Getting Started with the Pathfinder Process
Use your creative powers to imagine everything is wonderful. And then take action.
Dear Creative Friends,
Imagining an ideal future is a powerful practice that serves two purposes.
Fear and anxiety have no benefits. Accessing a vision of the best possible outcomes will calm you and allow you to make better decisions. And as every artist knows, manifesting an object or scenario begins with a vision.
Our role as envisioners is vital to human evolution. Do your best to imagine the world you want.
While this intro is more dramatic than I expected, so are these times. Let’s take it down a notch and talk about something mundane, like what you want to do with your creative practice in the coming year.
The 2025 version of the Pathfinder Process is almost ready. Please read about it below and then plan to join me to make this year the best it can be.
Pathfinder Process
Pathfinder is a goals-setting exercise originally designed for jewelry makers, but the process works for creative practices of all kinds.
Every individual seeking a viable creative life faces the same basic obstacles-
doubts about their designs
managing the requirements of a studio
deciding how to connect with their ideal client
The Pathfinder Process addresses these concerns with a unique three-part program that accesses subconscious desires to inform decisions. A plan based on what truly motivates you, not what is societally expected, improves your chances for satisfaction.
Using Pathfinder’s guided introspection and goal-setting methods, you will better understand your design voice and what you need for a sustainable and fulfilling practice.
The process results in a set of action steps that assist your practice with design direction, studio management, and audience outreach.
The three aspects of the program, Review, Reflect, and Make it So are accomplished in five segments. A new module is released weekly, and except for the first Review segment, each can be completed in three hours or less. The beginning segment, Review 1, takes a bit more time but is also the most fun.
The lessons can be downloaded or accessed online, allowing you to work at your own pace.
Live online discussions and a community forum round out the program.
I wrote about the Review segment a few weeks ago. Read it here.
Knowing who you are is the first step to figuring out where you want to go.
The modules
Review part 1- collect and edit
Collect images from last year that caught your attention
Organize and edit
Review part 2- assess and summarize your collection
Using the prompts provided in the lesson, edit the collected images to the ones that summarize your practice.
Reflect – the Why Do You Create? Quiz
This succinct questionnaire reveals your motivations and is the bridge between your heart's desire and the path to attain it.
Make It So, part 1 – make two lists
Summarize your findings, set goals for three areas: Studio, Design, Outreach
Make It So, part 2 – schedule action steps
Prioritize goals, determine action steps, and place them on a calendar
Technology requirements
You will need a computer, tablet, or laptop with internet access. A smartphone can be used for research, but the editing process is definitely easier with a larger screen and keyboard.
Images are collected from your social media activity and camera phone.
For the Review segment, you will create free private accounts on Pinterest and Padlet. Video instructions are provided to guide you with this.
PDF lessons and short videos are emailed and can be downloaded from the Jewelry Club website and Google Drive.
Online discussions take place on Zoom.