Creativity Talks with Kate Gavigan

If you are looking for inspiring and uplifting talks that give you specific and practical tools about how you can enhance your creativity, here are a list of our talks (available both in-person and/or Online: "Enhance Your Life and Your Creativity by Reducing Distractions," "The Gifts of The Artist's Way," "It's Never Too Late To Begin Again", "Your Right to Write," "Baby Steppin' Toward Tidying Up FUN!," "The Gifts of The Artist's Way for Therapists," "Your Right to Play," and our Creativity Lunchtime Sessions: "Enhance Your Creativity through The Artist's Way Tools." 

For more detailed information on all of our talks, including both in-person and Online talks, see below. 

To schedule a talk, email Kate Gavigan via our Contact Page.

Have you wondered why you feel like you have less and less time in the day? Have you been scanning the internet and  consuming media  more than you’d like? Our “Unplug to Plug INTO Your Life" talk can help you live the life you’d like to be living. Creativity Instructor Kate Gavigan will share some life-giving distraction media detox tools that will assist you from reducing those activities that have gone from enhancing your life to taking OVER your life. Over the course of our interactive talk, you will learn how OVER-consumption of news and other technology and information acquisition can impact your health, your general well-being and your creativity. We will identify simple but powerful tools to redefine how you can have balance in your life with technology and other life attention seeking activities. You will leave the class with powerful and FUN tools that can allow you to start hearing your OWN words and desires which will bring you more connection to yourself, others and your creative interests. Here’s to creating a more joyous, connected (for real!) and HAPPY life!

Kate’s talk on creativity will highlight the primary tools of creative recovery that Julia Cameron outlines in her international bestseller on creativity: “he Artist’s Way: A Spiritual Path to Higher Creativity. In this interactive talk, Kate will share about 1) Morning Pages, 2) Artist's Dates and 3) Creativity Tasks which can help spur inspiration. Kate will discuss with the attendees how the tools can enhance your life and your creativity, benefiting you both personally and professionally. Kate will give participants a chance to interact firsthand with these tools and to explore ways to incorporate these creative strategies into their lives.  Julia Cameron notes that “In order to retrieve your creativity, you need to find it.” The material in this book and the tools described in the talk can help attendees to do just that!

It's never too late to explore or rediscover your creativity! Using material from creativity author Julia Cameron's latest book on creativity for older adults: It's Never Too Late To Begin Again: Discovering Creativity and Meaning at Midlife and Beyond, Creativity Instructor Kate Gavigan will share some easy and useful tools that can assist seniors in enhancing their creativity and in turn, their life. Attendees will engage with some fun exercises that will help them identify and/or rediscover their interests, passions and talents and provide a structure to explore those areas. In this interactive talk/workshop, attendees will participate in some fun creative tasks, explore the benefits of memoir reflection and learn how to implement the creative tools in their everyday life. To quote M.K. Soni, "Retire from work, not from life" Being willing to explore your creativity at any age can instill a youthful wonder in you and can enhance your experience of seeing your retirement years as a time full of fun and adventure. This talk can be a great jump-start to assist you in living the life you've been imagining.

“We start with the desire: “I want to write.” Then any number of blocks can pop up to make the task of writing seem like a Herculean one to accomplish. This 90 minute interactive talk will utilize writing tools from Julia Cameron's book The Right to Write and will give you the opportunity to play with some exercises to help identify your writing blocks. We will also engage with some gentle tasks to help identify and miniaturize your critic/censor, address past blocking artistic injuries and have fun writing in a low pressure, relaxed atmosphere. We will also incorporate some fun exercises related to Join us for an afternoon of writing … for the fun of it!”

“Are you eager to create a more inviting and organized home environment but not sure where to start? Organizing strategies are a current hot topic nationwide but it can sometimes be challenging to translate those ideas into an organizing plan for your own home. Kate Gavigan, a professional home organizer and Creativity Instructor, will share some useful tips from the bestseller book The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo and other organizing resources to help attendees start the process of tackling their organizing projects. Kate has found that there is some wonderful overlap between exploring ones creativity and tackling organizing projects which she will share with attendees. Participants will get a chance to explore their ideal visions for their space, name some obstacles, hear about some “obstacle buster” tools and leave feeling inspired to dive into their organizing tasks. Kate believes that there isn’t a “one fits all” organizing strategy, but that attendees can identify some small steps that can allow them to create a home environment that is uplifting and nurturing and even have FUN while doing it!”

More more information on Kate's Organizing Talks can found at her Organizing Website: Kate's Restorations and Organizing Services.

