Case Study #1: From Architect to Artist

The Problem:  “Richard” an architect by training, came to me for coaching because of unhappiness with his work. He felt that a large part of his creativity was untapped. He’d realized that architecture was not a calling for him, and he was experiencing an increasingly painful longing for a form of expression different than his work in architecture.

Richard had all but given up on his great passion, art, as a means of earning a living. He had been pushed into studying architecture by his father—a building contractor who had made it clear he expected Richard to become part of his business.  Despite his family’s pressure and disapproval, Richard had at one time quit his work in architecture to study painting and work as an illustrator, but he had been forced to return to architecture when the publishing industry underwent a major contraction.

The process:  During our coaching, Richard realized that it was more important for him to find a way to reconnect fully with his art than to have the kind of financial security his parents wanted for him. He made a choice: he gave up his job in the architectural firm and found work as a patina apprentice in a sculpture casting foundry.

There he was able to interact with the artists who came to have their work cast, and he began to feel physically and spiritually at home.   Richard had felt like something of a bull in a china shop in the architectural office—awkward and confined—yet in doing the more physical work at the foundry he discovered a physical ease that he’d not experienced before.

Richard began attempting some sculpture work of his own.  Almost immediately, his work was recognized by the foundry owner, the foundry workers and artists as outstanding in its realism and originality. For the first time, he began to feel the peace and satisfaction that had previously eluded him.

The result: After over half a year as a patina apprentice Richard decided to leave his job at the foundry to devote more time to his own projects. Despite this, he was encouraged by the owner to continue using the facility and Richard began to support himself freelancing with painting commissions.  Our coaching was complete. Richard had found the work that suits him best, and he recently let me know he’d been invited by one of the jurors of a sculpture competition to submit his work.