Artist, Know Thyself
(a mini-workshop)
Your “Modus Operandi,”
or, the way you work
when you are most yourself,
is a Creative Engine
that powers your creative process.
STEP 1:
Self-Awareness About Your Creative Process
Helps You Unapologetically
Embrace the Way You Instinctively Work
STEP 2:
Often artists feel shame about their natural ways of working because others don’t understand the creative process.
With this test, Kathy Kolbe has done a lot to help creative people understand themselves and get past the anxiety and shame that comes from the societal expectations of acting or being a certain way.
She says that the way we work naturally shows us who we are, and the ways we all work differently are all needed in the world.
I wholeheartedly agree!
The Kolbe concepts help you embrace your natural ways of working and let go of some of the shame or guilt that some artist’s feel. For instance: “I can start, but never finish things!” or “I don’t follow through” are often indications NOT that you are a “flaky artist” but that you may not be working with your best conative tendencies to be who you are when you are working at your best.
Once you take the test (even if you don’t take it, you can watch these videos), you’ll have a better understanding of your creative process - how your specific instincts and drives help you move from idea to implementation.
I hope this helps you understand the forces at work deep within YOU, and how you can harness their power and overcome any shame about the ways you naturally work, so you can be more confident and productive.
Discover the Elemental Forces at Work
in Your Creative Process
STEP 3:
Do the Modus Operandi Worksheet
Circle the word that best describes where you think you are in each column.
Then, set up a free consultation call and we will talk about your specific “modus operadi,” and how you can work with your strengths, not against them, to build a better creative process for yourself.
If you want to dive deeper:
There are many tools to help us know ourselves better - many tests, quizzes and assessments. But after working closely with dozens of artists, I have found this tool - the Kolbe A Index - to be the most helpful for artists, and so I want to pass it on this to you.
It helps you identify how you "start” your work:
Do you need LOTS of information?
Or just a little?
Do you need a system?
Or can you adapt?
Do you dive in? Or do you need to feel safe first?
Do you envision space?
Or need to hold the materials?
You don’t need to take the test to understand more about yourself.
You can make a pretty good guess by watching these videos -
and that alone can help you get started.
But if you do want to go further with this work, I would love to help.
There is so much more to learn about you!
Sociologist Kathy Kolbe created the Kolbe A Index after a long history in the world of research and assessment; her father, Eldon Wonderlic, developed the first cognitive assessment for business and government. Kathy realized these insights could cast light on human performance in general, and specifically how children navigated the educational system. She observed how children worked when they were “in the Zone,” or “striving” to create a drawing or project, and from her research, she developed the Kolbe A Index to measure this “conative,” or working mode in adults.
When you take this assessment, you’ll see numbers in 4 categories - Fact-finding, Follow-Through, Quick Start, and Implementation. Be sure to listen to the audios when you receive the link to your results. Kathy leads you through what each category and number means, and then my training brings them all together in how these insights work for artists, artisans, and other creatives.
How do I take the Kolbe A Index?
I am not an affiliate. I just love this test. If we work together, I will send you an email with a link to take the test. Usually the test if $55, but it is part of your coaching package if you sign up for coaching with me.
If you take no other assessment, this is the one that gives the most insight into the creative process. I will receive a copy of your results as well, then we can discuss them in depth in a coaching session. Other clients have found this very enlightening and helpful; I hope you do, too!
Learn more about the Kolbe A Index
Watch the documentary about “conative” part of the mind, including the story of Kathy Kolbe
and how she created the Kolbe A Index Assessment:
If you want to go deeper into this process, I’d love to talk with you about how you work, how to discover more about yourself,
and how to make the art you envision.
3 Things - Journal Prompt
After watching these videos, if you just guessed, do you think you initiate/start most of your work from Information, Systems, Risk, or Space & Tangibles?
What resonates here with you about how you operate when you are in a state of flow, or in the “zone"?
Are there elements of this test that brings up uncomfortable thoughts or emotions - what does this bring up for you?
Shannon’s coaching has helped me develop my self-concept and how I view myself as an artist, helping me realize that I do have expertise worth talking about.
Growing my artist self-concept has helped me in every single
area of my business.
— Matt O’Brien, Fine Furniture Craftsman, matthew-obrien.com
I made it through, and now I help other artists
build creative lives they love.
Let’s talk about where you are, and I’ll offer any help I can in this free consultation call.
When I changed my life at 50
and (finally) followed my dream
to become an artist,
I often felt lost.
I wished I had had a mentor
to talk to about my art
to lead me through the mindset shifts
I knew needed to maketo see myself as an artist and entrepreneur,
to get past anxiety and impostor syndrome.