Hi everyone!!!! I'm Jana, and this is my final Interview Day for this month.
At the Creative Bazaar a few weeks ago, I met the enchanting blogger Jamie, who was SO MUCH FUN. We had only exchanged a couple of e-mails before that, but as soon as I met her, I felt like I’d known her forever! Some people just make you comfortable being yourself, ya know?
When I heard that Jamie was starting on a new career path, helping others be comfortable with themselves as well… I just HAD to know more! So we sat down in the midst of total chaos (my art room) for a little chat. Want to eavesdrop?
*leaving the door open just enough for you to hear*
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Hi Jamie, can you tell us a little about yourself?
I’m a certified life coach, a Nia instructor, a creative blogger and a creative spirit. I am passionate about supporting people in being themselves in the world and being madly in love with their lives. I believe that we all benefit from engaging in creative activity. We’re all meant to sing out loud and dance wildly and create with abandon. That’s a celebration of life and of our selves, and I want to help people experience that. There’s nothing better than having someone in my Nia class rediscover the joy of dancing and the pleasure of being in their body, or in coaching someone to move towards a dream that before they didn’t dare believe was possible. Magic happens. One of the reasons I love the creative blogging community is that we are there to remind each other that that’s true!
How did you become this creative spirit that you are today? Who in your life inspired this passion for creative living in you?
I have to say that the primary influence in my developing as a creative spirit is my mom. When I was a little girl, there was always paint and puppets and musical instruments and stories and spotlights and costumes. That was just the world I lived in. It was wonderful. You know, I have memories of sitting around with my family making vision collages out of old magazines. It took me a long time to realize that not everyone did that kind of thing!
That is SO awesome Jamie! I want my children to grow up in that kind of environment.
What’s been the most challenging aspect of your creative life?
My first and strongest love has always been dance. I came to training later in life (I was 15 – isn’t that crazy to think of that as later in life?) and I never had a dancer’s body. I’m curvy and not that tall. Though I gave every ounce of time and love to my dancing, it didn’t look like a performing career in that area was viable. And so for a long time I didn’t really dance. Believe it or not, clubbing reawakened that passion in me. On the dance floor I realized that when I dance, I remember who I am. So it doesn’t matter if it’s a career or not, the reality is my spirit needs to dance. Period.
I hear that you are attempting to become an expressive arts coach! What IS expressive arts therapy?
Now, I have to say that I’m only 2 classes into my program, but I’ll answer that question the best that I can. Expressive arts therapy uses interaction with various arts (music, writing, visual arts, theatre, dance) as a way of creating positive change in a person’s life. It is often used in a healing context. As a coach, I’m really excited about using it in a way that helps people discover more about themselves and feel inspired to be all that they can be in the world. One of the keys to expressive arts therapy is inter-modality and what that means is you switch between the art forms. For example, you might start out playing with clay and then you might write a poem about your creation and then you might sing that poem aloud. This playing between the arts opens up all sorts of possibilities and perspectives. There’s lots of fun and learning to be had!
How did you become interested in being an expressive arts coach?
Currently there isn’t officially a discipline called Expressive Arts coaching, though my friend Jennifer Lee has coined the term. I think it’s a perfect way of describing work that uses the expressive arts in a coaching context. I’ve been eyeing the expressive arts therapy program for a few years now but didn’t feel able to commit to another 3 years in school, which is what the regular program requires. Recently, ISIS created a 1-year program designed to provide a new skill set for people who are already in a helping profession (psychotherapy, social work, coaching). I have always wanted to facilitate creative experiences for people that would lead to greater self-awareness and self-development, so it seemed like a perfect fit. Just to be sure I took a workshop earlier this year. I felt 100% at home spending the day painting, dancing, making music, writing poetry and sharing in order to better understand ourselves. I knew I was in the right place.
How can people find an expressive arts therapy coach located near them?
There is an association of expressive arts therapists, IEATA. They are currently creating a directory that will hopefully provide precisely that information. In the meantime, search “Expressive Arts Therapist” and your city and hopefully there will be someone near you.
Of all of the things I noticed about you, what stood out to me the most was not only your confidence in yourself... but your ability to put others at ease with their own selves as well. What advice do you have for those of us who struggle with our self-esteem? What do you think is the first step toward learning to celebrate ourselves?
Take the time to honour what is magnificent about yourself. We tend to remind ourselves daily of where we’ve messed up and why we’re not enough. You are enough. In fact, you’re amazing. Right now, whoever’s reading this interview, say out loud 1 thing you’re really proud of. It doesn’t matter how big or how small. And don’t just say it in your head. Say out loud, “I’m a loyal friend” or “I cook a mean apple pie” or “I didn’t yell at my daughter this morning.” Consider creating an acknowledgement journal and writing down 5 things that you’re proud of each day.
The other big thing is realizing that confidence comes from being yourself. It can’t come from pretending to be someone you’re not. So as long as you are pretending for the sake of keeping the peace or for that job or for that relationship, your confidence will struggle. But each time you take a small step towards authenticity, you are stepping towards confidence. Share an opinion, suggest to your partner a movie that you really want to see, say no. The truer you are to yourself, the more centred you will be – centred enough to know that you can weather the winds of change – and that’s confidence.
Thanks so much for the interview Jamie. You are definately an inspiration to me!
