I help artists, musicians, and other creative project-makers design balanced, sustainable careers and lives.

Permaculture* design mapping for your career ecosystem.

WORKSHOPS & COURSES

Map your project, design your practice.

Check out offerings and events here.

GROUP PROGRAMS

A custom journey through sustainable project design for your program members, team, or cohort. Join the membership today.

“ So nourishing and energizing! Chris’s enthusiasm for whole-human values, growth, and sustainability are very contagious.

”
— Elizabeth LaPrelle of Doran + Anna & Elizabeth, Multidisciplinary Artist
“I walked away with more clarity than I have felt in years regarding where I should be putting my time, energy, and efforts when it comes to my career. It’s f***ing great and you should do it!”
— Tiffany Topol, Songwriter/Producer/Actor
“I’d recommend this work for anyone who is unwilling to compromise the well-being of their soul for their career goals.”
— Jess Kin, Performer, Artist, Sacred-space Creator

What the heck is Creative Mapping?

There’s a long answer to this question, and I’m working on the essay-length version. But here’s the short version:

 

You know those folks (aka. you and me) who are brave/crazy enough to try going all in on doing their creative work in the world?

A lot of us just assume that sacrificing our quality of life is just part of the cost of following our creative visions.

Creative Mapping is a set of capacity-building and awareness tools that help us both do our unique and important creative work in the world AND feel like our lives are getting healthier year by year.

Hi, I’m Chris Faroe.

I’m a musician and a career designer.

I talk with so many folks who are ready to throw in the towel.

You desire a balanced, productive life. You want to be able to give your gift to the world without feeling burnt out, underappreciated, underpaid.

This is why the Creative Mapping Project exists.

I’ve been grateful to work with hundreds of folks over the past several years, teaching dozens of workshops, retreats, deep work sessions, and live online courses.

Past participants use the suite of Creative Career Design tools as part of a daily practice that moves them closer to a regenerative life.

I regularly get texts and emails from past students, excited to tell me about how mapping helped them make an important decision or move to the next level in their project.

“Creative Mapping helped me create systems for myself to be independently successful and therefore have more to offer other people... I am playing live shows in big venues that I have always wanted to play at!”
— Mal Holladay, singer/songwriter/musician

Why I quit.

Ten years ago I quit my musical career. I had toured internationally, was working on my 3rd album, and had quit my day job to be a ‘full time musician.’

But then my body said no. I had been burning the candle at both ends, putting so much pressure on myself.

A mysterious throat condition made it too painful to sing. And soon even talking became difficult.

Everything stopped.

I went to doctors, but couldn’t find a solution. I decided to pursue non-vocal trades — moved to an ecovillage to study natural building, permaculture design, and farming.

And that’s when it all started coming together.

I learned about amazing tools — ways of creating healthy patterns to balance the ecosystems we design around us.

I also realized I wasn’t going to be a farmer, or a builder, or a landscape designer.

But what if I could use the tools and principles from regenerative design to help other burnt out musicians create healthier careers?

That’s how the Creative Mapping project was born.

Want to learn more about what Creative Mapping actually looks like?

Want to book a conversation with me?

DO you find yourself sayinG…

“I want to focus on what feels important. I am spending too much time on things that don’t feel essential to my life/community/business.”

“I have to put off important projects to deal with day-to-day to-do lists.”

“I feel like I am constantly reinventing the wheel just so that people can hear or see what I create.”

“I am feeling burned out by having to manage every detail of my career.”

“I’m stuck trying to figure out what next step to take.”

“I need to make a big decision, and I don’t know how to choose the best option.”

“I’m good at what I do, but I’m just exhausted by everything that’s going on in my life and the world-- I need to set up a career and life that feels more balanced, and that has self-care systematically built-in instead of as an afterthought band-aid.”

 
Chris_Creative_Mapping_Project.png

Photo by Chris Bauer

Then the Creative Mapping Project MAY BE for you!

Almost every creative person I’ve ever met has said things like this to me. Despite all this hard work, even the most talented artists and creatives I know rarely break even financially.

I have dealt with many of these frustrations myself.

That’s why for years now, I have focused on helping talented, driven musicians, artists, and project-makers who are feeling overworked and underpaid create sustainable careers doing what they love.

The Creative Mapping Project’s workshops and courses will help you apply the foundational elements of the most powerful career design tools that I've found so far in my journey towards radically sustainable creative practice:

 
 

Values Constellation Mapping

A physical map, unique to each human, that acts as a reference point in navigating towards the most fulfilling projects.

Decision Mapping

A decision making structure that balances quality of life with career goals. 

holistic life inventory

Using the Eight Forms of Capital to take stock of all available financial and non-financial resources.

Creative Resource Exchange Mapping 

A project-mapping system that uses permaculture* techniques to sustainably redesign your project, practice, or career.

stepping stones

An ultra-practical approach to creating both short- and long-term plans that bring clarity to exactly what to tackle next.

 

You will come out with:

  • A much clearer idea of where you want to go in your career

  • A prioritized inventory of the resources you have available to get you there, and

  • the beginnings of a sustainability map designed to help you chart out what to do next.

Whether you’re frustrated and don’t know where to go next, or you feel like you’re onto something good but want to optimize it, you will find clarity and develop practical systems to move you towards reaching your goals sustainably.

“I walked away with more clarity than I have felt in years regarding where I should be putting my time, energy, and efforts when it comes to my career. It’s f***ing great and you should do it!”
— Tiffany Topol, Songwriter/Producer/Actor

Ready for clarity? Check out an upcoming (virtual) event, the YouTube Channel, or sign up to become a member.

*Important Acknowledgements and Commitments

Hopefully lots of this goes without saying, but I’m still going to say it:

I want to acknowledge that the concept of ‘career design’ contains inherent privilege. To design anything you need to be able to have some control over the matter.

I acknowledge that in the context of colonization and capitalism, the onus should not be on us as individuals to create basic quality of life for ourselves. Change needs to happen at a massive systemic level.

I acknowledge that we live in a system that does not default to equity, and marginalizes certain groups, and is designed to take away control and autonomy from the folks in these marginalized groups.

I acknowledge that as a white, cis male with U.S. citizenship, I have an unequal amount of privilege, access, and control.

I acknowledge that many elements of the ‘permaculture’ and other ‘regenerative design’ tools and ideas that inspire Creative Mapping originated with indigenous land stewards who developed these ideas and practices for many centuries before colonization.

On a personal level (as Chris) and an organizational level (the Creative Mapping Project), I commit to being active with my time, money, conversations, and efforts to work against oppressive systems, and to try to create resources that help us individually and collectively survive capitalism, control what we can control, add beauty and meaning to the world, and move our communities towards justice, equity, sustainability, and creativity.

This is not a complete list and I’m constantly exploring how to have this conversation. Did I miss something? Am I unconsciously using language that causes harm? Please feel free to send me feedback on these statements, or any other part of my website/work. It will be gratefully received.