paintingyourpathway

Three hour taster session for adults,followed by film, "The Flowering of Children's Creativity". Welcome to the freedom and adventure of Point Zero Creativity. The joyful and childlike process of spontaneous painting allows me to access the creativity below my conditioning, in both paint and life. This brings me into contact with my stuck places, creative blocks, which I have formed by judging myself according to my conditioning. The Point Zero way of self-questioning dissolves these blocks by addressing the feeling that lies beneath each of my judgements. This allows me back into the creative flow. The regular practice of spontaneous painting brings me into contact with forgotten and unknown aspects of myself, and ways of being which my ego has long since edited from my life. You don't need any art experience or "perceived talent" to practice spontaneous (intuitive) painting. Just the willingness to surrender the result in order to truly play and explore. It's about the process of creativity, not the products. So discussion focuses on our experience of the creative process. The paintings are not critiqued. So be curious - what you would feel like painting if it was alright to paint absolutely anything? And you couldn't make a mistake? The Taster will last three hours. Michele Cassou's film "The Flowering of Children's Creativity" lasts just over an hour. It is the film most often shown to adults by Point Zero facilitators to explain their own creative process, as well as giving invaluable insights to parents, carers and teachers who want to support creativity in children. Please bring a picnic lunch with you. You can book through website paintingyourpathway.co.uk. Any questions, please contact Helena: 07947 104 135 or [email protected]

"Process not Product": Point Zero Intuitive Painting for Children, 7 - 10 years 2 - 3pm, Tuesday 7th - Friday 10th April, 2015 ?40 for course of 4 x 1 hour sessions Point Zero is a process of intuitive painting which fosters self confidence and joyous creativity in children. It also brings healing by helping them integrate and process their experiences. Children are natural intuitive painters until the judgement of adults causes them to step away from their own felt experience in order to paint products for the approval of others. They then grow up not trusting their own spontaneity, and believing they are not creative. Intuitive painting will happen again naturally if we allow children to enter the creative process for their own curiosity and delight, rather than for products which we judge in terms of success and failure. To register, or if you have any questions, please contact: Helena 07947 104 135 or [email protected] Painting Your Pathway 88 Grove Park SE5 8LE www.paintingyourpathway.co.uk

"Feel and paint" Michele Cassou Point Zero intuitive painting is the practice of dropping below my conditioning to access the creativity and liveliness that lies below it - in all areas of my life. To paint intuitively I surrender the product, give myself permission to be spontaneous like a child, while staying fully present to my feeling. I mean the deep, quiet undercurrent of feeling that flows beneath the clamorous emotions that I can so easily whip up by telling myself stories about how things are. That feeling resides in my body. I lose connection with it the moment I step outside myself to judge myself and my painting, or override it by excessive striving. When Anna Croucher came for a taster session I was struck by how easy it seemed for her to stay in the painting process, without any of those deadly glances at her painting which so easily allow our inner critics to cut creative process dead. She explained that she practiced and guided mindfulness, facilitating groups in the NHS. And that whenever her internal judges had started up as she painted she would bring herself back to her body and the present moment by doing mindfulness exercises. I was so impressed I have asked her to share her skills with the painters at The Whistling Studio. Mindfulness is the art of paying attention and being open to your experience, of listening to your heart and body. This course will help you develop the skills to become present to your body and its undercurrent of feeling, and to bring yourself back to them when your attention wanders. Valuable as mindfulness practices in their own right they will enhance your experience of intuitive painting. The four hour taster costs ?55 and is a glimpse of the course that will run over four Sundays, 8th - 30th November. Helena welcomes any questions on 07947 104 135 [email protected] www.paintingyourpathway.co.uk The Whistling Studio 88 Grove Park Camberwell SE5 8LE Anna Croucher also offers the eight week mindfulness based stress reduction course, and mindful life coaching. YOLO (You Only Live Once): 07852 172 880

