Explore the psychology of creativity and how to navigate the emotional weather that effects every artist.
THE WORK
Open Canopy is a modular workshop series that helps people develop a healthier relationship with their creative selves. Working from a place of sufficiency and abundance rather than scarcity, the workshops tackle identity, fear, self-doubt, the feedback problem, and the question of whether you believe you deserve a creative life. We will explore how profoundly emotional weather shapes our identities as artists and how it affects our output. We will explore how courage, ownership, gratitude and abundance can change that relationship. I will help you widen your understanding of what an artistic life looks like, and to find a balance between discipline, play, joy, and the natural cycles of motivation and inspiration.
Each Open Canopy session combines discussions and guided reflection with practical exercises drawn from 25 years of working with artists at all levels, as well as from graduate-level training in human development and psychology. We will look carefully at the specific moments where creative practice breaks down: the failed pieces that wobble your confidence, the feedback that instills doubt even when it’s mild, the morning when you hate what you loved the night before. We will develop frameworks for evaluating your own work, navigating outside opinions, and building a practice that doesn’t depend on perfect conditions, a sunny day or constant inspiration. We will focus on developing healthy relationships with making so that we get as much from our creative practice as we put into it.
Natania Hume is a ceramic artist and painter, published writer, and arts educator with 25 years of experience working with artists at all levels. She has served as Head of Arts and Gallery Director at The Williston Northampton School, founded and directed a national visiting artists residency program, published essays in Studio Potter Magazine and taught workshops at Snow Farm Craft School. She is currently completing a Master of Social Work with graduate-level training in human development and psychology. She lives and works in West Stockbridge, Massachusetts.
Have a specific creative project you want to bring into the world? This could be a body of work, an idea that has been brewing over time, a collection, a series or a long-deferred goal? Project coaching offers sustained, practical support over weeks or months. We set and refine clear intentions, break the work into manageable stages, navigate the inevitable obstacles, and keep you moving forward. This is for people who are ready to make the thing, and want the support of someone in their corner along the way.
Reach out to discuss availability and approach.
For artists who want to go deeper on their own terms, individual mentoring sessions are available. We work one-on-one on whatever is most alive for you including, but not limited to, your practice, your process, a specific piece of work, or the larger question of where your creative life is going. Reach out to inquire about availability and rates.
Open Canopy offers six workshops that are flexible and modular. Take a single session on the topic most relevant for you right now. Join an Overview Day that moves through the arc of all six themes in one immersive session. Or commit to the full series and go deep. Each session stands alone and rewards the complete journey equally. Available online via Zoom and in person at select Berkshires venues. Minimum three participants per session.
Identity
Who Are You as an Artist?
Process and Flow
Making and Trust
Failure, Fear, and Forward Motion
High Stakes
What Your Body Knows
The Somatic Approach to Evaluating Your Work
Feedback and Vulnerability
The Ouch Factor
Clarity
Clarity and the Future
WAYS TO BEGIN
Pricing
$65 per person per session (one hour). Sessions are available as stand-alone topics, or in any combination. Groups of three or more required. Offered online via Zoom and in person at select Berkshires venues.
All six sessions for $325 per person. Group of three or more required.
$125 per session via Zoom, $145 in person (one hour). Six sessions for $625 via Zoom, $725 in person. In-person sessions take place at The Canopy, a private garden studio in West Stockbridge, MA.
$85 per hour via Zoom, $100 per hour in person. Monthly package: one session per week via Zoom for $300, in person for $375 (four sessions). In-person sessions take place at The Canopy, a private garden studio in West Stockbridge, MA.
A limited number of reduced-rate spots are available for those with financial constraints. Please reach out confidentially to inquire.
Free Consultation
Reach out to set up a free 15 minute initial consultation session to find out more about Open Canopy.
To learn more, or for questions, about Open Canopy programming, individual mentoring, project coaching, or about bringing Open Canopy to your venue or organization, please reach out directly. I'd love to hear from you!
Natania Hume — Open Canopy