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  Romana Carén

THE VERSATILE ARTIST

My top 10 tips to finding the right teacher for the creative skill you want to develop

6/9/2020

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A question I’m often asked is how to find the right teacher for training and expanding the creative skill of your choice. The relationship between a student and teacher is a sensitive one and you should spend a little time on finding the right teacher for you. I‘ve put together a list of my top 10 tips to finding the right teacher, so lets dive right into it:

1. Recommendation: the „easiest way“ to get a name. Ask those who recommend the teacher why they love working with that teacher.

2. 
What kind of education does the teacher have? Do they have any formal training as a teacher? Could they have developed their teaching skills over time as a result of their experience as an artist? Do they keep learning and expanding their skill set?

3. 
What kind of experience does the teacher have in the art form you want to learn and of course in teaching it? Of course the more years they have been working in either area the more they have seen and learned and this should feed into their teaching. This is no guarantee, but experience helps. However, young and ambitious teachers who are very keen to be the best teacher they can be at the time can also be really good teachers! They can really be worth giving them a chance! And what I‘ve learned: someone who is a brilliant artist doesn‘t necessarily have to be a great teacher. They can be, but that is not a given one. That‘s why there are all the other factors that you have to look into when looking for the right teacher for you.

4. Are they specifically trained and/or experienced in the area you want learn from them? E.g. If you want to learn classical singing it won‘t make too much sense if you go to a teacher who has only experience in popular music. If you want to become a screen actor you need to find an acting coach who really knows what kind of skills you need for acting in front of the camera and how to teach them to you.

5. 
Are they flexible in regards to the methods they are teaching? Are they open to other approaches? Are they continuing to learn about the newest (scientific) findings in their area of expertise? Are they continuing to take further training to become even better?

6. You and the teacher have to be on the same page about your goals. You should have a clear idea about what you want to achieve and discuss that with the teacher. Listen to their opinion and ask questions to see if their answers are realistic. 

7. 
You and your teacher need to have a good chemistry. The best teacher in the world will not be the right one for you, if you don‘t click. You can‘t force what isn‘t meant to be, but when it works you can look forward to a great journey ahead!

8. Is the teacher‘s studio conveniently reachable enough for your so that you are not going to use the distance as an excuse to not go there whenever you have a „lazy day“ or the weather isn‘t nice enough ;) ? OR:

9. 
Does the teacher offer online teaching via Skype, Zoom, Facetime, Hangout or whatever? If so this might give you the opportunity to more options in the choice of your teacher. Maybe from much farther away. 
​
10. What types of classed does the teacher offer? One-on-one, small groups, bigger groups?

I hope this is helpful for you. Don‘t rush into anything, but don’t wait too long. At the end of the day you will only find out if the teacher is right for you when you give them a chance and take a few lessons with them.
Stay healthy, stay creative and be brave!
Lots of love,
Romana xx



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Are you a highly sensitive person?

6/4/2020

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„You’re too sensitive for your own good”
“You need to toughen up”
“You take things to heart too much”
“Stop over-thinking things!”
“Stop worrying!”
Have you heard this before? I have. I thought something was wrong with me until I learned about high sensitivity. It changed my life and how I see myself.
So if you these phrases sound vaguely familiar to you you might also be a highly sensitive person (HSP).

Great! But what does this have to do with being a creative person? Well, bare with me :)

First of all, high sensitivity is a trait that is normal. It is found in 15 to 20% of the population. It is not a disorder, but since we HSPs are a minority it isn't really well understood and our world is built in a way that we can make us feel as if something was wrong with us. In reality, it's most likely that we are just overwhelmed.

High sensitivity is innate. In fact, biologists have found it in over 100 species (and probably there are many more) from fruit flies, birds, and fish to dogs, cats, horses, and primates. This trait reflects a certain type of survival strategy, being observant before acting. The brains of highly sensitive persons (HSPs) actually work a little differently than others’. 
We are more aware than others of subtleties. This is mainly because our brain processes information and reflects on it more deeply. We are also more easily overwhelmed. If we notice everything, we are naturally going to be overstimulated when things are too intense, complex, chaotic, or novel for a long time.
The German psychologists Eduard Schweingruber who wrote about the sensitive person as early as 1935 characterised the sensitive person as having:
An increased response to stimuli, and because of this a greater chance of excessive irritability, also as having complex emotional processes. And having more difficulty with releasing/processing their emotions. He also describes how all the stimuli also influences the body of the sensitive individual.