The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron is an international bestseller on creativity. Kate Gavigan, a local Artist’s Way instructor and trained Mental Health Therapist, has been leading Artist’s Way classes since 2009. This introductory Artist’s Way 3-hour workshop led by Kate will focus on highlighting the primary tools of creative recovery that Julia Cameron outlines in her international bestseller on creativity: The Artist’s Way: A Spiritual Path to Higher Creativity. Julia Cameron uses 3 basic tools for students to enhance their lives and their creativity: 1) morning pages (writing 3 pages longhand of stream of consciousness writing in the morning), 2) artist’s dates (a weekly SOLO fun date) and 3) completing creativity exercises at the back of each chapter. In this interactive presentation, Kate will facilitate a discussion on the gifts that can come from The Artist’s Way book and share how the material has benefited her and her Artist’s Way students. Attendees will also get their creative hands busy with some fun exercises from the book The Artist’s Way.  Students who utilize these creativity tools often report numerous benefits. Specifically, we often hear from our Artist’s Way students that as a result of using the Artist’s Way tools and going through the material they more fully and genuinely know themselves, they discover and rediscover their gifts and talents and report having more fun and joy in their lives. “In order to retrieve your creativity, you need to find it.” -Julia Cameron

The tools described in the workshop can help attendees do just that!

 “Have you missed the feeling of joy that you used to experience playing as a child? Have you been curious about what might help rejuvenate your sense of play and FUN in your life? Come join us for an afternoon to play around with some super FUN Improv (and a few Acting concepts) and leave with some potentially life changing tools to use in your everyday life. We’ll engage with some simple and delightful Improv tools that include listening well and responding in the moment, being open to the “yes, and”, embracing failure and being mindful and attending to the moment and responding truthfully. Embrace your inner artist and enhance your life and enjoy the opportunity to do so with others as they do the same!” (This program is designed with the absolute beginner in mind though others welcome too!).

Kate's "Enhance Your Creativity" lunchtime series includes learning about several key creativity tools outlined in the international creativity bestseller The Artist's Way by Julia Cameron. Attendees will hear about and interact firsthand with several of the key creativity tools. Participants will explore the transformative power of morning pages and hear about the numerous benefits that can come from the practice of daily free form writing. Those who work with morning pages have reported "increased productivity," "reduced anxiety", "increasing insights" and "resolving dilemmas", to name just a few. Attendees will also learn about Artist's Dates, a simple and enlivening tool to jump start your creative passions and interests and a great complement with Morning Pages. We will also get our hands busy with some tasks which can spur creative inspiration. Exploring your creative interests and implementing some straightforward and fun techniques can yield tremendous dividends. This Brown Bag talk is a great jumping off point to build support and community at work and to reinvigorate and recharge your creativity. 

Creativity Lunchtime Series - 60 minutes
Topics:
The Transformative Power of Morning Pages
Jumpstart your Creativity with Artist's Dates
Creativity Tasks to Spur Inspiration

Plus two additional 60 minute follow-up sessions to address successes and how to overcome creativity obstacles.

To schedule, contact Kate via our  Contact Us Page.

Talks 

Here is a listing of just a few of the talks Kate has given:

Cascadia Training, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023

Pierce County Library Summer Reading Talks 2023

Snohomish County Library Talks, 2022

Edmonds Community College, Keynote Speaker 2022

Facebook (Seattle), February/May, 2019

Canyon Ranch Spa, Tucson, Arizona, September 2019
Canyon Ranch Spa, Tucson, Arizona, September 2018 - "Featured Speaker"
Milton Public Library, September 2018

Corvallis Public Library April 2018
Eugene Public Library, August 2017
N. Mason Timberland Library, July 2017
Sumner Library, June 2017
Lakewood Library, May 2017
Orcas Library, January 2017
Vashon Library, November 2016
San Juan Friday Harbor Library, September 2016
Bainbridge Library, May 2016
Burlington Library, May 2016
Little Boston Library, May 2016
Poulsbo Library, April 2016
Manchester Library, April 2016
Lynnwood Library, March 2016
Mukilteo Library, March 2016
Marysville Library, January 2016
Camano Library, January 2016
University Unitarian, January 2016
Langley Library, January 2016
Olympia Timberland Library, January 206
Center for Spiritual Living, November 2015
Port Townsend Library, November 2015
Lake Hills Library, August 2015
Des Moines Library, July 2015
North Bend Library, July 2015
Vashon Library - June, 2015
Bethany Community Church, 2014
Editorial and Freelancers Association, 2013
Graphic Design Group, 2013