About Jan

I founded Inspiration Point Art and Coaching in 2007 and provide life coaching, art and a variety of inspirational options to support your fulfilling, vital, and creative living.

I value life-long learning, listening from the heart and empathy as a way of being, I love the big picture and the small details of life, and I work and play to support others growth as well as my own.  As a practicing visual artist, as an administrator and educator for 30 years, as the eldest daughter, I believe living and learning through it provides an extensive holistic growth opportunity for each of us.

My life was informed by lessons learned through research, vibrant arts programs, and working with brillant thinkers.  I value multiple sources of inspiration, creativity, and deep personal experience.  

Caregiver Compass events are opportunities to gain new methods and approaches to caregiving.  If you are struggling at any stage of the process, feel free to connect to discuss your situation.

I’ve come to this work after seventeen years of experience of my family’s journey with our Mom as she lived with Alzheimer’s alongside many family experience markers.  We learned through creative processes, trial and error, research, and great wisdom from each other, the medical community, friends and fellow caregivers.

To transform your caregiving frustrations into an experience of growth, rediscovering your sense of self and self-care, and center your relationship consider registering now.

Each event offers resources, experimentation, discovery and time for to learn new skills to assist in your caregiving.  Our collective knowledge informs and deepens our understanding. That excites me to no end.  Groups invent and leverage their skills and capacities to invigorate and nourish their lives and the lives of others.

Education

University of Minnesota:  Bachelor of Fine Arts, Studio Arts; Bachelor of Science and Masters of Education, Art Education

University of Northern Colorado:  Study Abroad

Certified Martha Beck Wayfinder Life Coach

Professional Development:  Creative Visionary Program (Art2Life), Differently-wired Business Membership, Appreciative Inquiry and Coaching, Authentic Leadership in Action (ALIA) Summer Intensive, The Art of Hosting: Conversations that Matter and many more each year.

Are you taking care of parents, spouses and friends living with significant brain changes?  It sounds natural and we want to ease their way.  Is it simple to care and love? Yes!  Is it easy to carry out?  Not in my experience. However, we can do it.  Navigating this new world brings paradox into full light-it’s difficult and easy, discouraging and hopeful, arduous and enlightening.  Let’s enliven our lives through caregiving as we are asked to change and respond with each new phase.

  • We use art and coaching to get at your truth.  What do you need to live meaningfully while caregiving?  Empower yourself with a process that works for you and your loved one.
  • Foster your self-care that includes trust, honesty, joy, humor.  Our hearts reopen as we learn to surf the emotional waves with more awareness and kindness.

All caregivers, professional and family members, are showing up to care for elders AND at the same time we are living our lives.  I resonated with what Bill Murray once said in an interview, “be your best at being you because it feels like home”.  How might one carry out our life purposes while caregiving?  What strategies work to “be you” in this situation?  Which methods allow you to surf this rollercoaster of caring and living meaningfully?

I could never have imagined the time, roadblocks, downright weird rules, and chaos of emotions in the years we’ve cared for my Mom.  If you’re like our family, our situation contains the spectrum of change–from vibrant living to big loss and grief.  Meanings of existence are brought to the forefront and we are grappling with and for them.  Let’s create new ways to care for our loved ones within institutions (not made for innovation), find the ease in dis-ease and meaning in life as they experience new realms.  Develop methods that allow for experience and research to inform our practices and create impactful living.  

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