AMEND Life Coaching

AMEND Life Coaching Hi, I'm John. I'm a creativity life coach. If you'd like to see how I can help you, book a free taster session via my website.

Neuroaesthetics is a fascinating field that shows that some things are hard-wired into our brains. The biggest takeawa...
08/14/2025

Neuroaesthetics is a fascinating field that shows that some things are hard-wired into our brains. The biggest takeaway? That beauty is not optional but necessary for our well-being. How can you infuse your life with beauty? This involves not just how you craft your personal environment but how often you immerse yourself in nature, incorporate fractal design and understand that our brains are wired for human connection. The fact that so much of our brain is made up of architecture that relates to recognizing and interpreting faces (fusiform face area) and which is why we see faces everywhere. Understanding this and incorporating those types of inherent design needs, we can design environments to meet emotional needs such as safety and comfort.

"Artists don't get down to work until the pain of working is exceeded by pain of not working" - Stephen DeStaeblerYou kn...
02/27/2025

"Artists don't get down to work until the pain of working is exceeded by pain of not working" - Stephen DeStaebler

You know that you're an artist when you have that itch to create and your life doesn't feel right until you can get something out there. I've often heard other artists say that it hurts more not to create than to do it. Yet, we are all challenged by our fears and internal struggles, both about ourselves and the work we make.

What gets you going when you're standing on that precipice between doing and not doing? Comment below.

"The person who makes something today isn't the same person who returns to the work tomorrow" - From "The Creative Act" ...
02/24/2025

"The person who makes something today isn't the same person who returns to the work tomorrow" - From "The Creative Act" by Rick Rubin

A good practice is doing something you've tried in the past and then comparing how you did it. For example, try a self portrait. Then in a year, do another one. See if the passage of time, your experience over the year, and even, the way you are feeling affects the way you create the self portrait. Usually, all those things are different and will affect the way you create.

Can you think of something that altered the way you created something in the past? Comment below.

"How do we pick up on a signal that can neither be heard nor be defined? The answer is not to look for it. Nor do we p...
02/21/2025

"How do we pick up on a signal that can neither be heard nor be defined? The answer is not to look for it. Nor do we predict or analyze our way into it. Instead, we create an open space that allows it." - From "The Creative Act" by Rick Rubin

So much of the creative process is us creating the space for it. And, so much of what I do as a creativity life coach is creating the safe space for my clients to explore and be supported through their work. This applies to both the emotional space we need to create new work as well as the actual space, like a studio or a workstation.

What spaces (literal or figurative) do you make for your creativity to flow unimpeded?
Comment below.

"To live as an artist is a way of being in the world. A way of perceiving. A practice of paying attention. Refining o...
02/20/2025

"To live as an artist is a way of being in the world. A way of perceiving. A practice of paying attention. Refining our sensitivity to tune into the more subtle notes." - From "The Creative Act" by Rick Rubin

Being an artist in this world can be a challenge because we are often born with increased sensitivities to our environment. Some of us remember when we felt everything intensely (I do). That means that you feel joy as strongly as you do pain and sadness. And, that can make you want to withdraw from stimuli. Yet, being open to to perception and new experiences is key to making great art.

How do you maintain your openness to what is around you while also balancing the day to day need to feel safe? Comment below.

"The difference between acceptance and approval is subtle, but distinct. Acceptance means having your work counted as t...
02/17/2025

"The difference between acceptance and approval is subtle, but distinct. Acceptance means having your work counted as the real thing; approval means having people like it." (From "Art & Fear" by D. Bayles and T. Orland)

Being a creative is a balancing act in this world. We make things that reflect our own vision and yet there is always a viewer or receiver. When we make things, whether that be in the privacy of our studios or, as in the case of actors, as the film is being made, it is essentially ours while it is being created. Yet, at some point, it gets disseminated to the world at large. At that point, it's no longer just ours. It's now in the public purview.

How do you feel about that push and pull, that play between what you create for yourself and how others see it? Comment below.

