Meet Tammy

Greetings! My name is Tammy Quady, and I am a one-person show here. I lead all Constellations classes, from curriculum development to delivery.

Everyone’s first question is about Intuitive Writing. What on earth is it, how did I get into such a unique field, and what are my qualifications to lead in it? The next question is what does intuition have to do with creativity? Spoiler alert: the answer is everything. You exercise your inner voice every time you write.

My Story

The jumping off point for my own Constellations story is that I went through a profound event in 2009 that left me struggling in ways I never knew possible. My heart, brain, and body all severed. I found it impossible to wrap my head around what had happened inside of me, and I couldn’t explain it to anyone else verbally. I felt imprisoned in it, with no outlet and no way to connect with the external support I needed.

But for some reason, I could write the story. So I wrote. And I wrote. For every page I scribbled out, another one followed, allowing me to work through the labyrinth of it, something I couldn’t even begin to do anywhere else. I didn’t know at the time that what I was doing had a name: Intuitive Writing.

In the process, creative doors unlocked in my mind, too. I’ve always been a writer, since I was a kid. But my writing went to a whole new level of creative willingness and development as I wrote my way through the personal labyrinth I was in. When I stepped into a different mindset and other topics, I found that my creative writing was richer, more fluent, and more imaginative than it had been before.

My Education

I then made it a mission to learn what was happening in my brain when I wrote. Saint Mary’s University in Minneapolis, Minnesota, allowed me to create my own master’s degree program combining coursework in neuropsychology and writing. I took specialized courses from a number of universities and organizations, honing in on the rarely traveled intersection of brain science and creative writing.

I earned my master’s degree in Intuitive and Creative Writing in 2011. The Intuitive half of my degree is based in neuropsychology, not clinical psychology, and it is important to note that I am not a licensed therapist and the work we do together is not clinical therapy.

Prior to my master’s degree, I held two bachelor’s degrees, one in sociology and one in nonprofit communications. I have a natural superpower for understanding the human condition, and although I have worked in various fields, it has always been in the capacity of tuning into people, encouraging their individual strength and voice, and supporting our shared community in the process.

My Work

I began teaching both Intuitive and Creative Writing in 2012, as a way to share my hard earned wisdom that I believe so deeply in. Twelve years later, teaching only gets more and more rewarding. I am forever amazed by the magic students create in a compressed amount of time, and I gain just as much from their work as they do from mine.

I have equal levels of passion for both galaxies of writing that I facilitate. Intuitive Writing is self-expression and self-care at a deep level. Creative Writing is built on giving life to the stories inside of us, whether they are truth or imagination, serious or humorous, spontaneous or fought for. Our stories are what make us shine. No matter what.

My Grounding

The last segment of my own story is actually about my students. A core group in particular are the engine that encouraged me to start Constellations Writing and widen my reach to the larger community. Their belief in me, and in the work I do, is humbling. I am filled with gratitude.

I have lived my entire life in Minneapolis. The world of Zoom makes me feel at times like I can be in multiple places at once, but rest assured, I’m still at home.