Writer / Pat Carlini
Inspire means “to breathe life into,” and that’s just what Creative Coach Ellen Robinson does every day from her studio in the heart of Broad Ripple. The coach/artist inspires business people, moms, educators and everyone who stops by to be more creative and eventually to put it all on canvas.
“People ask me exactly what I do,” laughs Ellen. “I tell them I am a creative catalyst. I get people to break the rules. I don’t mean go out and run a stop sign—I mean the rules that confine them. I want them to try something new and be creative, and I love it when it winds up on canvas!”
Robinson, who lives in Geist with her two kids and husband of 17 years, Tim, left her job as development director for a township school corporation over a year ago to pursue her dream of inspiring creativity in others. She was looking for a space to call her own when she and her husband spotted an empty bungalow last year in Broad Ripple at 6503 N. Ferguson. It was just what Ellen was looking for.
Ellen turned the former hair salon into a colorful retail space and workshop she calls appropriately enough, “Inspire”. Here, she has conducted sessions for business owners who want to re-energize their workforce, educators who want to inspire a group of new teachers, and individuals who just feel “stuck in a rut.”
The process helps to trigger a theme word/phrase that eventually inspires a painting. That painting becomes a permanent reminder to the person of his or her hidden creativity that can be tapped into at any time.
Ellen also conducts numerology readings—the ancient practice of understanding the numbers associated with names and birth dates.
The foyer of “Inspire” is a retail space filled with Ellen’s original greeting cards and paintings. The family room mantel is filled with paintings from clients and white work tables and chairs fill the center room, which is ready and waiting for the next creative session to begin.
Inspire offers a variety of workshops including open paint time, Saturdays 1-5 p.m., Painting du Coeur (painting from the heart) sessions, Couples’ nights and Ellen’s hallmark workshop called “Inspire Your Life,” where you “discover your limitless possibilities.”
Inspire can also be rented for private parties. For more information, you can visit her website, elleninspires.com.
