Explore the psychology of creativity through growth, self-insight, and imagination
Creativity and imagination are not special gifts reserved for artists; they are innate human qualities that offer a path to self-fulfillment. Open Canopy explores what it means to live creatively, how it can be a catalyst for change, and how to trust your own intuitive and artistic gifts.
THE WORK
Open Canopy is a coaching and workshop practice based in West Stockbridge, Massachusetts. In individual or group sessions, we examine what drives creativity, and how using our imaginations is the first energetic step towards creating. Our curiosity, agency, inspiration and desire connects us to ourselves and to each other. Whether you create through visual art, words, food, movement, music or any other medium, an inner creative life raises similar questions:
How the stories we inherit about talent and "genius" shape our understanding of our own creative potential
how the cycles of motivation and resistance affect everyone,
how we evaluate our own creative capacity without being at the mercy of our most volatile critical moments,
how we set goals that are genuinely ours rather than borrowed from someone else's definition of success
How imagining what you want is the first step toward making it real
For makers: We will also explore how profoundly emotional ups and downs shape our self-perception, and subsequently, our output. We will explore how courage, agency, gratitude and a sense of abundance can change that relationship. By examining these forces clearly, we can re-author the narratives that may limit us, and to bring ourselves more fully into our creative work.
Each Open Canopy session combines discussions and guided reflection with practical exercises drawn from 25 years of working with creatives and artists at all levels, as well as from graduate-level training in human development and psychology. Open Canopy helps us develop our imaginations as tools for self-actualization, and using a somatic approach, we will build frameworks for evaluating our own creations and desires beyond ideas of good or bad and instead mine what is valuable and productive. We will examine how we show up for ourselves through trusting in our creativity and how we employ it to honor our authenticity. We will focus on developing a healthy relationship with our imaginative inner lives, using imagination as a road map for what we want to create and who we want to become.
Natania Hume
Natania Hume is a painter and ceramic artist, 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, taught workshops at Snow Farm Craft School and sold work in shops and galleries across the U.S. She is in the final stages of completing a Master’s degree in social work, with graduate-level training in human development and psychology. She lives and works in West Stockbridge, Massachusetts.
UPCOMING EVENTS
What does it mean to be a creative being and how can understanding that change the way you live? This session explores imagination as a fundamental human capacity that all of us use every day, often without noticing, and not as a special gift reserved for artists. We will look at how our daydreams and imagination function as a map of our inner life and desires; how the same energy we use to make something, art, music, words, food, or anything else, is the energy we use to move toward a more actualized version of ourselves. Approaching creativity from a place of abundance rather than scarcity changes everything. Drawing on anthropology, developmental psychology, and philosophy, the session combines guided reflection, sharing and conversation, and a brief somatic awareness practice. No artistic background is required. Bring only your curiosity.
Have a specific creative project you want to bring into the world? This could be a body of work, a writing project, 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 with accountability and support between sessions, 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 anyone who wants 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, increasing your creativity or inspiration, 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 seven workshops that are flexible and modular. They range from exploring how our imagination can affect our future selves, to addressing the way we talk to ourselves about our creativity and making. Each session stands alone and rewards the complete journey equally. Available online via Zoom and in person at select Berkshires venues. Minimum two participants per session.
While Open Canopy is rooted in the experience of various artistic endeavors, the themes explored in each session speak to anyone wanting to enrich their inner life through increased creativity, imagination and inspiration. Content can be adapted for specific communities and contexts upon request.
We are Creative Animals
Creativity and imagination as fundamental human capacities
Identity and Capacity
Who Gets to Be an Artist? Examining the cultural narratives we inherit and deciding which ones to keep
Process and Flow
Designing your making process from a place of trust and abundance
Courage and Forward Motion
What failure actually teaches us, and how to keep moving
What Your Body Knows
Developing somatic awareness as a tool for evaluating your work over time
Feedback and Vulnerability
Learning whose voice to trust and how to stay anchored in your own vision
Setting Intentional Goals
Getting specific and honest about what you want from your creative life and why
WAYS TO BEGIN
Work with Natania
$125 per session via Zoom, $145 in person (one hour). All seven sessions for $725 via Zoom, $825 in person. In-person sessions take place at The Canopy, a private garden studio in West Stockbridge, MA.
Project Coaching
$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.
$65 per person per session (one hour). Sessions are available as stand-alone topics, or in any combination. Groups of two or more required. Offered online via Zoom and in person at select Berkshires venues.
All seven sessions for $375 per person. Group of two or more required.
A limited number of reduced-rate spots are available for those with financial constraints. Please reach out confidentially to inquire.
Organizations, arts venues, and retreat centers interested in hosting Open Canopy are welcome to reach out to discuss programming partnerships and group rates.
Complementary Consultation
Reach out to set up a free consultation to find out if Open Canopy is a good fit for you.
To learn more about Open Canopy programming, individual mentoring, project coaching, or bringing Open Canopy to your venue or organization, please reach out directly.
Natania Hume — Open Canopy