Creatively Curious

I go through the "The Work" by Byron Katie this week and use one of my own thoughts as an example: I suck at ART. Anchor into a specific situation: 1. Is this True? 2. Can you Absolutely know it's true? 3. How do you react, what happens when you believe that thought? 4. Who would you be without that thought? "Your soul is tired of waiting for you to feel more alive." Nick W...

Art2Life is hosting its FREE Creative Visionary Blueprint Workshop March 2 - 6, 2026. ⁠ Creative Visionary Blueprint Workshop Sign up: https://artlife.samcart.com/referral/FJOskfI6/ulcCoGWkn3LGqTA5 ⁠ Email: If you'd like to email me to talk about coaching or The Creative Visionary Program, please go to my website ( ⁠www.ashleadwalter.com⁠ ) and click on the email link from there. If you sign u...

Kawa is the Japanese word for ‘river’. The Kawa Model uses the metaphor of a river to represent a person's life journey. Occupational therapists try to support, restore and maximize their clients’ life flow. The Kawa Model can be used in its original form of a river, or broken down into the following 5 elements: i. River Flow - life flow and priorities ii. River Banks - environments / contexts, so...

Viola Desmond (1914-1965) Viola lived in Halifax Nova Scotia She stood up to Canada's racist laws in 1946 She opened Vi's Studio of Beauty Culture In 1944 she opened Desmond School of Beauty Culture, which was the first school in Canada to train Black beauty culturists. She stood up to racist policies in movie theatres in 1946 when she refused to leave a whites-only seat in a movie Theatre...

In this Episode we talk about Eros, the Sex Retreat Kirstin is hosting in Mexico March 17 - 22, 2026 and what it means to feel the Aliveness of Life. We discussed how painting and creativity are closely tied to the aliveness that sex also allows us to tap into. You don't want to miss this Episode! Kirstin is offering the Early Bird Pricing to Podcast listeners so please mention the Podcast if...

My Favourite Regulation Tools: Deeper than regular breaths OR Box Breathing: 4 counts in, Hold for 4 counts, 4 breaths out, out for 4 breaths EFT Tapping (see link to Podcast Below) Saying "I am safe...I am loved" Crying (this could be #1 and I forgot to mention it...energy in motion!) Orientation to 5 Things: 5 Things you can see 4 Things you can Touch 3 Things you can Hear 2 Things you can smell...

The Coaching Framework (Categories for Human Experience) helps a coach organize the client's experience so the coach can understand it better and help identify distressing or unhelpful thoughts more efficiently. The Coaching Framework works like this: (C) Circumstances or facts drive our Thoughts (T) Our Thoughts influence our Feelings (and vice versa) (F) Our Feelings or Sensations influence...

In this week's Episode, I discuss what Energy Conservation is and how I use it in an Occupational Therapy role as well as as a Life Coach. Energy Conservation is simple saving energy and tips on how to do that. Energy Conservation is based on 5 P's: Pacing Positioning Planning Prioritizing Problem Solving I give tips for EC for the bathroom, grooming/dressing, Bathing, Laundry, Cleaning, C...

Here is a guided visualization to help you connect with your dreams. Sometimes coaching clients have a hard time even letting themselves dream about what they really want so hopefully this can help. Remember: Trust yourself Trust your Life Trust your dreams Background Music: License: Creative Commons Attribution license (reuse allowed): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dDTYv-F20sE&list=PLzUWQHo...

Change Cycle Square 4 - THE PROMISED LAND Mantra "Change is happening and that's okay." Things are working well Kids are sleeping through the night You've had surgery and are healed and stronger You're "back" but "different." Trust your "wings" and enjoy the fruits of your labour. Make small adjustments Live in continuous creative response to everything Two things to do in this Square: 1. Rest unt...

The Change Cycle Square 3 - The Hero's Journey "This is much harder than I expected and that's okay." *** I talk about the poor audio in the intro to this episode but it's fitting because this was a mistake and the whole episode is about taking action and making mistakes so I left the poor audio in!*** Square 3 is about: - Taking Action - Making mistakes, learning from them -...

Square 2 DREAMING & SCHEMING Key Points: Mantra: "There are no rules and that's okay." - You'll get thoughts or ideas about something you want to do and maybe never done before. - You'll have day dreams and night dreams. - What does your future look like? - Who do you want to be? What does this FEEL like? - ACTION: Make a dream or vision board - ACTION: Wear different clo...

Square 1: Death and Rebirth Mantra: "I don't know what the heck is going on and that is okay" - Meltdown of our previous selves to give way to our metamorphosis - Pain: from actual events and painful thoughts and beliefs we are hooked on. Coaching can help hold space. - Let yourself grieve: you may feel lots of emotions (including denial, anger, sadness, acceptance) and that's ok...

