The Stuck Creative is the trademark of the presentations, services, products, and pontifications of Gary Goodwin.

Bio & Approach – Gary Goodwin – Instructor

If there is something like a birthdate for The Stuck Creative, it is the fall of 2009. It was then I created a monthly open, drop-in group for anyone who considered themselves stuck. In November the first group meets on the 3rd-floor walk-up commercial building in Old Town Alexandria, Virginia.  Sally Scime, owner of Mindful Hands/Tibet Shop (now located in Staunton, VA) provided this great space.  Twenty creatives from photography, jewelry-making, writing, and the visual arts came together to hear an opening presentation from me and then we opened the floor for discussion and sharing of ideas, tips, tools, and techniques. That formatt has stayed in place for all of the monthly meetings. 

I bring a variety of perspectives and techniques to The Stuck Creative:

My coaching skills come from training in two coaching programs; solid general coaching techniques come from MentorCoach (certified coach training organization) that includes evidence-based methods with evidence-based practices from the newly emerging field in psychology, Positive Psychology. Positive Psychology works with a person’s strengths and focuses on the positive effects of cultivated optimism, appreciation, gratitude, relationships, envisioning future possibilities and more.

The second training comes from the Creativity Coaching Association (CCA). The CCA pinpoints the specific needs of creative people and trains coaches in ways to help creative people overcome obstacles, increase productivity, go deeper into their area of creativity, and generally flourish. Eric Maisel, the author of many books on creativity enhancement for creative people helped shape the training by being the model of what a coach can be and how he/she can interact with clients. He also was the instructor for several courses I completed.

Getting unstuck necessarily requires looking at how we think, how we feel, and other interior states and practices. We have to change to get unstuck and stay unstuck. Besides the above coaching training, I have found techniques of meditation, body awareness, and use of our imagination grounds us to give us confidence and energy and opens us to discover our solutions to creative problems. The majority of my training has come from professionals in health care, psychology, and therapy. 

I have developed and teach easy to adopt methods of inner control and a system I call Insight Imagination.  To that end, I have completed training in biofeedback, EEG feedback, many forms of imagination release and use: from the Academy for Guided Imagery where I’m certified in Interactive Guided Imagery; a Level 1 Guide in the Helen Bonny approach of Guided Imagery and Music; and a graduate of the Center of Healing and Imagery Frequently, Insight Imagination practices are combined with Creativity Coaching  to create powerful solutions to long-standing obstacles/blocks to creative progress.

With that said, it (my training) ain’t over until I’m over.  I’ve recently entered the confusing (for me) world of basic mixed-media crafting and digital manipulation. 

My Goals:

I know what it is like to be stuck and that is why I created The Stuck Creative for anyone who needs it and for myself, too. There is no shame in being stuck and being stuck is just a natural part of life. It can’t be instantly overcome nor can it be overcome forever.  I have learned much from training but the majority of what I have picked up is by looking for clues as to what: unstuck people do, think, and feel and from what stuck people do, think, and feel. If there is something I can offer is systematizing this learning and rolling it out in as clear terms as possible, tailored to the person who is looking for it.  I hope you join me at a workshop, Meetup, this blog, my videos, or for that matter, anywhere else.  Let’s all get unstuck and get our projects done!