10. Flowers Die and We Still Plant Them with Cheryl Walpole Tiku
What happens when the career you were promised doesn't show up as promised — and you have to build one from scratch?
In this episode of The Creative Collective, our art therapy podcast and creativity podcast, we talk with Cheryl Walpole Tiku, a licensed art therapist who started her career in product development at Ralph Lauren before training at Pratt Institute and spending nearly two decades across hospitals and private practice in New York. She's now the editor and co-author of a new book that says something most people in helping professions feel but rarely admit out loud — that following your calling can make life harder, not easier.
In this episode, we discuss:
What Cheryl noticed inside a fast-moving, image-driven fashion job that eventually pushed her to walk away from it
The disorienting creative block she hit early in her art therapy training — and how she found her way back
Why she and a grad-school friend built an entire international art therapy program in Namibia, because the one they wanted didn't exist yet
Why she believes you don't have to sell — or even finish — what you make for it to count
The creative groups she's started for women entrepreneurs and founders, and what she's noticed about high achievers and creative access
How a vintage etiquette book became one of her go-to creative practices, and why "keep your dignity" is the only line she left visible
Resources & Links:
Cheryl Walpole Tiku — Instagram @the_line_between_studio, thelinebetweenconsulting.com
The Business of Art Therapy (Routledge) — out now
Chery's Substack: The Line Between Studio
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And this is your reminder that you don't have to be an artist to benefit from creativity. You're welcome, as you are, in this creative community.