Artful Method is about understanding the different ways people can experience the world through the lens of Art.
Why art?
Visual art is a rich source of diverse personal, social, and cultural insights. It’s creative and can be innovative. Art is our vehicle to build emotional intelligence. It provides a reflection tool to use as a fresh way to see things.
When we discuss art, our eyes and minds work together to blend perceptions, logic, memory, reason, imagination, information, and common sense. We draw on our experiences and creativity. We find language to express ideas that matter to help us make meaning, together.
What’s VTS?
Visual Thinking Strategies (VTS) is an inquiry-based facilitation method and professional development program that fosters collaboration and dialogue and improves one’s ability to describe, analyse and interpret imagery.
VTS has the power to change the way we relate to one another as leaders and colleagues. VTS is comprised of arts and education professionals that specialize in deep listening and responsive teaching practices.
Visual Thinking Strategies was developed by cognitive psychologist Abigail Housen and museum educator Philip Yenawineare. VTS is based on Housen’s Theory of Aesthetic Development and corresponding research.
What is the Artful Method approach to teaching?
Our products and services are rooted in SEE (Social Emotional Ethical) practices and philosophies; we take a human-centered, compassion-based approach to designing relatable art-based learning experiences.
How does it work?
Our 30-90 minute professional workshops are structured around art that helps us explore major themes such as creativity, innovation, community, collaboration, diversity, inclusion and harmony.
Our three, 45 minute personal course sessions focus on self-discovery, self-care and life balance.
The images increase in complexity, ambiguity, subtlety, use of symbols, and layers of meaning alongside your growth. The images come from many world cultures and different eras and represent many mediums and styles. Diversity increases the flexibility of participants’ thinking as they realize they can find meaning in all sorts of visual languages.
Growth happens in stages, so, before, during and after every Artful Method experience, we provide a set of exercises, tools and access to our online resources to create a positive mindset so you can easily use what you’ve learned in your workplace.
These include artwork, games, and thinking guides that you can refer to any time.
Do I have to know a lot about art to participate?
You don’t have to know anything about art to participate in and get a lot out of our workshops. This isn’t a lesson in art history. It’s about discovering meaning and learning how you uniquely see the world. Our coaches guide you through every step of the process. There’s no right or wrong way of seeing things. There’s not one story or one way of describing things. We all see and bring something different.
Do the sessions take place in a museum?
We offer in-person and online workshops.
We can come to your organisation, gather at a local museum or connect on Zoom with a private link.
Who benefits from the Artful Method?
While anyone can benefit from visual thinking strategies, Artful Method focuses on professional and personal growth for adults. We work with organizations that are looking to build better teams, create compassionate leaders, shift culture and spark creativity. We work with small groups of individuals seeking personal growth experiences. Many of our Artful Individual course participants are professionals from our Artful Teams workshops who want to further explore a path to self-discovery.
“I create for a living, and I haven’t done this with a piece of art in a long time— just be still and look at it. It was wonderful to hear others’ comments and to all react to something together.
I feel we don’t do that enough as a society—allow ourselves time to sit in silence and reflect on something. It felt really good and I’m so glad I did this.”
LEADERSHIP
Lucie Charkin founded Artful Method in 2019 to bring Cultural Theory, VTS (Visual Thinking Strategies), and SEE (Social-Emotional-Ethical) coaching to individuals, teams, and organizations as a way to build community, unlock creative potential and foster well-being.
Lucie is passionate about using art and culture to find common ground in how we experience our world and make meaning individually and together. She’s helped build and shape cultural organizations, festivals, and programs in Asia, UAE, the UK, and the USA. Accustomed to global working environments, she’s created and led diverse boards and multidisciplinary, cross-functional teams. Lucie has worked alongside world-leading artists, scientists, thinkers, and commercial trailblazers in small and large private and public organizations.
Lucie has won awards for her Innovative Arts Partnerships, including establishing the first PPP Art Gallery inside the Forbidden City, Beijing, China. She’s an advisor to The Headlands Center for the Arts, Marin MOCA an Art Therapist, and VTS facilitator for the New York Times Learning Network.
