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Sun, 17 Oct

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Auckland

The Artist's Way

A Course to Discover and Recover your Creativity - all proceeds donated to the Aaiotanga Trust - pay what you can afford to attend.

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The Artist's Way
The Artist's Way

Time & Location

17 Oct 2021, 2:30 pm – 21 Nov 2021, 5:30 pm

Auckland, 22 Emily Place, Auckland City Centre, Auckland 1010, New Zealand

Guests

About the Event

Please buy your 'free ticket' as an expression of interest in this course. 

Once we know what is happening with alert levels, we will be in touch to confirm dates and offer payment details.

The recommended payment is $240 for the six sessions, but we not want cost to be a barrier. 

All proceeds for this course will be donated to the work of the Aaiotanga Community Space.

To find out more about the course content please text or call Damaris - 021662657 or email damaris@acommunity.nz 

About 'The Artist's Way':

This is a course for discovering or recovering your creativity and has been hailed as one of the best books for personal transformation written in recent decades. Published in 1992, the book is still selling strong and has been elevated in status and officially rated in the top 100 self-help books of all time. The NY Times has called the author Julia Cameron 'The Queen of Change'.

Built on the premise that we are all creative, this book takes us on a journey of surprise and joy, bringing this inherent human ability to the surface in ways you might not ever expect.

This course offering is a 6 week exploration of the foundations of the material and will give you a solid grasp on the tools and principles that you can then continue to apply to your creative pathway over time. Sessions will be made up of conversations around the content of the chapters with time and resources provided to make our way through reflective exercises. This is not an art class, you will never be asked to paint, draw or write a finished piece of any kind. However,  some people choose to make art or write creatively as an expression of their reflections.

This course is about tapping into your internal creative processes. What comes out, will be completely unique to you and can be anything at all. From a desire to climb a mountain, to repainting your bedroom, to finding a new personal style, having more fun with your family, to designing a new form of green architecture.

The tools and principles are tried and true, they work.

You will need a copy of the book to support your learning.

This can be borrowed from the library, bought through your local book store (Unity Books on High Street and Time Out on Mt Eden Road tend to stock it) or it can be ordered online. Additionally, some kind of journal for your writing. A4 size pages (not little ones), a school exercise book or refill pad is perfectly acceptable though many people like to buy a special writing books out of personal preference.

Course content includes:

Using reflective tools to find your creative flow

The mindset and principles that allow creativity to flourish

Overcoming fears, failures and creative blocks

The messages of our emotions and dealing with criticism

Identifying creative companions

Creative resourcefulness

About the facilitator:

Damaris Kingdon has mentored more than 70 people through the Artist's Way material in groups or individually since 2011.

Her own experience of going through the Artist's Way coursework for the first time in 2003 was transformational. It not only brought her back into connection with her inner source of creativity but she found talents and abilities she didn't even know she had, including writing music.

She also found that using the reflective tools in the Artist's Way brought clarity and balance to her other professional pursuits and personal relationships.

In sharing the 'The Artist's Way' with others, she has seen people who had never done the following, do them for the first time in their lives:

- get awarded major acting roles in plays

- become published writers

- write and perform poetry

- create sculptures and paintings (good ones)

- change careers

- establish balance and space in their life for creative pursuits

- write music, sing

- realise they have a gift for leadership

- realise they love plants and colour in their home environments

- go on solo advertures

- start up new businesses

Reviews:

Thank you so much for running the Artist’s Way Course. I’m amazed by the positive changes that I have experienced in the last 5 weeks and feel that my life is changing rapidly for the better!

