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Friday, December 16, 2011

espresso yourself

As a teacher and tutor, I've sometimes received gifts from my students, or their parents in the case of minors.  Not often, but once in a while, the gracious types will go a little above and beyond the credit card deduction.  I don't expect it, so I appreciate the gesture when it happens.  Even just a little thank-you note is nice. 

As I've mentioned here a bit in the last few weeks, I've been working with a life coach.  Some readers have expressed curiosity about that, and I would too if the tables were turned.  This week, my coach and I more or less wrapped things up. 

And I deem the whole exercise very worthwhile.  For the cost of about one month's net pay of the unhappy part-time job I had earlier this year, it was well worth it. 

BUT, I don't want to share, just yet, things that "went down" during the coaching sessions.  No, I mention it here because I wanted to give a personalized thank-you gift to my coach.  An artwork of some type seemed appropriate since my "artsy" side was something we often discussed. 


One thing about coaching, though, is that it's very one-sided.  My coach is very approachable and down-to-earth, yet the nature of the thing is that we mostly talked about ME, and I didn't learn a whole lot about her other than what was mostly coachingly related.

So that was a bit of a dilemma, since artwork is so subjective.  One person's beauty is another's beast.  Monochrome or multi-colored?  Bold colors or subdued?  Realistic or abstract?   It's not like we ever just went out for coffee as equals and....




Wait, that was it.  Somewhere in those one-sided coaching sessions, she had mentioned that she was a coffee lover.  I grasped onto that skinny straw and painted this still life. 

Colors too bold?  Colors too subdued?  Not realistic enough?  Not abstract enough?   I have no idea, but at least there's coffee, right?

One exercise I did at both the beginning and at the wrap-up was fill in this wheel.  I was supposed to fill in each piece of the pie as to how "full" I was in their respective areas.  My "after" wheel is happily fuller than my "before" wheel.  Not full to the brim, but it's a work in progress.

I tacked it up on my corkboard above my desk, to keep me on my toes, and keep me working on filling in the gaps.  Chaco noticed it yesterday.

Chaco:  What's that chart?
Me:  What chart?
Chaco:  That pie chart?
Me:  Oh, that's my "Wheel".
Chaco:  Your "Wheel"?
Me:  Yep
Chaco:  Where does it go?


Well now, that IS the question, isn't it?

 

Today's NaBloPoMo promptWhat was the last handmade gift you gave?
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3 comments:

terri said...

It's good to know the life-coaching was worthwhile and got you to thinking about putting things on a more satisfying path. You had explained enough early on that I understood this was at least somewhat the goal. Thank you, really, for sharing your experience. I had heard of life coaches, but had never known anyone who used one and was curious as to how the whole process played out. I am keeping this in the back of my mind as a "maybe something I should consider" kind of thing.

And your coach will love the still life. The easy gift answer for a coffee lover is coffee. You took it further, to something that can be enjoyed for a long time to come. Nice work!

agg79 said...

I think that is a fantastic gift for your life coach. Anyone can give a tin of cookies or chocolate or a gift card, your art speaks to the heart. It is great that she was able to teach you new things that you can use to improve your outlook on life.

CiCi said...

Keeping us in suspense. The painting would be appreciated I am sure. I for one like it very much, the quiet colors and the simplicity. Very nice.