Most of us explore our Creative Potential by traveling along a crooked path. Every bend in the road, each challenging passage, and every dead end on the trail provides us with significant opportunities. Along the way, we gain vital clues about the nature of Creativity in general and our personal creative mission in particular. It is a Path of astounding Discovery and Transformation.

It’s important that we realize we are not alone by sharing our Path’s positive and negative experiences with each other. However, as important as it is to note what we have in common, it is equally important to discover our particular gifts and talents. While the principles of Creativity are universal, each person’s unfolding Path is unique.

To fulfill your innate Creativity, you must undertake an inner journey of earnest self-discovery and fearlessly face whatever you find there. If you accept the work you need to do, the pot-of-gold at the end of your rainbow can be a fulfilling creative life beyond your wildest imagination.

My own attempt to live a productive creative life has been filled with many struggles as well as successes. I have learned to reclaim original desires, to recover lost dreams, and to develop a sustainable creative practice that feels guided by and aligned with my Authentic Self.

The exploration of my experiences as an artist, designer, educator, and entrepreneur has led me to an understanding of what it means to “Mend the Broken Artist.” I have observed that each of us suffers elements of a “broken heart” as the culmination of disappointments both large and small. Too many of us have lost our creative desire, joy, and potency in significant ways. We have endured assaults on our creative efforts, outcomes, and identity.

As a result, we have suffered gaps in our personal development or have been afflicted with outright misunderstandings about our own artistic nature. This can be true even if we have experienced outward measures of successes.

Fortunately, there is a way back to wholeness. You can repair, restore, and harness the inner resource that fuels your creative capabilities. The Holistic Creativity journey can mend your ‘broken heart’ which will not only maximize your Creativity, it will profoundly benefit your personal wellbeing.

Answer the call! Dare to take your own crooked path of Discovery and Transformation. As you activate and restore your inner creative process, cultivate your personal style, and commit to developing your unique creative contributions, your life can be filled with amazing possibilities and expanded horizons.

My path to founding Holistic Creativity followed decades of reflection on my experiences with a professional career, teaching at multiple colleges and universities, and devotion to personal enrichment. I launched Holistic Creativity by synthesizing artistic best practices, Design Thinking, science-based Creativity research, and cross-cultural Spiritual and Mindfulness practices. I organized these elements into a comprehensive approach for creative transformation.

The Holistic Creativity framework functions like a map to guide your individual creative journey. This holistic approach engages a series of targeted exercises, techniques, methods, and processes that prepare you for greater creativity and productivity.

Anyone who is willing to heal their inner personal life while refining their outer practical and professional processes can realize a profound creative transformation.  A renewed sense of Clarity, Illumination, and Fulfillment will help you harness intuition, harvest inspiration, and deliver increased productivity. Ultimately, you will develop an intimate connection with a profound inner Creative Source.

The Holistic Creativity path follows the arc of your creative history, helping you to reclaim the ‘pieces’ that were lost, stolen, or given away, as well as mend any ‘bits’ that were damaged or broken. Holistic Creativity provides methods for bringing the equivalent of ‘sunlight and nutrients’ to any parts of your creative being that were undernourished, underdeveloped, or otherwise not allowed to flourish.

Creative people do not develop their full potential solely by art-making alone. Creative people flourish when they focus as much on human development and personal well-being as they do on artistic development and technical practices.

They must understand the desires of the Heart and the yearning of the Soul as much as they master the capabilities of the Mind and the outcomes delivered by the Body. Ultimately, the approach to Creativity must be holistic to be authentic and sustainable.

The Realm of the Heart holds the powerful urge that fuels our impulse to create, sustains our will to execute, and feeds our determination to achieve our goals. Learning how to nourish a burning passion, recharge your commitment, and skillfully temper your excitement can lead to greater engagement and productivity.

The Realm of the Soul is a critical and often-missing piece of the Creativity puzzle. However, contemporary Neuroscience research underscores that integrating ancient Mystical practices with artistic processes can unlock immense reserves of creative power. This is the key that can unblock creative limits, reframe core beliefs that control your choices, unleash your imagination, and maximize your productive behaviors.

The Heart, Soul, Mind, and Body operate as an organic, integrated whole when properly functioning. The Holistic Creativity approach utilizes the power of each of these important realms and provides a way to heal, harness, and integrate them.

HEART: sensing– The Emotional Body

The Heart is the seat of the Senses. The Heart can be thought of as an interface to the observable world that processes our ability to engage and feel with intensity and truth. The Heart can awaken our capacity for both wisdom and desire. The role the Heart plays in Creativity and Innovation is often underestimated. Passion is a crucial component of our ability to feel inspired, to persevere, and to succeed.

