Sylvia Art Page About

Who am I

and how did I became an artist?

My name is Sylvia Becker-Hill. I was born in 1967 in Dusseldorf, Germany. As an only child I was brought up by both my parents and my mother's parents who were deeply traumatized by their experiences and suffering as refugees in the second world war. I escaped the confinement and depression of the adults around me by creating my own magical fantasy world, reading widely from an early age.
As a teenager, I started mingling in the art scene of Dusseldorf, home to a world famous art academy, numerous modern art museums and avant-garde art galleries. My desire to study art was overridden by my loyalty to my parents and their advice to pursue a safe and secure career in public service. But by doing this
I buried my longing for free creative self-expression in a hidden pocket of my soul.

Many years later, in my fifties, after extensive research, education and two university degrees in philosophy, linguistics, literature, educational science, early childhood development and gender studies, and over twenty years working as an executive coach and leadership trainer, I finally made my way back to my dream of being an artist.

My paintings explore the sense and pain of disconnect between the idea of a publicly perceived persona and a deeper inner world experience, the disconnect between what society expects of us and our own soul's longings, the disconnect between mind and heart, the disconnect between us and our own body, us and nature, us and the Divine.

I believe creativity is your birthright and suppressed creativity leads to in-authenticity, depression and sickness. After decades of channeling my creativity through my corporate clients to empower their success, I finally found my way back home to the artist I always was.

I am currently in the Color of Women Certified Art Teacher training with Shiloh Sophia, founder of the MUSEA global art movement. I use Shiloh's technique called Intentional Creativity ® to not only produce magical paintings, but also to work with leaders from around the world to liberate their creativity for their business and personal lives through online workshops and presentations. Intentional Creativity is for me self healing, self liberation and self empowerment. Merging it with my treasure chest of coaching and facilitation methods and sharing this cocktail of empowering transformation with you is my path forward.

I offer personal coaching programs that culminate in me painting a leadership archetype portrait of you based on your goals, stories, and style. Infuse your private or professional spaces with unique art that reflects the essence of who you are and your dreams!

I live with my New Zealand husband and our two teenage boys in a Southern California garden paradise full of old citrus trees, hummingbirds and wild rabbits. When I'm not empowering leaders around the world in coaching sessions using Zoom, you will find me reading in my hammock or painting in my whimsical art studio nestled under the shade of a California pepper tree at the back of our garden.

What is Intentional Creativity® ?

Following the core question of my life “what do we humans need to be truly happy” made me research philosophy, linguistics, literature, early childhood development, educational science, psychology, change management, gender studies and neuroscience.
Along the way I read over 10,000 books. I became a professional executive coach, leadership trainer and empowerment mentor. I got trained and certified in so many “change tools” that I stopped counting.
But none, nothing, nada... makes me as happy as putting paint on canvas. No other change tool went as deep, removed old stories, energy and emotions out of my body, mind and heart as the unique painting and transformational process called Intentional Creativity does.

From this biographical background, Intentional Creativity is not just an art form, not just a method or tool.
For me it is a way of operating and moving through life:
- Being deliberate and setting clear intentions versus drifting unaware through life
- Being guided from the inside out versus listening for external advice
- Being at home within myself versus needing approval from others
- Deep listening and movement in flow versus hustling and dominating every detail
- Process focused for intentional outcome versus result fixated rush to get something done

Moving a big brush full of paint. - Letting dark go deep. - Allowing the light to shine through cracks. - Declaring space for worlds to emerge. - Every painting I produce within the context of Intentional Creativity starts with connecting and blessing the canvas and material. The painting starts with an intention written all over the canvas to focus the painting process on that desired outcome. Every painting consists of several layers called underpaintings. The number of these underpaintings and complexity of colors, shapes, symbols and rituals between painting layers depend of course on the intention.

What makes Intentional Creativity so powerful is the deep connection between the movement of our hands, the colors of the paint and the impact to our brain of seeing a visual result of our own actions, a visual proof of our intention.

A lot of other transformational tools cause a tangible shift, which sadly often fades away if not reinforced through repetition and action. When we use Intentional Creativity the brain not only feels kinesthetic sensations through body movement but connects that experience with meaning. One brush stroke might delete a lie we once believed in. Another brush stroke might open up a door through which we access new ideas. Through the visual representation and reflection of what we are doing the brain gains confirmation that we ourselves have changed.

Seeing is believing. Intentional creativity triggers lasting transformation that gets hardwired in our brain.

I didn’t know this kind of visceral deep satisfaction in my whole body before I became an artist working with Intentional Creativity. Nothing I’ve ever done in self development, coaching and training comes close to this. I know ecstasy from dancing and sex - yet this is different. It’s so new and unknown that I lack the words to fully describe it... It’s transformative while simple. Astounding and natural.

The paintings I’m selling inside my online Pixels store and as part of my coaching-art-package are all infused with specific intentions and messages.

By using codes and symbols and colors that I’ve learned about in three decades of research and study, I speak the universal human language of the soul. This language transcends the usual barriers of language, nationality and race.
Just having a painting prinedt on a daily life product like a pillow or your smart phone case brings you the joy and the empowerment linked to the intention of that specific painting.

Here a hymne on Intentional Creativity that I wrote after an especially deep beautiful time in my studio:

“Who needs drugs when one has Intentional Creativity?
Who needs pliers to break chains when one has Intentional Creativity?

Who needs to repeat a 1000 times a day an affirmation the inner critic doesn’t trust anyway when one has Intentional Creativity?
Who needs external approval when one gives birth to oneself on one’s own canvas?

What if my consciousness, canvas and body are one continuum?
What if my art allows me to curate my own consciousness?

What if my art triggers awareness in others words and other self-development tools simply can’t because they lack the language of the soul?

My art is the tangible proof of true transformation being possible.
My art is a key to ultimate liberation from societal conditioning and patriarchal wounds.
My art is my offering of joy, love and empowerment to you.

Welcome to my world of Intentional Creativity!”