Vision cards are one of the many tools participants gain from the workshops, and are instrumental in guiding them towards their objectives. Photo courtesy of Laine Nixon.

Creativity and structure appear to be polar opposites. Many people imagine that creative work gives them freedom, while structure boxes them in to inflexible routines. For artist Laine Nixon, creativity and structure go hand in hand, and when combined, can foster personal growth in every aspect of life for everyone, regardless of whether or not they are artists themselves.

This July, Nixon hopes to help Sarasotans kick start the accomplishment of their goals by offering two programs. The first, called the Practically Dreaming Workshop, is a four-part month-long workshop. This hands-on workshop focuses on helping participants define their goals and values while discovering how to work towards them. “We starts with exploration, creatively looking at our goals, dreams and anything we want to do with the rest of our lives,” says Nixon. “Then, we analyze a particular goal in different ways, exploring our fears about that goal, why we want to pursue it and catagorizing our goals to see if our life is balanced and whether we are working in the categories that we want to prioritize.” Participants gain new tools that help them examine their lives from an innovative perspective while making meaningful changes. One of Nixon’s favorite tools is creating a deck of vision cards, which tie together everything learned during the workshop and guide students toward their desired futures. While this workshop meets once a week, people searching for consistency on a day-to-day basis will enjoy the Creative Habits Lab.

Nixon runs the lab as a month-long session for one hour every weekday morning. The lab is a virtual accountability group, in which participants commit to showing up each day with the intention of setting aside time to work on a particular goal or habit. They set their intentions for the day, then go to work in one of four areas: visualization, meditation, journaling or another creative project. This structure allows the group to zero in on their goals while providing proven strategies for working towards them. “The labs are for anyone who wants to progress in those four areas but hasn’t made them a priority,” Nixon adds, “and I give them foundational tools to help build that structure.”

The desire to engage with the community and leave a positive impact inspired Nixon, who as an artist often works by herself, to start the programs. During the pandemic, she realigned her studio practice to be more in tune with her values and intentions. “Alignment is about finding purpose and success in my natural way of being, which is also my personal affirmation,” she says. “When we take a creative approach to self reflection and have an attitude of open inquiry as to what might give us that answer, we have a better chance at self-fufillment.”

To learn more and enroll in the July sessions of the Practically Dreaming Workshop or Creative Habits Lab, visit lainenixon.com.

Vision cards are one of the many tools participants gain from the workshops, and are instrumental in guiding them towards their objectives. Photo courtesy of Laine Nixon.