a yearlong membership for creative humans
secret artists club
the support you need to finally start living your most creative life.
Serious question for you, the artist-at-heart who does creative work at your job, creative projects for your clients, creative activities with your kids, but who doesn't exactly feel like she's living a creative life (and it's breaking your heart):
If you could join a club that made it possible to live a creative life without burning it all down and running away to a cabin in the woods, would you be ready to admit that maybe – with a little support – you could feel like an artist again?
I know. It used to be so easy. You’d get just a whiff of inspiration and you were off.
Creating. Building. Making.
Sometimes it would turn out how you expected, sometimes better even.
Sometimes you’d make things other people wanted to buy.
Sometimes it was a big fail.
But it always made you feel alive.
Like the most you version of you.
You’re not sure when things shifted, if it was gradual or all at once. If it was your job or caretaking responsibilities or being an adult.
pssst: it was probably capitalism.
All you know is those bins of paints and threads and every color marker no longer look like possibility, but they smell a lot like clutter.
You're sure Julia Cameron and Anne Lamott are laughing at you from the dog-eared books on your shelf.
And that pile of notebooks in the corner is definitely judging you.
You hear yourself think:
Maybe it’s not my time to be an artist.
Maybe i’m not someone who gets to live a creative life.
It's not like your life is void of creativity.
You're the queen of finding the perfect font and best hex code in Canva.
You’re always writing. Grant proposals, policy briefs, “content.” It's fantastic! Ok, Barbie.
You’re meal planning and trying different recipes and it definitely takes some level of creativity to feed yourself (and your people) without a massive grocery bill in this economy.
That’s all well and good (except the grocery bill part 🫠) but it feels a little Severence-y, no?
And that voice nudging you to write poetry, pick up a paintbrush, try screenwriting? She’s not going away.
You're not trying to ignore her, but you keep drowning her out with scrolling or shopping or tv or alcohol. Like if you could admit there’s no time or space for your art in your life you could move on, it would make you a better partner / friend / parent / worker.
But the truth is, it’s making you miserable. And honestly? It’s making you kind of miserable to be around, too, bestie.
And no amount of baking cookies for the bake sale, or planning aesthetic birthday parties, or writing someone else’s social media captions is going to make it better.
What if i told you there was a club for someone like you?
Where you could spend time with other folks, working together to make creativity an important part of your lives again.
Where you’d have time to work on your projects, or make a dent in your to-do list so you’re free to live like an artist the rest of the day.
Time to tend to the human part of yourself so the artist part can come out to play - and eventually they can co-exist.
Spaciousness to follow your curiosity and capacity to listen to that nudging voice.
You could be working on your art. You could be spending time with other artists. You could feel inspired by the world and excited by your own ideas again.
You could be the most you version of yourself. Now. In this one life you have. Without burning it all down and running away.
what's keeping you from getting the support you need to make your unique magic in this world?
I've never sold my creative work so I'm not a real artist.
Respectfully, Secret Artist, capitalism will have you believe nothing you can't be paid for is worth doing. And I'm so sorry this messed up system has gotten its tentacles into your brain, but if you're curious enough to have read this far, I know you're a “real artist.”
caretakers can't be creative.
The patriarchy wants you to believe if you're a caretaker (i.e. most likely a woman), you don't have time for personal pursuits. Why? It's a guaranteed road to burnout. And burnt out people don't have time to start a revolution. We need caretakers to create. And to vote. To march. To question. To rebel.
I have no formal training, so I won’t belong in this group.
Art school won't make you an artist. Having a unique perspective and a strong desire to share it with others makes you an artist.
real artists don't need to join a club to make their art.
The way we live is confusing to artists, at best, and hostile to artists, at worst. There's no shame in needing help untangling the mess to work your way back to your art.
I haven't tried hard enough. i don’t deserve coaching support.
Secret Artists Club will meet you where you're at. Maybe you don't need to work harder; maybe it's time to try working softer.
YOU'RE INVITED TO
SECRET ARTISTS CLUB
Secret Artists Club is a yearlong membership for creative humans who want to reconnect to creative practice.
Secret Artists Club includes coaching, coworking, and a space to share your creative work with others in the coziest (virtual) setting.
the gifts of
Secret Artists Club
Your inner artist will start to feel safer living on the outside.
you'll start to feel comfortable sharing your creative work.
you'll learn what systems of support are most helpful, specifically for you.
you'll realize when you're in a room full of artists, you belong.
the projects in your notes app will start to come to life.
is it like magic?
sort of! with three main elements to the spell.