Welcome to the adventure of Point Zero Creativity! The joyful and childlike process of spontaneous painting allows me to access the creativity below my conditioning, in both paint and life. The Point Zero way of self-questioning enables me to dissolve creative blocks, by addressing the heart in the face of my own judgements. In this way it brings me into contact with unknown aspects of myself, and ways of being which my ego has long since edited from my life. Point Zero painting is about the process of creativity, rather than the product, so you don't need any art experience or "perceived talent". Just the willingness to surrender the result, to play and explore. There is only one rule at The Whistling Studio, which is that nobody ever comments about another person's painting. As facilitator, I wouldn't dream of it. Discussion focuses on our experience of the practice, and any obstacles to our freedom of expression that we encounter. The paintings are never critiqued. Ever. (In fact, when they are dry, they are turned to the wall.) Be curious about what will happen when you know that it is alright to paint absolutely anything. When you are free to really participate in your painting, without ever standing back to judge it. The invitation is simply to come and be yourself in glorious, playful technicolour, in a place where all judgement has been suspended for your freedom. What if that was ok? Saturday, 30th August: 10am - 1pm. ?30, all materials included. Tuesday, 9th September: 6.30 - 9.30pm. ?30, all materials included. You can book through my website paintingyourpathway.co.uk. More insights on the Painting Your Pathway Facebook page. Any questions, please contact Helena on 07947 104 135!

A course on six Sunday afternoons, 2-6pm. ?240. "In the middle of the road of life, I awoke in a dark wood, where the true way was wholly lost." Dante Alighieri. At midlife people are often taken aback by the feeling of not knowing who they are any more. Things they have put their heart into for years no longer have meaning for them. They feel lost and adrift. This brings anxiety, distress and loss of energy. But these feelings are actually to be welcomed. They are a sign of new life on its way : at midlife the Self, grounded in our true nature, is demanding that we become our authentic self at long last, and let go of the conditioned personality we've been using since childhood to adapt to our family and society. But how do we do this? I have found the Point Zero approach to intuitive painting - the playful process of responding in paint to what is natural in ourselves - to be a very good guide and companion. The essence of intuitive painting is freedom from product. There is no judgement and it really doesn't matter how your painting turns out. (This is so radical you may want to reread the last two sentences!) This allows painters, usually for the first time since they were children, to become really present to, and explore, what they feel like painting. This has really helped me unearth my Self at midlife. The more I paint intuitively, the more I become aware of the lively feelings beneath my conditioning, in my life as well as in painting. The painting process has also given me curiosity and trust in the ultimate benevolence of feelings that have prompted me to change my life in unforeseen ways. You don't need any art experience or "perceived talent" to paint intuitively. This process is a path to self acceptance. It is about exploring the feeling of your aliveness with curiosity rather than meeting external expectations. In the studio you will never be put on the spot about your painting. The only rule is that nobody ever comments on another person's painting, even in a complimentary way. (As facilitator I wouldn't dream of it.) When we gather together at the end of the session it's to talk about our experiences, never about the appearance, content or meaning of what we have painted. The first part of each session will be dedicated to the experience of becoming present to ourSelf through the practice of intuitive painting. The final hour will be an exploration of what midlife is asking of us, and what this means to us individually. Do call Helena if you have any questions, on 07947 104 135. paintingyourpathway.co.uk The Whistling Studio 88 Grove Park Camberwell SE5 8LE

The joyful and childlike process of spontaneous painting allows me to access the creativity below my conditioning, in both paint and life. My practice has taught me how to dissolve creative blocks. It also brings me into contact with unknown aspects of myself, and the mystery of which I am a part. People who arrive for a taster session often worry about whether they will be able to do it "properly". I feel so sorry, because the Point Zero approach to intuitive painting which I facilitate is more an honest encounter with your self and your aliveness than anything else. It is also quite private - you won't be put on the spot, and the only rule of the studio is that nobody comments on anyone else's painting. You don't need any art experience or "perceived talent", because the essence of the practice is freedom from product. The invitation is simply to come and be yourself in glorious, playful technicolour, in a place where all judgement has been suspended for you to explore your freedom. The taster session is 3 hours, 10am - 1pm, and costs ?30. You can book through my website paintingyourpathway.co.uk. More insights on the Painting Your Pathway Facebook page. Any questions, please contact Helena on 07947 104 135!