CVP Week 12 - LAUNCH 2026 CVP Sign up Link Key Take Aways: Scaling art requires scaling your tools and especially your thinking. The risk to get a bigger studio is often rewarded by an improvement in your art. The value of a series is compounded by doing another one. Often, the biggest learning in a series occurs after it is completed Your art is love firstly given to yourself and then, the world...

CVP Week 11 - BALANCE ⁠ 2026 CVP Sign up Link ⁠ Key Take Aways: 1. Value and Design have the most visual weight. 2. Design, Value, Colour and Texture all can be used to balance your art. 3. Your process is designed by you for you. 4. Art is finished when you feel alive up close and far away - when you really LOVE it close and far away. 5. Later stage changes are smaller but require more sensitivit...

CVP Week 10: MOMENTUM Key Take Aways: ⁠ 2026 CVP Sign up Link ⁠ 1. Stay Open, Present and Curious in your process to maintain momentum 2. Most of the time adjusting design and value will get you unstuck. 3. PLAYing longer, especially in the early stages, will enhance the outcome. Playing is an investment in the painting (yourself? your kids?) 4. It's easier to be risky in the first few passes...

⁠ 2026 CVP Sign up Link ⁠ CVP Week 9 Process Take Aways: You have everything you need to create your art Your Path is what you are creating; your art is merely an artifact. Your life will get better and so will your art when you are excited and fired up. Make many rather than one - it's easier and faster and results in art more like you. You're just dating - not marrying. Don't fall in...

⁠ 2026 CVP Sign up Link ⁠ CVP Week 8 TEXTURE Take Aways: 1. Play and Experiment with texture to learn and remember 2. Thick paint is a beautiful contrast to thin paint 3. Subtractive processes create areas of transparency (eg scraping and sanding) 4. Layering creates depth, surface and colour richness (harmony) 5. Spontaneity is created by using tools you can't control (chisels, trowels etc)....

⁠ 2026 CVP Sign up Link ⁠ CVP Week 7 REVIEW: Colour has 5 Components: Value Complements Saturation Harmony Temperature Take Aways: Saturation: The intensity or vibrancy of a colour Colour Harmony: Occurs when all the colours share a common colour Glazing: Creates colour harmony and transparency Vibrant highly saturated colours can only be created with primary colours that share a common colour bia...

⁠ 2026 CVP Sign up Link ⁠ Creative Visionary Program Week 6 - COLOUR VALUE COLOUR has 5 Components: - Value - Complements - Saturation - Harmony - Temperature Key Takeaways: The most visually powerful component of colour is value If the value works in your art (and everything is in the right place - design), so will the colour Complementary colours are found in nature - they are rich. When there a...

Do you ever ask for signs to help you make your decisions? I do and this time my sign (a dragonfly) came in right away but I didn't notice it. So it came again in a different way. I read about Dragonflies in Sarah Seidelmann's book " The Book of Beasties: Your A-Z Guide to the Illuminating Wisdom of Spirit Animals ." which everyone should get. Sarah Seidelmann is a fellow Martha Beck Life Coach an...

⁠ 2026 CVP Sign up Link ⁠ This week's Episode reviews CVP Week 5 - DESIGN Design is the arrangement of shapes or areas in your art (could be painting, sculpture, photography, rooms, buildings, print material, almost anything) Strong design has a variety of differences: Size, shape or placement We mostly notice design differences in the loud conversation Create differences in your art for you a...

BONUS Episode: In this Episode I talk about my knee journey which included 4 surgeries and some weight gain post Baby #2 and a knee injury and my 4th surgery. I also recap a weight-loss challenge I completed with Jennifer Powter who is a weightloss and mindset expert (link below). I'm all about loving my body for all it can do PLUS being honest about how I am carrying some extra weight at this poi...

⁠ 2026 CVP Sign up Link ⁠ Week 4 of CVP is on VALUE. Take aways: VALUE = the lightness or darkness of a shape or area in your art Value is one of the most powerful differences to change and affect your art. This is often where challenges arise in art (not enough value contrast) Value Contrast is what we notice; where your eye goes first in a picture Value creates Depth : Things that have more valu...

⁠ 2026 CVP Sign up Link ⁠ This is such a fun week because we learn how important playing is for our art (and life)! How will you play this week? Here are some ideas: - Make up a game with your (kids or dog). - Use different materials to paint with eg: apple pear mesh sleeve, bottle caps, random materials - Be curious instead of judgemental - Try something new eg: go to work or school a different w...