About Us

Denise Laurin

Facilitator, Creativity Coach, Artist, Designer and Teacher

My Inspiration

My father was a musician.

He believed that he could not earn his primary living doing what he loved. So, he confined his music to weekends in order to provide for his family.

He was a very good man, but sadly, the essential aliveness that a full-time involvement with his art would have given him was missing from his life.

How many of us have experienced the limiting belief that we cannot spend our professional lives doing what we love?

How many of us have allowed this limitation to deny us the joy of living our dreams?

My passion around living a stimulating, balanced, abundant life stems directly from my intimate experience of my father's suppressed creative aspirations.

I fervently believe that:

"If you bring forth what is within you, what you bring forth will save you. If you do not bring forth what is within you, what you do not bring forth will destroy you,"

The Gnostic Gospel of St. Thomas

I am dedicated to helping others bring forth that creative light which lies at the core of us all.

The Inner Artist Arises

One of my fondest childhood memories is a field trip to the Art Institute of Chicago.

I often wonder whether the other children were moved in the same way I was, but for me it was absolutely magical.

By the time I entered high school, my identity as an artist was firmly established.

As a college student, the conflict of how to make a meaningful living through my artistic talent surfaced.

Another, more insidious conflict arose as well: the fear that I was not good enough, and the unconscious desire to block my creative energy in an attempt to protect myself from criticism and rejection.

Sound familiar?

Entering The Real World

Armed with my BA and MA degrees, I took my first job out of college as creative services manager for a large chain of art galleries.

This position gave me the opportunity to observe and absorb the business side of the art world, and to learn the diverse skills I would eventually need as an entrepreneur.

Taking The Entrepreneurial Plunge

In 1985, I established my graphic design practice.

Since that time, I have worked with a variety of clients from nearly every sector of business, including Fortune 500 clients.

Entrepreneurship has increased my income 400% percent over my annual salary as an employee in the years I have worked independently.

Rewards and Recognition

My work has won numerous awards, and has been featured in such national publications as "Graphic Design: USA", "Healthcare Marketing Report", the "Guerrilla Marketing Handbook" and "Green at Work: Finding a Business Career that Works for the Environment.

The highlight of my career so far was being honored as "Woman of the Year" by Women in Design/Chicago, not only for my excellence in design, but for the example I set for other designers.

Since 1998, I have actively sought to expand my presence as a fine artist by participating in many exhibitions in Chicago, including "en route" at the Fine Arts Building Gallery, Union 2000 at the Chicago Cultural Center, and the Chicago Art Open at the School of the Art institute Gallery on Jackson, among others.

A Gift For Nuturing Others

A gift for nurturing the creative spirit in others first surfaced managing designers on my staff, and later teaching students design and art history on the college level.

If you have been in a creative profession, you, too recognize that finding a way to have economic and creative abundance is the central concern for any creative person. As a single mother, I intimately understand the challenges of meeting personal and financial responsibilities while maintaining a creative life.

Make a Living Creatively™ grew out of a heartfelt desire to motivate and inspire people to greater abundance, creatively, financially, personally and spiritually.

Please contact me for more information on seminars, custom presentations, telegroups, and individual coaching sessions.