In the Studio
ARTELLAGRAM
6-23-2012:
An Interview with Barb Kobe
Barb's Dolls
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 Artella: What led you to become a Certified ARTbundance™ Coach?
Barb: I felt as if I was invited to play and engage with a community of artists and creative souls interested in helping people learn about how creative energy can be a powerful force for change and growth in the world. I like that almost everything in the training included “making art about it.” I love the ARTsignments. I was particularly drawn by the definition of an ARTbundance™ Creativity Coach. I liked the idea of being a hybrid of an inspiring coach, creativity teacher, workshop leader and spiritual guide. This fit my perception of who I am and my work in the world and what I was already doing.
Artella: How has your ARTbundance™ training affected your work and/or life?
Barb: I LOVE the principles of ARTbundance™. The principles and the training that Marney built around them gave me a foundation and structure that I continue to base my growth upon. Almost daily I will read or hear a story and that reminds me of or speaks directly about one of the principles. I then revisit that principle within the ARTbundance™ curriculum. I find the principles useful at many levels: body, mind, emotion and spirit. I feel that I found and belong to my supportive community.
Artella: In your mind, how are creativity and spirituality related?
Barb: This has almost always been a difficult question for me to answer because I had never defined spirituality. It was helpful for me to read Brene Brown’s definition from her book The Gifts of Imperfection: “Spirituality is recognizing and celebrating that we are all inextricably connected to each other by a power greater than all of us, and that our connection to that power and to one another is grounded in love and compassion. Practicing spirituality brings a sense of perspective, meaning and purpose to our lives.”
I made the connection. Creativity is the possibility energy of growth and potential that we all are born with. When I explore myself using ARTsignments™ or I facilitate someone playing with an ARTsignment™ I enter into a sacred space that allows me to experience my meaning and purpose and help them to shift into a possibility of connection to self, others and the world…..and heal.
Artella: How is prosperity related to creativity and spirituality?
Barb: Again I found the ARTbundance™ principles to be helpful in reframing my dysfunctional and powerless beliefs about my ability to be prosperous. The principles are action steps toward my desires to experience abundance and live abundantly in many ways. I see prosperity beyond the material; I see it as the energy of wholehearted living-- connecting my creative energies with those of others.
Artella: What kinds of people do you most enjoy working with? Who is your ideal client?
Barb: I enjoy working with women from ages 30+ and, most recently, women ages 50 and above. My ideal client loves to make and play with art, particularly art dolls, collage and visual journaling. She is willing to take creative risks and be vulnerable enough to trust in a creative, healing process. She is searching for her authentic self and connection to herself, other women and her spiritual self.
Artella: ARTfundance Coaching is based on nine ARTbundance™ Principles. Do you have a favorite or one that you really enjoy activating in other people?
Barb: I love my INTUITION and see evidence of its power in my journaling each morning and synchronicities that show up each day. My intuition shows me evidence of my creative inner self and my connection to my guides and muses. The more I play with her the more she guides me. I have also witnessed the power of the energy of GRATITUDE, in that the more I am grateful the more I am willing to trust in my creative process and reframe my life experiences into powerful, forward moving action steps.
Artella: What does your future hold? What projects are you working on now?
Barb: I sense an expansion of my art and my voice into the world. I plan on writing a book about Healing Dolls (called Medicine Dolls) that share a process of how to make them and stories of women who have. I want to teach and show internationally online and in person. I will be building my Internet presence and blog more often about my art (dolls) and the dolls of others. I’ve got several curriculums I’ve developed and more standing in line for development….all focusing on Connection to intuition, emotions and bodymind for healing using artmaking.
About Barb Kobe: Barb Kobe has been making art dolls, healing dolls and feelings dolls for over twenty years. She sees her creative purpose is to design and teach how to create visual metaphors for self-expression in the form of dolls, healing art, and creative, transformative educational experiences.
www.barbkobe.com
www.healingandtransformativedolls.com
www.artofthedollmn.com
http://healingdoll.blogspot.com
www.numbfullandfulls.com
 Applications for the Summer 2012 session of ACT are being accepted through June You can learn more about ACT and request an application here.
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