She has no art training and enjoys it that way! No demand for technique, no rules! Just the ongoing practice of listening to the intuitive voice, moving the ego voice aside, and developing trust in the unknown to lead the brush. The aliveness of painting in this way, for process, instead of outcome, is unsurpassed. The mystery and wonder each painting carries keeps her painting, now fourteen years later and counting! This spontaneous approach leads her to assist all who want to tap into the ever-present creative stream, no matter the expressive modality.

 

Susan studied with Michele Cassou, founder of Point Zero Painting and Stewart Cubley, founder of The Institute of Art and Living (The Painting Experience) where she keeps current in her process painting facilitation skills. Her commitment as a facilitator is to listen without an agenda, track body language, and ask open-ended questions to uncover the gifts in the challenges that inevitably arise for each painter. Susan holds facilitation as a sacred, loving honor. Supporting the act of creating, rather than its outcome, holds within it the capacity to return us to the innocence of wonder, restoring aliveness often lost on this journey of being human.

 

Beyond her degree from the University of Massachusetts, she has held facilitation certifications in deep listening, spontaneous spoken-word expression, and relational presence from Speaking Circles International® and in wellness education from Hellerwork International®. She also has extensive training in transformational communication from Landmark Worldwide.

 

At the heart of Susan's work is the experience of being profoundly seen and heard. She knows its transformative power firsthand. It is this that guides her work with others.