Programs
Cocktails & Creativity Creative Immersion Coaching & Creativity
Paintings
Events About Connect
JOIN MEMBERSHIP

Meet Marianne

 
Marianne Gargour is the founder of MG Coaching & Creativity LLC, a certified life coach, professional artist, and cancer survivor.

In addition to leading The Art of Healing, her online community for people navigating cancer, Marianne also serves cancer patients through her work at UT Southwestern Simmons Comprehensive Cancer Center.

Known as "Your Life Coach with a Creative Approach," Marianne brings more than 30 years of innovation, imagination, and compassion to her signature methodology—a unique blend of professional expertise and lived experience.

My Story

Hi, I’m Marianne Gargour!

Awakening

One day, my art student left the studio crying because she felt her work was not good enough. Despite mastering complex art concepts and creating a beautiful painting, she couldn't see her progress. It wasn't her skills that needed improvement … it was her “mindset”…her perception of life that was holding her back.

 

Perfectionism is fear in disguise.”

I began to notice this pattern in some of my clients. They focused on external results, missing the joy of learning. They believed they had to be “good at painting” to enjoy it, and felt “not talented enough,” constantly comparing their work to others.

 

Discovery to Breakthrough

To understand the needs of my students, I sought a coach. During our sessions I discovered that I too carried limiting beliefs: You are not enough. Work harder. Do more. Prove yourself. While this belief system had fueled my success, it also left me perpetually tired and dissatisfied. I was too busy chasing a goalpost that kept moving.

 

Life happens for you, not to you.

Unexpectedly, illness forced me to stop…and listen.

My pause came in the form of a cancer diagnosis. For the first time in my life, I truly stopped. I listened and asked, What wants to be revealed?

As I rested and managed pain and illness, I felt like a caterpillar dissolving inside a chrysalis—no longer who I had been, unaware that I was quietly transforming into someone new.

 

“Discontent is the sign that your imagination has not given up on you.” 

- G. Doyle

My Journey from Surviving to Thriving 

 

A Creative Sanctuary for People Navigating Cancer

For more than 30 years, I lived fully immersed in the high-stakes world of professional creativity. Between exhibiting my work in galleries and teaching students, my identity was built on a relentless drive to produce, achieve, and stay in control.

 

The Sudden Stop

A cancer diagnosis brought my career—and my life—to a sudden stop.

I quickly realized that the very qualities that had helped me succeed—the pushing, striving, and controlling—were no longer useful. Anxiety had taken hold in a way that I couldn't simply "work" my way out of.

I knew I needed to stop fighting and start listening.

Through that journey, I discovered that healing did not mean returning to the person I had been before cancer. Instead, I learned a new way of living—one rooted in relaxation, deep listening, creative expression, and meaningful connection.

These became the tools that helped me reclaim my peace.

“Healing does not mean going back to the way things were. ” 

- Marianne

My Mission

I founded The Art of Healing to create a sanctuary where you are no longer defined by a diagnosis or a medical chart.

I believe that combining relaxation, creative expression, and meaningful conversation is one of the fastest ways to interrupt the anxiety and constant stress of navigating cancer, allowing you to reconnect with peace, joy, and a renewed sense of personal power.

This isn't about becoming an artist.

It's about moving from feeling like a victim of your diagnosis to becoming an active participant in your own well-being.

 

My Guiding Philosophy

You don't have to be good at art—because art is good for you.

I would also consider changing "My Journey" to "From Surviving to Thriving" or "From Exhaustion to Peace."Those titles create more curiosity and reinforce the transformation visitors are looking for.

RESUME

“Let’s make a masterpiece of your life! ” 

- Marianne

What People Are Saying …

“Marianne is a well-traveled, intelligent, thoughtful and energetic soul who brings an infectious enthusiasm to art and life…it’s a rare person who creates a safe environment which also let’s you get in touch with your creative spirit.“

— David P., Wealth Manager

"Marianne shows you how you can see creativity and use it as a doorway to a freer you; a more collaborative you at home and in the workplace…She makes getting in touch with your creativity fun."

— Pam C., Federal Employee