There are four main indicators/categories in which the characteristics of being Highly Sensitive is grouped:
Depth of processing
Overarousabilty
Emotional intensity
Sensory sensitivity



What does that mean?
  1. Depth of Processing (this being the key trait of HSPs): Being more affected and distressed than others by the same events in childhood or adulthood. Highly Sensitive People seem to ponder these events more deeply, not only leading to a stronger emotional reaction but also being fed by it. Reflecting (more than others would) about the ‘way the world is going’, the meaning of life, spirituality or their line of work. Feeling deeper and more empathy for others, including the suffering of animals and social injustices. Giving careful and thorough analysis to decisions/tasks/situations sometimes to the point of being unable to decide or take action. Often being highly conscientious and having a tendency to be perfectionistic.

  1. Overarousability: High levels of stimulations lead to high level of arousal, especially in HSPs. Overarousal presents itself more often in HSP during important life transitions, even pleasant ones. Chronic overarousal leads to feeling stressed out, being burnout, feeling overwhelmed or a sense of ‘not being able to handle it anymore’.
    A few examples of overarousability in HSPs:
    Are often more aware of subtleties in their environment and because of this, overstimulated quicker than others.
    Tend to be easily startled and often feel overwhelmed by loud sensory inputs, violent films or large crowds
    Tend to need more time on their own in order to reduce their level of overstimulation/over-arousal, often preferring being in nature or in a quiet, less stimulating environment to do so.
    Get easily rattled in stressful situations and under time pressure.
    Are easily shaken up and distressed by changes and thus need more time to process and reflect on what is happening.
    Do less well in “multitasking” situations.

  1. Emotional intensity: Highly Sensitive People bring more emotional reactivity to EVERY event in life. The sensitive person is touched by many things. They are affected strongly by positive and negative situations.The most negative emotional intensity is felt around emotions such as shame, guilt, disdain, compassion and fear of abandonment.
    We might see this as:
    Having stronger feelings about almost everything.
    Being easily moved to tears of joy, gratitude or relief.
    Being easily moved to laughter.
    This also means that HSPs react more to the emotions of others and might know more than others what you are feeling.

  1. Sensory sensitivity: This sometimes manifests as a low threshold, sometimes as the ability to distinguish subtleties, and sometimes as low tolerance of high levels on sensory input. If you’re lucky, you only experience one of them, but often all three are present.
    This sensitivity presents itself as:
    Being more sensitive to physical pain (lower pain threshold).
    Often having physical disorders (due to stress or lower pain threshold) like migraines, fibromylagia, chronic fatigue, unusual allergies, extreme premenstrual syndromes, back and neck problems, and environmental sensitivities.
    Often being sensitive to loud noises, strong scents, coarse fabrics or bright lights (e.g. sirens, airplanes, woolen jumpers, fluorescent lighting etc.).
    Being more senstive to the effect of stimulating substances (e.g. caffeine).
    Responding to lower doses of medications than most people.

Most people self identify with being Highly Sensitive when reading or hearing about it. It’s like all the pieces of the puzzle fall into place: ‘That’s me!’ and ‘I’m not crazy!’. All these different personality qualities and innate traits are what make you YOU. No two highly sensitive people are exactly the same. 
So now lets come to the point why I'm talking about this here:
Studies have shown that the number of Highly Sensitive People is significantly higher in the creative community. When you think about, the typical traits a Highly Sensitive Person brings to the table really serve the creative process. We notice more details around us, we have a higher awareness of the world around us, a lot of us understand much better how someone else is feeling, we feel deeper. While sometimes this can be a disadvantage, when it comes to creating art this is a huge advantage!

If this rings a bell, if you feel this could give you some more understanding, you might want to try HSP expert Elaine Aron's self test.

📕Here is a list of recommended reading:
Elaine N. Aron, The Highly Sensitive Person*
English: https://amzn.to/3ctDau1
Deutsch/German: https://amzn.to/306dQri
Georg Parlow, Zart Besaitet*
Deutsch/German: https://amzn.to/2U3Pt9Z 


Being sensitive is not being weak. It actually takes courage to live life in full awareness. 
It is time for us to start honouring our sensitivity, embracing our inspiration, our passion, our creativity. 
Lots of love,
Romana xx


“Being highly sensitive means being able to enjoy life in high definition, the natural world, light, music and art, friendship, comfort and solitude can all bring acute happiness. In the absence of stress, being highly sensitive can be beautiful.”– Kate Coady

*affiliate link(s)
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    Author

    Romana Carén is an actress, film and theater maker (writer & director), and singing instructor sharing her experience with juggling all her creative interests, the struggle to feel that you have to decide to be good at one of them, to constantly feel the drive to learn more, learn something new and how this inner artist can be set free to express itself in a healthy and fruitful way.

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