The idea of mentoring came to me in 2020 possibly because there was more time to think during Lockdown and also an awareness that many were struggling to adapt to an unprecedented situation. Another motivation was a fear of losing the valuable skills acquired during my long career as an Occupational Therapist (OT). Being an OT taught me a great deal about how to enable individuals to succeed in whatever they considered important or meaningful. I became a specialist in Vocational rehabilitation in my last job and it was here that I developed my coaching skills.
To begin I needed to establish whether I really wanted to offer this service and also to restore my practice in this field. I thought the best way to do this was to offer a free trial to volunteers. I started in January and have now worked regularly with half a dozen artists. The trial has been rewarding and very successful. It has also been wonderful to acknowledge that my hard earned skills still remain. I’ve also been surprised at how much I gain from the experience and this has been an unexpected pleasure, plus a strong motivation for continuing with this work.
The service I intend to offer is 1:1 coaching/mentoring for artists via Zoom. The expected period of support is likely to be 6-8 weeks, usually meeting weekly for the first 4, then fortnightly for the remainder. The sessions last approx 60-80 mins during which I take notes. I use these to draft a summary to send after each session, mostly on the same day. The summary includes headings such as Goals, Discussion, Realisations and Action points. Providing this means that the mentee can focus on the discussion without any distraction. My trial has now finished so I will be charging from now, priced at £80 per 1 hour session, discounted for 3 plus sessions, so hopefully accessible for most prospective candidates.
The feedback I have received so far has been incredibly positive and the progress, considering the number of recipients, has been very encouraging. It also has become apparent that my coaching style is experienced as validating and ‘therapeutic’, unsurprisingly given my background.
I don’t intend to overtly market this service, preferring organic growth. I’m also keen to keep this as a peripheral interest which supports my art rather than conflicts with it. If you are interested in learning more please get in touch by email to joanneolneyart@gmail.com or by using my contact form.
Testimonial: Artist Amanda Blunden
I've recently had a 6 session mentorship with Jo Olney.
Right from the start Jo's warmth and empathy shone through and I felt completely at ease talking to her. I was going through some pretty big life stuff and thought this might put Jo off mentoring me but this couldn't have been further from the truth. I felt like there was a good balance between discussion of this and my art practice which was obviously affected. I hadn't expected to receive such wise and empathetic support from Jo - she is clearly very skilled as a therapist and gave me practical tools to help me deal with some important emotional issues. As well as a practical therapeutic approach, Jo was also able to come up with useful, concrete suggestions to help me push through ideas and obstacles in the studio. Jo has the uncanny ability to get inside your head and mirror back to you the key issues which need addressing with absolutely no judgement.
With her help I was able to come up with 3 main goals and then together we worked out ways that I could begin to reach them. I've found it so helpful to have done this with Jo. I have hugely condensed my progress with parts of my practice in a very short space of time. One of my goals which I was struggling to focus on improved from a scale of 3 to 10 - now that's progress! The main goal was achieved through this process by the realisation that I was already there - I just hadn't given it enough attention. What I particularly love is the feeling that Jo has untapped the skills I already had to make this progress but I just needed a few nudges in the right direction. My lightbulb moments came about after a shift in my thinking brought on by Jo's considered and reflected reactions to my own ramblings! This for me is what makes her especially good at what she does and why I'd wholeheartedly recommend her.
Testimonial: Artist Alison Berrett
‘I had not really been thinking about coaching but was intrigued by the possibility and I am so glad I took the opportunity to work with Jo. I felt there was both freedom and structure to work within as Jo was both flexible and systematic. Her gentle, listening approach gave me the space to talk and with her wise responses and ability to mirror back to me what I was thinking and saying, I felt able to move forward in huge steps with my approach to being the artist I have always wanted to be."
Testimonial: Artist Suzi Lowe
I have had 8 sessions with Joanne since the end of February 2021 and I am deeply thankful that I have. Joanne's kind, generous and thoughtful mentoring has helped guide me from a place of procrastination, avoidance and overwhelm to being able to consistently show up, move past blocks and create momentum in my practice, through clear, manageable and focused goals and unpicking unhelpful/untrue beliefs and mind-chatter.
Joanne has moved my emotional focus, with consideration and practical tips, to what is most important to me. She has held space for me to see more clearly and establish behaviours that push me closer to my goals.
I'm really grateful for the prompt, clear and focused notes that Joanne sends through at the end of each session that I can refer back to whenever I need to. I miss talking to Joanne on the weeks we do not meet.
Joanne mentored me voluntarily at a time when being unemployed has meant I would have no access to this kind of support. It has had a big positive impact on my life.
Testimonial: Artist Emma Tweedie
“I sometimes jokingly refer to Jo as ‘The Oracle’. She is a highly capable coach, offering skillfully-guided sessions, providing insightful post-session synopsis and counsel. All of this has helped to clarify my direction of ‘travel', setting clear objectives and agreeing and working towards an achievable measurable framework. I have no hesitation in recommending Jo for any creative person looking to develop their thoughts, ideas and practice in order that they can reach the next level of personal potential."
Testimonial: Artist Anna F Macdonald
‘My session with Jo was enormously helpful. One rarely gets the opportunity to talk at length about one’s work, exploring doubts, insecurities or even just ruminating on ideas, so what Jo offers is an invaluable experience for Artists want to learn more about their own practice. Jo’s professional yet, deeply kind nature creates a safe space to talk about often emotional ideas that often lie beneath the surface of our Art, and I was left feeling understood. This experience gave me new found confidence and conviction about my work that propelled me to create more work. I intend to make these sessions with Jo a regular occurrence as I believe what she is able to offer is will help develop my Art practice and gain a deeper understanding of my motivations and ideas. I would recommend Jo’s services to any Artist at any level of their creative journey.’