The Heart represents the ‘Emotional Body’ of the Self.

SOUL: being – The Energy Body
The Soul is the seat of our Humanity. Our connection through Soul provides our link to each other, to Life’s purpose, and to elevated states of Being, whatever we understand those to be. Spiritual practices, such as Mindfulness, are known to connect us to profound forces and to increase our sensitivity to the creative impulse. However, because Soul is the least tangible Realm, it is often treated with skepticism or disbelief. It can be tragic when this dimension of human experience is misunderstood or ignored.

The Soul represents the ‘Energy Body’ of the Self.

MIND: thinking – The Mental Body
The Mind is the seat of Ideas. It can be viewed as the place where we cultivate cognitive techniques and originate or develop concepts. The Mind is often the most familiar element of the creative process. Research over several decades has shown that there are several distinct types of Thinking associated with creative processes. Each contributes a different and valuable approach to creative and critical thinking.

The Mind represents the ‘Mental Body’ of the Self.

BODY: making – The Physical Body
The Body is the seat of Production. The Body can be thought of as the mechanism that creates either physical or virtual works. The Body handles all manner of processes and materials whose final forms are then delivered to others. Optimal productivity requires that we engage appropriate and effective methods and tools for ‘making’ and that we distribute efficiently the fruits of our labors.

The Body represents the ‘Physical Body’ of the Self.

The core structure of Holistic Creativity is based on these 4 functional Realms of human Creativity. They form the foundation for 12 Universal Principles that all creative people need to know, with three principles located in each Realm.

The 12 Universal Principles contain 24 other critical, subsidiary creative elements, organized around 2 layers: 12 that target the practical aspects of your creative process, and 12 that engage the personal dimensions of your creative transformation.

In the practical layer, the issues of personal and professional artistic practices are addressed, which will further develop your skills for conceiving and producing creative outcomes.

In the personal layer, the issues of the ‘broken artist’ within are addressed, which will foster personal development and strengthen your character.

Taken as a whole, these 24 organic elements of the creative process provide an easy-to-follow framework, helping you to diagnose your creative process, identify any gaps in your developmental foundation, and create an effective plan for personal growth and creative maturity. By following this holistic framework, you can develop a personalized platform for a sustainable and productive creative life.

Holistic Creativity Classes, Workshops, Private Sessions, and the self-guided course in a Book, all use hands-on, experiential learning as you explore each of the 12 Universal Principles and work progressively towards integrating them into your own practice. This well-crafted program of customizable support provides invaluable help so that lasting change can occur. It supports every element of your creative process, improving the way you conceive, develop, produce, and deliver creative outcomes.

Holistic Creativity training will guide you to a more fulfilling creative practice, a more sustainable creative career, and a more dynamic creative life. No matter what project, process, medium, or profession you’re engaged in, you’ll achieve a more authentic point-of-view and create work with more impact.

Michelle Rothwell
Founder & Principal, Holistic Creativity, LLC

"Helping people to explore their Creativity, conquer their limitations, and experience deep creative fulfillment is the most important work of my life. As a practicing artist and teacher, I have come to realize a personal path of creative engagement and joy that I did not know was even possible. Allow me to share my discoveries and realizations that can benefit you so profoundly".

Michelle Rothwell is an Associate Professor of Art, Media, and Design. She has nearly 20 years of experience as a college professor and mentor. During her career in academia, she created multiple degree programs for several colleges and universities, designed dozens of courses, and mentored hundreds of students and peers. She is the founder of the Game Art, BFA program at The University of the Arts, Philadelphia PA.

Mrs. Rothwell's professional experience spans several creative fields. She has served in a wide range of professional roles, including Director of Information Architecture, Interaction/Interface/Experience Designer, Virtual Reality Researcher, Product Developer, Design Consultant, and Freelancer. Her client list includes DuPont, Proctor & Gamble, GlaxoSmithKline, Merrill Lynch, AstraZeneca, SAP, Qwest Communications and Unisys.

In 2015, Michelle designed and launched the Holistic Creativity system. It combines her experience in art, media, and design with 20+ years of experience devoted to ancient Spiritual-healing and Mindfulness modalities.

Michelle is a practicing Fine Artist whose work has been shown nationally in solo, juried, and group shows. Her original, hyper-realistic Virtual-Sculptures and Environments are developed using 3D computer graphics, the same software programs used to produce Video Games, Visual Effects in film, and 3D Printed forms.

Artist Bio, Gallery, and full CV available at: www.michellerothwell.org