MAGIC METHOD ONE
DELIGHT FIRST
If you are regularly and frequently experiencing delight and coming into contact with things that delight you, it’s going to be so much easier for you to create, to feel inspiration or intuition around your art, and to tap into creative flow. We start here.
MAGIC METHOD TWO
GENTLE ACCOUNTABILITY
Bootcamp-style finish-your-book-in-60-day programs haven't worked for folks who find themselves in Secret Artists Club. We practice a softer approach that doesn't shame anyone into wanting to run and hide.
MAGIC METHOD THREE
SOFT SYSTEMS
Inside Secret Artists Club, there's no judgment if a tool that works for someone else doesn't work for you. We find the tools and supports that feel just right for your specific practice.
How will you spend your time inside secret artists club?
WRITING LOUNGE
55-minute coworking session 4x/week most weeks.
first trimester: monday - thursday 1pm ET
SECRET ARTISTS LOUNGE
extended 2-hour coworking circle, pomodoro-style (3 cycles of 25 minutes focused work followed by 5 minutes of downtime).
first trimester: 1st + 3rd wednesday 11am ET
GROUP COACHING
Space for you to receive coaching support and encouragement in a group circle.
first trimester: 2nd wednesday 2pm ET
SHARING CIRCLE
an opportunity to share your creative work with your peers once per trimester.
first trimester: march 18 11am ET
VOXER SUPPORT
voice and text messaging available for support between coaching calls.
first trimester: mon 1-5pm ET + thu 8am-12pm
BUILT IN REST
one week per month, we take a break from gathering to allow for grounding, rest, and growth.
first trimester: typically week 4 of each month
we start january 5th.
frequently asked questions
What if I have to miss a session?
It's expected that you will miss sessions! The membership is designed to give you lots of opportunities for touch points throughout the month, so that you can dip in and out as your capacity and calendar allow.
How is this different from drop-in body doubling spaces online?
Each coworking call includes time for a quick check in and you'll get to know the community that shows up each time. In addition, we go beyond coworking with group coaching, sharing circle, and Voxer coaching support.
Can I make this work with a full-time job?
The schedule is set up for you to be able to dip in and out of calls as your calendar and capacity allow. You'll get a full list of call dates and times at the beginning of each trimester and we can talk about a schedule that will help you get the most out of your membership.
Are people mean in sharing circle?
A totally understandable question if you've ever been traumatized by a crit class (I know too many creative folks who left their practice for a while after taking a formal class with a critique element). The goal of Sharing Circle inside of Secret Artists Club isn't to get feedback from your peers, but to practice sharing your creative work until you feel safer doing so. I do a lot of prep work to set expectations and to keep the space supportive, not critical.
What if I'm working on a book right now?
That is so cool! There are so many ways that Secret Artists Club can support the book writing process! You can use Writing Lounge and Secret Artists Lounge sessions to work on your book, you can ask coaching questions if you're feeling stuck at some point, and you can share pieces of your book during Sharing Circle. It's the perfect space to bring a book to life!
Who is Secret Artists Club for?
You're ready to stop watching YouTube tutorials about how to do the thing, and start doing the thing.
You're ready to name the systems of oppression that make it hard for you to create AND figure out what supports you need to create anyway.
You've tried productivity bro bootcamp advice and all you got was burnout, so you're ready to lean into a softer practice.
You've written a few chapters of a few different books and you're ready to see one to the end.
When you visit your old notebooks, you see the same ideas pop up year after year and you're ready to bring a few of them to life.
You're curious about 1:1 coaching and this feels like a good way to tiptoe into support.
meet your hostess
Hi, I'm Melanie, a creativity coach, letterpress printer, and Notion enthusiast. I chase delight + I LOVE seasons ☀️💐🍂
Secret Artists Club grew out of a group coaching program I started in 2020 to recreate the joy of creative community in the confines of Covid quarantine. The program has grown and evolved over the years, but we keep coming back to the same work that allows us to connect to our creativity.
These are the same tools I used (without being able to name them at the time) to reconnect to creativity while I was in law school, to reconnect to my true self as a new mother, and to reconnect to inspiration when burnout came knocking.
Community. Delight. Gentle accountability. Soft systems.
I can't wait to share them with you in Secret Artists Club this year!
You belong in a room full of artists. I can't wait to see what you're creating!