In a year and a half, I toured more than I had in any previous year and I did it with less stress and heartache. I made more money in one year than I ever have and it felt easy for the first time. I reached my goals and exceeded my own expectations for how it’s possible to fall in love with life without really changing much of anything except for the story I tell and the throughs and emotions I chose.

Struggle and overwhelm, self-doubt and burn out? They’re gone! Gone, gone, gone. And that has made all the difference.

Before working with Leah I was feeling very overwhelmed with all that needed to happen to be a professional sculptor.

I tried other on-line groups but felt they were too harsh and not supportive. My concerns before signing up were rather or not I would get enough individual attention to help me with my personal issues.

One of my biggest takeaways from working with Leah was realizing that confusion and overwhelm are just another state of mind that I have utilized to stay stuck and disempower myself. I know now that as Leah so eloquently pointed out during a coaching session, that when I interject the word BUT into a sentence it’s my warning that the big cover up is underway. “I am doing well BUT I’m still not sure what I’m suppose to be doing”. Being aware of this has helped me to move forward and not believe this false thinking.

I would highly recommend Leah to a friend. She is a perfect balance between sensitive yet direct. She has a very old, wise soul. She listens with her heart and her feedback is on target. I felt very seen and understood in spite of being part of a group. She spends allot of time on the written forum where allot of coaching takes place. I firmly believe you can get as much out of this class as your willing to put in. Being coached in a group setting can seem intimidating but the more I was willing to put myself out there the more I took away! And, Leah was the perfect coach to make it worth the effort!

Working with Leah has been an epic journey for me. I feel like every coaching session with her is a game changer for my life. With Art School she brings together all of her teachings into a 12 week program that is seriously life changing.

She teaches how to trust and relax into your creative potential, how to access your own power to work toward your dreams, and how to do it without getting burnt out in the process. She also teaches how to find and live the excitement of your dreams now instead of waiting for something to happen in the future in order to feel good.

Working with Leah is a joy. I can just feel her love and caring each time I talk to her. She has this wonderful combination of gentle grace and fierceness. She is so wise and insightful! Not only does she have your back, but she teaches you how to have your own back and to acknowledge your worthiness. Joining the Art School is by far the best thing I have ever done for myself. This isn’t just about art. It’s about life. Leah is pure magic!

I hadn’t realized just how much judgement and heavy expectations I’d wrapped around my creative dreams. You nailed it when you said my creativity has come to feel like a burden and work. In fact, that’s exactly what I’ve been telling myself: that making art is really hard work. I sat with this over the past few days, and I found a few more thoughts wrapped up with that one, which you also so perfectly hit upon in your response. Not only do I think making art is really hard work, but I also expect that no matter what I do — or how hard I work — I’ll never be any good at it, and nothing will ever come of my attempts. In fact, I realized that I expected my result to be… well, a whole lot of nothing.

I couldn’t see there being anything in it for me. So when I presented my brain with two options: 1) Go to the studio, work my ass off, and get “nothing.” 2) Sit on the couch, nap, or read a book, and get “nothing.” Well, the choice really became a no-brainer. Just seeing it in this way was so powerful! The awareness of what I’d been doing to myself… well, that alone has been worth the price of Art School. I had so much resistance around saying, “I am an artist,” like you suggested. I immediately wanted to rephrase it to, “I am an artist in training,” or “I am an art student.” I’ve been painting for about 8 years, and in all that time, I could count on one hand the number of original works I’ve created.

Most of the art I create is based on tutorials and online classes. I tell myself I’m learning, that I’m not yet good enough, skilled enough, to attempt to create something of my own. But the results of the tutorials I attempt are never on part with the person teaching them, and so I get stuck in this spiral of disappointment. I’m not good enough > I have to take a class > I attempt the lesson, and I’m disappointed > I tell myself I’m not good enough. And the cycle repeats, again and again. Then I wonder why I think creating art is hard work or why I believe I’ll never “get there.”

Again, this has all been running in the background for so long. I wasn’t aware of any of it until I came to The Art School for coaching. The awareness alone has been mind-blowing. I’ve decided that what I want to do is fall in love with the process. I’ve never been able to do that. It’s always been about the outcome, and the outcome has consistently fallen short of my expectations. I also did the homework you suggested. Here are the thoughts that came up: – I’m not very good – I don’t have a unique style – Everything I produce looks so amateurish – I’m embarrassed by my art – I wish I was a good artist – I want to be skilled – I want to be proud of what I make – I need to spend a few more years taking courses – I should find a mentor – Making art is such a waste of time – I could be doing more productive things – There’s no point in any of this – It’s so self-indulgent – I’m ashamed of the results I produce

The above are all thoughts that come up for me before and during my time in the studio. But afterward, my thoughts shift a bit: – I really loved the act of pushing paint around – I loved that color combination – Maybe this thing I made doesn’t totally suck (I find myself sneaking back into the studio and sneaking peeks at what I created) – I should do this more often. The last time I felt a genuine desire and spark to create art was about two years ago when I decided to create a large portrait of my daughter. I loved the subject matter, I had lots of time (I was just starting my business then, and my daughter was in school), and I loved seeing and documenting my progress on that piece. The painting hangs in my daughter’s room, and it’s a constant reminder that I CAN create original, soulful, meaningful art. It’s one of maybe 3 pieces I’ve ever created “on my own.” This whole activity has been so eye-opening. I can’t thank you enough!