The gift of an Artistic coach
‘Among the ordinary’
Growing attuned to ‘seeing the possibility’ is part of the Insightful Path.
Being both a professional coach, as well as an artist, I’ve trained my eye to seeing the ‘more’ which is hidden in ‘what is’… and in helping those I work with to do the same.
As a wood sculptor, I’m often going through the stack of firewood by my studio door. Looking for those logs, most of which will have one fate: to feed the fire… but some of which seem to long for something more.
This post is about how I can help you to find that ability… the ability to see which parts of yourself are destined for ‘something more’ - and to help you build the skills to make that happen.
The content of the post is a sculpture I completed this weekend… but this is more a metaphor for the real message of this post.
The raw material for my sculpture, well, like so many moments in our lives, I had almost given away to the fire. It was hidden in an armload of wood I brought in to put in the fireplace.
I’ve heard it said that O Sensei - the founder of Aikido once said that it was not that he didn’t make mistakes, it was just that he had practiced and learned to recover, or better yet, catch, the mistakes faster that others. Judging by the fact that I didn’t realise this log had more in it until after I placed it on the coals tells me I’ve a long way to go to get to that level.
The burden and the blessing
‘A second chance to become’
A belief founded in the knowledge that there is more within.
Realising after I set the log on the fire, that it was lighter than I had thought it would be, that it had… a special something, I had to reach back into the flame to retrieve it.
Quickly, i reached back into the fireplace, grabbed the log (now with a few burn marks) and brought it out the yard to hose it down. I thought that it could have a greater purpose, but would need to look at it..now with a few burn spots... and so I brought it out to the wood shed for the next project.
I placed it on the workbench and waited. For days, I walked past it until one afternoon I just realised what was wanting to emerge.
‘The hidden form waiting to be seen’
The Artist’s Woodshed Retreat
October 5, 2025
The first cuts are always an act of faith.
You don’t yet know what the material really holds… only that it’s asking to be seen.
Slowly, the form began to appear: a faceless head, its crown rising in flame-like ridges.
It was neither male nor female, neither saint nor ruler. Just a human presence holding both weight and light.
Transformation through attention
‘Rough carving begins’
From burden to shape, the firs marks of meaning arise.
Leadership (real leadership) isn’t about control or prestige.
It’s about carrying something heavy and sacred, often without applause.
It burns sometimes: the late-night worry, the quiet doubt, the sense of standing alone between competing fires.
I’ve heard it in the voices of leaders I coach. People who care deeply, who are trying to hold integrity in systems that reward something else.
They don’t complain about workload. They wrestle with meaning.
They want to lead without losing themselves.
To serve without burning out.
That’s the paradox of responsibility: the very thing that ignites purpose can also consume us if we’re not careful.
Like that piece of firewood, we can be used up by the flames of duty, or we can pause, reflect, and begin to shape ourselves instead.
‘Responsibility refined. The fire, now contained, in form.’
Oiled, burned, and painted sculpture
In the studio, transformation doesn’t come from force. It comes from attention.
You ‘listen’ to the grain. You follow its flow.
Work with it the wrong way, and the wood splits. But cut too shallow, and nothing really changes.
Leadership is the same.
It’s not about imposing will, but revealing potential. This is true for ourselves, for others, and for the systems we serve.
The sculptor’s eye and the coach’s ear share the same discipline: to see what’s possible before it’s lost to the fire.
When I work with leaders through Insightful Path, I often witness that moment of pause… when someone recognises they’ve been burning too hot for too long.
That’s when the real work begins.
Not doing more, but seeing differently.
Not fixing, but forming.
It’s remarkable what happens when someone feels truly seen… when their inner shape is recognised, honoured, and refined.
The energy that once felt heavy begins to glow instead of burn.
The fire, contained in form
‘Is this you?’
The fiery weight of the crown is to be held, not feared.
When I finally finished the sculpture, I set it on the bench and lit a candle beside it.
The gold of the crown caught the light; the burned ridges of the ‘fire’ darkened like smoke, and the aromatic cedar wood beneath glowed red as fire.
The fire that once threatened to consume the wood was now contained within it. It was transformed into form, and held in balance.
To me, that’s the essence of authentic leadership:
to carry the fire without being consumed by it;
to bear the weight of responsibility not as a burden, but as a calling;
to stand faceless (not selfless, but beyond ego) so the light can reach others.
The sculpture has no face because it could be anyone…
It could be you.
A reflection for you
‘Illumination follows effort. Transformation leaves light in its wake’
Sunset outside of the Artist’s Woodshed Retreat
If you’ve been feeling the fiery weight of your own crown (the pressure, the loneliness, the longing for something Truer to what you’ve envisioned for your own path and identity) maybe this is your moment to pause.
To turn toward the part of you that’s still waiting to be shaped.
Before you’re consumed by the fires of urgency. You can choose to refine the form within.
That’s what coaching is at its best, a space to:
see clearly,
shape intentionally, and
rediscover the integrity that leadership once promised.
If this speaks to you … if you sense there’s more waiting within, I’d love to help you bring it to light.
Contact me at info@insightfulpath.com.au for a free discovery call.
Let’s shape what’s possible.
