Palentine's Day Collage Workshop

Who am I?I am Dolores Hill; a life and career coach, organisational and positive psychologist, creative health advocate, teacher, and crafter. My crafting journey began in 2018 when I suddenly felt the need to embroider something. I was in the post-graduation job hunting era and I was seeking something to make me feel productive, keep my hands and my mind busy, and potentially give me a cheap option for Christmas presents. However, I considered myself firmly ‘not-artistic’, and at that time very much felt that ‘being artistic’ involved some kind of X-factor that if you didn’t possess at birth, you couldn’t acquire.But I really wanted to do something, and embroidery felt a bit like dot-to-dot with needle and thread. I could find a template to follow, join the dots, and I’d have something to show for it. It didn’t rely on any 'actual' creative thought from me, just the capacity to follow instructions. Add in my exposure to various Jane Austen TV adaptations over the years, and before I knew it I was searching the shelves of Crafts ‘N’ More to find what I needed for my first project. Lo and behold, I was soon bringing my own ideas to life, and have since experimented with a range of crafts from painting to pottery, collage to crochet, and everything in between.My creative hobbies supported me through my personal and professional journey over the last eight years, from being a psychology graduate in Bristol, moving back home to London to become a teacher, to studying organisational psychology during which I conducted my own research into the power of creative hobbies, and setting up my creative coaching practice.What is creative coaching?Coaching can be defined as “empowering people by facilitating self-directed learning, personal growth and improved performance” (Bresser & Wilson, 2010).Coaching is goal focused and forward facing, and so is useful for people who want to make plans for what to do next to achieve their personal development goals. Coaching relies on the belief that the coachee has the answers they need within them. While a coach might offer strategies or share personal experiences that could help, they are not there to make decisions for the coachee or direct them in a certain way. Instead, they are there to support the coachee to come to the conclusions that are right for them.Creating is an innate human desire – think of the earliest cave paintings! And communicating with visuals, tangible materials, and creative language can be useful for uncovering and expressing feelings that are hard to put into words. Research demonstrates the value of art as enhancing self-awareness and boosting self-esteem (Slayton, D’Archer & Kaplan, 2010; Jordan Coiner & Kyung Hee Kim, 2011).My research revealed that creative hobbies are recuperating, revitalising, and reaffirming, and offer benefits to our personal and professional lives that contribute to a positive gain spiral and enhanced overall wellbeing. Because of this, using artistic and creative techniques are a really useful and enjoyable way of engaging with coaching.I am passionate about social impact, and love working with people to fulfil their potential and feel confident and excited while doing it. I want to help people not only survive the trials and tribulations of life, but thrive through them!My workshops use established and research-backed psychology principles, and incorporate strategies that I guide my groups through in the session. With my years of teaching experience, I am able to link those coaching aims to engaging craft activities, with each aspect enhancing the other. The result is a session that is equal parts reflective, developmental, and fun.I can't wait to coach and craft with you!