“The creative process shrivels in the absence of continual dialogue with the soul. And creativity is what makes life worth living.” –Marion Woodman

Bring your creative vision into the world. Grow your practice. Develop your skills. Deepen your understanding of your creative process — the how and why of you the art you make.

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Some form of creative expression is essential to most people. For artists and others who identify as creatives, making “art” is a deeply felt need, part of being who they are in the world.

A satisfying creative life is a source of personal discovery and aliveness, and perhaps a career and income stream too. But it’s not always easy– to get started or to keep going.

My goal as a creativity coach is to help you develop the intention, daily practices, and constructive relationship to self that is necessary to live your creative life.

To be in touch with the source of your creative inspiration and devotion. To understand and honor your creative process. To create consistently. To finish projects. To develop and grow in your creative practice.

To experience sustained satisfaction and offer your creative gifts to the world.

Most creative work is solitary. The benefits of working with a creativity coach include:

  • Perspective on the nature of the creative process
  • Help managing expectations, perfectionism, negative self-talk, and the anxiety that comes with creative work
  • Assistance in seeing troublesome thought patterns and habits
  • Help setting priorities, planning, getting organized, and setting deadlines
  • Useful techniques and strategies, suggestions of things to try and other resources
  • Supportive sounding board for the inevitable difficulties
  • Accountability 
  • Problem-solving around your process, the content of your project, or your approach to the marketplace
  • Someone who honors your development as an artist and a person
  • A companion in your process and an advocate for you and your work

I’ve been living the creative life for thirty years and supporting other artists for almost as long.

This is a personal type of coaching with no one-size-fits-all. Am I the right coach for you?

Schedule a complimentary 30 minute phone call with me to find out. I look forward to meeting you!

“Pay attention to what rises up in you.” Ranier Marie Rilke

If I could work with Catherine every day for the rest of my life I would.

When I approached Catherine for help I had almost convinced myself I wasn’t “disciplined enough or sufficiently talented” to write. More importantly, I thought I was the only person with such powerful negative self-talk.  Much of my work with Catherine was in asking the question: “What is the difference between someone who writes and someone who only dreams of it?” I have been surprised, delighted and empowered by the answers. 
 
If you’re intrigued or excited by any of the following questions, I can highly recommend working with this wonderful teacher. 
 
How can I write authentically? How can walking the dog become part of a sacred writing practice? How can I capture inspiration as and when it happens? How can I freshen my gaze? What is the carrot game?  How can cleaning the house create a space for weird and wonderful ideas to come through? How can I move forward when I get stuck on an idea? What’s the significance of having a room of one’s own, how can I mitigate the fear of staring at a blank page each morning and how can I call for guidance if I need it? 
 
If I could work with Catherine every day for the rest of my life I would. She has a deep understanding of the creative process and a crystal-clear vision for helping human beings living in THIS time to harness creativity. Put simply, there are no joins in how Catherine blends the ordinary with the extraordinary. This has been a wonderful and valuable lesson to learn. 
Ariane Barua
Isle of Man 

I believe you will find her offering invaluable

I’ve worked with Dr. Svehla on several different types of creative project over the past 10 years, most recently the recording of my music CD “Flower Time,” a distillation in song of the last 25 years of my life.
 
She provided the two things most difficult for my creative mind to provide for itself: objective clarification of what the project was really about, and insight into my personal creative process. 
 
Catherine contributed to every aspect of the project, from song selection to instrumental production, vocal coaching, and cover art and design. She ensured that every aspect of the project offered the focused, coherent statement I desired.
 
I credit Dr. Svehla’s input and steady guidance for the project’s success. Whatever the nature of your creative project, I believe you will find her offering invaluable. 
Rags Rosenberg
Performing songwriter @ragsandbonesmusic.com