed understanding, clarity and freedom.

What we did

“I’m waiting for someone to tell me what to do.”

After a significant period of illness, the possibility to expand her creative practice was returning. Liz was feeling the pressure to act.

Wanting to do everything NOW, it was challenging to plan and think ahead after so long not being able to do that. Liz found herself paralysed in knowing how to act, shutting down the possibilities for the work before even beginning. This was taking joy and freedom away from doing the work.

My focus was to help Liz find direction through understanding what mattered to her now.

We all carry with us received ideas about what it is to be creative and what ‘success’ looks like in our field - questioning this helps us carve our own path.

I set Liz exercises to unpack the beliefs and stories she was carrying about what she ‘should’ be doing as a visual artist and writer. This enabled Liz to take control of the narratives she was working under.

Through exploring what writing meant to her, we uncovered that the ghost of Liz’s outcome-driven academic career was setting unhelpful expectations about what creative writing should be. Working together, we reclaimed an exciting idea of creative writing for Liz. We co-created a 21 Day Writing Experiment to allow Liz to explore this, with freedom and without pressure.

This lead to a breakthrough for Liz: realising that following her illness she now thinks differently. Though she had always seen writing as part of her creative identity, right now it is not part of what she chooses to be doing.

We can’t do it all. Following what you have energy for NOW can lead to unexpected benefits.

In making sense of what her creative practice looks like now, and not labouring under ideas from the life she had before, Liz found freedom and peace with how she creates.

“FUCK THE OUTCOME!” became a mantra. Our work helped bring creative play back to Liz’s process and she found greater trust in her creative instinct. This opened up experimenting with music and she grew confidence in deepening her visual art practice, and sharing the art she creates.

“Our work together has been unexpectedly profound for me. It has involved looking at and accepting the ways in which CFS/ME, having to leave a career and experiencing varying degrees of financial hardship have impacted my sense of self, not just my creative work.

This has not only allowed me to face and make peace with some difficult things, but also has shown me how intrinsically linked my art work and my identity are - a huge gift, and one that is life-changing for me.

I couldn't have done that kind of work with just anyone, and I am so grateful for Paul’s calm, patience, and willingness to explore these things with me. His attentiveness to detail and ability to pause, clarify and reflect back are real gifts and I trusted him to guide me through some difficult connections with purpose and gentleness.”

Where is Liz now?

This year, Liz showed her work for the first time in a gallery exhibition. Interest in her work is growing and she is now selling what she creates.