L.J. - 6 week course

The sincerity of Damaris and her facilitating, taking into account the divergence of age and gender, allowed me to tap into other mind sets. Damaris was willing to share parts of her journey and others did likewise. Artist’s dates have been a weekly feature and reaching to learn things that I am interested in has been worthwhile. The gift of self-compassion is hard to learn! With love – K.L. 6 week course

This has been a great experience! The content of the programme is great in itself but I feel that Damaris’ use of [real-life] examples was what made the programme real. It has been a true pleasure to have such genuine enthusiasm in a facilitator. M.D. – 6 week course

I have just completed the Artist Way. This course was very useful in terms of giving me the courage and ability to try being an artist and creative person.Not only were the materials presented in a clear and useful way, the environment made everyone feel relaxed and enjoy learning.Damaris is well organised, friendly, and an excellent facilitator, a lovely person to learn from. It does not matter which age group or what kind of person you are, anyone would to some extent, feel an inside change and ability to move forward creatively.

L.Z. – 6 week course

Damaris' gentle manner led our group on a pleasant journey of insights. Insights that I hadn't gained across years of soul searching or through previous counseling. I finally understood why I suffered from depression, when outwardly I had no problems.

I liked the way the course did not feel arduous or demanding. Damaris gave lots of invitations and created openings to draw me in. The scene was set for a gentle growth in understanding and insight.

Damaris knew the material inside and out and was able to fluidly adapt the course plan to the needs of the group.

Damaris allowed individuals space. She was deeply respectful, honest and inspiring. There was no imposition on my sense of self but rather “hey this has worked for me, it may or may not work for you”. Working out what worked for me was part of the process.

It didn't feel like we were bossed, but rather invited in to share some really cool tools.

Damaris' style of facilitation suited the course content exactly; it was artistic, compassionate, inspiring and nurturing.

JMR - Solicitor and Creative Person

Thank you for leading us on such an incredible journey of discovery and healing. You have helped change the landscape of our lives. The possibilities are endless!

B.G. - 6 Week Course

Damaris was an inspiration to be with during the 6 weeks as the group explored “the Artist’s Way”. I thank her for her openness in sharing how the course impacted her life. She facilitated the course with gentleness, an honesty and humour. A safe and sacred space was created by Damaris to encourage us to feel comfortable sharing. Participation with friends added to the enjoyment and the feeling of acceptance and belonging…

G.M. - 6 week course

The Artist Way course helped me join up the dots on many aspects of my life – by bringing creativity and play explicitly back into my days. I have rediscovered joy in my family life and my work. Damaris is passionate about the Artist’s Way, as it has changed her own life – she brings that passion into her facilitation of the course. She gave me courage to explore my own creativity, and she did it with gentleness. I loved it!

P.N. Participant - 6 week course

The 6 weeks spent among friends was so pleasurable and there was much I took from the course. Many thanks for your brilliant facilitation – you have such a gift.

CL – 6 week course

For me the Artist’s Way has been an awakening of long forgotten desires which has enriched my life and opened the door to a creativity I had thought long lost.

J.F. - 6 week course

I attended the Artist Way Course, which was facilitated by Damaris. As a facilitator, Damaris was very confident. She was well prepared. Her presentations were very pleasant and she is a very good listener. Her personal life experiences were very powerful and inspirational.

PP - 6 week course

I found Damaris to be a most interesting and skilled facilitator. She has a lovely gift of being able to share ideas and thoughts, and stories of her life experiences in a very engaging way. She is always inclusive, maintains eye contact, and used names, so that we quickly bonded with her.

The sessions were warm and non-threatening, but certainly pushed personal boundaries and helped us to understand ourselves better, and were life enriching.

D.S. - 6 week Course

Personally, I have been enriched by attending the ‘The Artist’s Way’ with Damaris as facilitator.

Her honesty and generosity, sharing her experiences in her life are a rare treasure. It must have been challenging for her compressing a 12 week course into 6 weeks to benefit our lives.

The group jelled together from the first session, trusting everyone and this was mainly because of her leadership skills.

W.T. – 6 week course

To book your place - register using the button below.

Art image used by permission - Margarita Vovna - Instagram

Tickets

  • The Artist's Way

    Six Sessions - 17 October - 21 November 2021 $240 or at a rate you can afford.

    $0.00

Total

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