Articles
Browse every published article connected to Barbara Bowen, with exact attribution and full-archive search.
Articles
Browse every published article connected to Barbara Bowen, or search within this exact expert archive.
For the creative artist, the Inner Critic may be regarded as a helpful servant in disguise. I know, it's hard for artists and others engaged in creativity to wrap their arms around this statement. But it's true. Getting to know the Inner Critic is tantamount to empowering creativity. If we push ...
“If you aim for a market you’ll miss the mark.” Whoever said that, I’m a believer. It’s no good looking over the shoulder at what strangers prefer before creating. True inspiration is the optimal motivator. Quality issues from there, and its purity taps the nerves of audience attraction. n ...
When it comes to Creativity, the Creative Voice is infinitely more powerful than the Critical Voice. This statement is often hard for artists and other creatives to absorb, especially if their Critic has been in the lead, either consciously or unconsciously. But our intuitive center is always ...
Artist career support involves the inner level of creating as well as the outer level of marketing. The inner level is key during times of stress. There is no point in struggling with thoughts that rush in during these times. Thoughts themselves are not the issue. The issue is how we choose to ...
It's hard to change, at first. When change is calling, artists often needs support in navigating the pull of two different directions. We artists want to answer the call, but we also prefer to stay in familiar territory--precisely because it is familiar. The circumstances of our creative ...
No matter how we approach New Year’s Eve--with dazzling exuberance, quiet reserve or indifference--it’s hard to escape the sense that another cycle of life has ended and a new one begun. We navigate the portal from 2008 into 2009, trying to catch our collective breath. But the passage seems ...
The creative process is the fundamental key to all innovation in every field of endeavor. We humans yearn for the quality of experience that hurls us into the unbounded world of imagination, beyond the curtains of time. The act of creating gives form to the inner life, brings spirit into matter. ...
What hardest of hearts could resist the voice of justice calling down the corridors of conscience in the satin tremolo of our American Dr. Martin Luther King? My indelible moment was unde eath the Lincoln memorial with my now-deceased parents, my sister-in-law and eldest brother. It was a ...
Art career change can also bring change to our relationships, most often positive. Making change in our the career life often causes our relationships to be affected, expecially at first. There is some risk involved. We discover new things about ourselves and our alliances. First and foremost, ...
As a creativity coach and artist, I encounter goal setting issues daily. When it comes to setting career goals and keeping things on track, the word "discipline" can present problems. Webster defines the word in these terms: a systematic method to obtain obedience; submission to rules and ...
The Creative Process is the fundamental dynamic of all innovation in every field and discipline. It can be actualized for good or ill, but this essay chooses to place focus on its positive values and connection to the arts, healing and spirituality. Creativity is often misunderstood to be an ...
In life's creative process, fear is inescapable. We meet various shades of fear upon entering any unfamiliar territory. At its best, fear will act as a friend, jumpstarting dreams to create beneficial reality. But it has other manifestations too. It can stop us in our tracks. Or, when out ...
Creativity is in perpetual evolution. So is the creative growth of your art career. The learning process never ends. Many of us have trouble letting our Creativity simply spill. We get tied into knots, worrying that our purges may not measure up. Well, pardon my asking, but...measure up to what? ...
The Gateways artist coaching method employs universal themes identified by creativity psychology, notably themes revealed in the work of Carl Gustav Jung. Universal themes help to enhance creativity and career growth by mirroring an artist's inner and outer challenges. They help art ...