*Open Studio Visiting Creative, Catherine Grison is certified Feng Shui master with more than 20 years of combined experience in management, sales, communication, design, and coaching, Catherine works closely with her clients to transform and beautify their life and environments..  To read her Bio, click here

Bonjour!

Years ago, one of my Chinese Feng Shui mentors gave me one day the wisest piece of advice I ever received. He said: “Catherine, mundane first, transcendental after!” While so many try to adjust energy with chimes and crystals without even considering the reality of their surroundings, they just miss the most important part of this deep internal process. You cannot just activate the magic if you do not take care of what is already here, right now. And it begins with your space, and yourself. The insights I will give you today are extremely practical, easy to follow and will help you build a healthy ground to plant the seeds you want to grow! Feng Shui works with symbols. The goal is to harness the energy of the universe in a way that supports your needs, not to block it or ignore it.

Step 1: Let it flow!

Artists are clutter specialists (aren’t we all?)! They always have pile of this and pots of that all over the place. And it is quite normal as you use all these materials to create. However your tools can become barriers against a lively business. To address this issue, position yourself at the front door of your workspace (or even of your home if you are creating from home) and look around you… Is the door opening all the way to let the energy comes in? Are you slaloming amongst and between stuff in order to walk safely or is the floor plan easy to navigate? Too many piles? Too many furniture? Is there anything you can reorganize in a more efficient and clean looking way? Any paperwork you could nicely archive? Do you keep things here that you know you will never use even if it was the end of the world? The universal energy hates getting stuck and will not support you if you do not let her flow freely. All this physical clutter clutters also your mind and stops your own growth. When a bottle is already full, no fresh water can get in anymore. Look behind the furniture, open the drawers, organize, donate and throw away: every time you do clear up a shelf or a drawer, visualize a flood of bright light replacing the clutter. Giving yourself some room will allow you to get rid of the stagnation and bring you opportunities you would never have imagined!

Step 2: Bring it in!

Your most vital goal is to be known as an artist. So now look at your work space and evaluate how an unexpected visitor would find you there if he/she did not have any clue of who/where you are at first. Many of the artists I meet (especially if they have also a day job) are making their art in places that are energetically invisible. Whether a room with no windows, a desk under a staircase, a workshop lost at the back of the yard or in a cellar, all these locations are good for you to create, away from distractions, but too remote from the social environment for you to be found and sold. You might think “it does not matter, I am on internet, and nobody comes here!” Little do you know! Life is all about symbols and like in real estate, location is key! I do not ask you to move. Just go outside of your work space, walk towards it and see how you could guide a visitor to your creations. You might want to add a beautiful sign at the front door, put a path of lights from the entrance to the workshop, or get a brighter crystal lamp to signal the desk… Think visibility first! Even if you are the only one to ever walk physically into your sacred creative space.

Step 3: Open your vision!

Once you cleared the space from all (or nearly all!) dusty clutter and found a way to lead the energy to you, it is time to prepare yourself to welcome the new inspiration and the gifts from the world. Now sit at your work station (whatever it is!) and look in front of you: what do you see? It is essential for your business to be open towards the outside, ready to receive. Are you facing a wall and/or turning your back at the door? Remember the expression: “to hit a wall”? Sitting in front of one will unfortunately get you there too! This is one of the worse positions as you do not get any symbolic window on the world. Try to change the position of your work station in order to be facing the room instead. If you really cannot (and I insist on really), get a mirror and place it so that you can see what is behind you. Add also in front of you a picture of a landscape you love, very joyful and uplifting, with a sense of depth to it. Think window with a perspective. A clear path between trees could be a good choice. The most beautiful image of a boat lost at sea in a stormy night will obviously not do! When you turn your back at the world, it shows the universal energy that you are not interested in her support. It raises also your stress level as your reptilian brain does not like at all your back not being protected and therefore being available for backstabbing! However, be careful: you should not be sitting or standing directly in front of the door either. A slight angle is always better in order to smoothly get the energy but not be hit by her!

Et voilà! *

You can notice I did not talk at all about Career area, abundance fountains or other curly bamboos! We are not there yet. Applying transcendental adjustments without preparing the soil first would be like performing surgery without cleaning up the patient and the tools. You can do it in case of emergency in a war zone, but the results are often not optimal. What you want is to build a solid ground for you and your business to grow, in a healthy and fulfilling way. Do not overlook these 3 steps: necessary to make things happen, they are the foundation of your new life.

Au revoir!

In Joy & Respect,

Catherine, Feng Shui Master Certified

*What did you learn from this amazing article?  Do you have a healthy art workshop?  What is one thing you can do to make your art business healthier?  SHARE this article by clicking the buttons below. Thanks!

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