“Being an artist is about living in the uncomfortable zone.” Mihaela Ivan Holtz, Psy.D., LMFT.As a creative, one of the ...
02/11/2025

“Being an artist is about living in the uncomfortable zone.” Mihaela Ivan Holtz, Psy.D., LMFT.

As a creative, one of the keys to making sure your work engages you and your audience is by being willing to explore new ideas. When we are not learning or playing, our art may become monotonous.

What are some ways that you push yourself in your creative practice to explore new ideas and ways of doing things? Comment below.

(Excerpts from "You Are an Artist," by Sarah Urist Green)Imprint by Sopheap Pich - When Sopheap Pich attended art school...
01/28/2025

(Excerpts from "You Are an Artist," by Sarah Urist Green)

Imprint by Sopheap Pich - When Sopheap Pich attended art school in Chicago and wanted to make art, he went to the art supply store....But a few years later, when he returned to his birth country of Cambodia, there were no art supply stores...Rattan was widely available...In all his works, Pich explores the limits and possibilities of these locally available materials. While rattan is more malleable, bamboo is stronger and more rigid....And so he decided to cut a stick in half, dip it in a paint...and pressing the mixture on a paper....Pich liked the he was only able to control the process to some degree, letting the material determine the overall feeling of his work...What are the materials that surround you? And how might you explore their limits and possibilities?

Your Turn -
1. Choose an object that you find interesting that is able to be cut.
2. Cut it to make a flat surface.
3. Dip the cut surface into any type of paint or pigment and press it to a piece of paper repeatedly to make an imprint.
4. Take a picture and post on social media with the hashtag

In her book "You Are an Artist" by Sarah Urist Green, she has assignments to spark creativity. In honor of her book, I ...
01/27/2025

In her book "You Are an Artist" by Sarah Urist Green, she has assignments to spark creativity. In honor of her book, I will share her assignments in the next series of posts. If you're interested in doing the assignments, follow along and post your results in the commments. The following are excerpts from her book.

Surface Test - Artist Kim Beck
"When Kim Beck doesn't know what to do, she tends to either look up or look down. Looking up has to projects investigating power lines, street signs....Looking down, has resulted in works about grass, potholes...." Looking down has also prompted Beck to scrutinize the ground itself....Beck began making rubbings of the floor..."

Your Turn
1. Get a large piece of paper and crayon.
2. Find a piece of ground that you respond to in some way, because of how it looks, the texture, or the significance of the locale.
3. Make a rubbing by placing the paper on the ground and dragging the crayon slowly, repeatedly over it.
4. Take a picture of the rubbing in the place where it was made.

Share the image on Facebook and hashtag

One of the creative challenges we face as artists is that when we leave the cocoon of art school (or, if as a self-taugh...
01/07/2025

One of the creative challenges we face as artists is that when we leave the cocoon of art school (or, if as a self-taught artist/designer) there is no group critique any longer that can help validate or question what our process/intent is, we are often left to hearing our own extremely self-critical voices. How do we maintain a balanced view of what we are making, especially when we're in the throes of the creative process?

This is where creative life coaching comes in. As a life coach, my role is to help you find your answers without inserting myself into it. However, as a creative and artist myself, I also intimately understand how to help guide you in your process. At times, I can provide the necessary feedback and critical voice when needed.

Having a touchpoint during your process is often all an artist needs to be able to flourish and produce their best work. I look forward to being able to work with you in the new year.

As winter grips us with her cold hand, how do we channel our energies to maintain our creativity? We moved this year in...
12/05/2024

As winter grips us with her cold hand, how do we channel our energies to maintain our creativity? We moved this year into a new house and being busy with updates and settling into a new space - some of that movement distracted me from the fact that I'm essentially a creative as well. A few months ago, I finally listened to my wife (who actually knows me, sometimes better than I do) to convert our garage into an art studio. I realized that I'm a "maker" and need that hand in making things for my own happiness. It's an essential part of my happiness.

As a creative, what are some things that you can't live without? Comment below.

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