reflections on creativity, connection, & collaboration
The pages for the Dichotomy Fatbook collaboration I’m participating in are coming along. Here’s my progress on six pages. Only nine more to start by June. Making good time, I think for the summer swap!
I enjoy being involved with creative collaborations like this because it provides me more opportunity to engage in art-making and participate with other art therapists and artists involved with the project.
As more of my pages develop, I hope to share and post…..
Progress....
Sustain, Transition
As I finish my writing on this series and launching my 2010 revo’lution , these last two intentions around sustaining and transitioning I think will be very important for me to remember.
I want to be mindful about investing my energy to help sustain important causes/efforts, as well as continue nurturing and seeking meaningful relationships that value trust, mutual respect, and responsibility. This includes work, projects, and individuals I truly believe in, give me hope, and empower myself and others to really be stakeholders towards creating change, energy, and community.
Part of my transition in 2010 will include a process that already started in 2009, but I believe will only grow stronger. I will be shifting intentions and life decisions to better support myself and others, continue to be present, give back, and share my authentic self.
Hopefully this will contribute to doing lots of good work in 2010, stronger relationships, creative ideas, and more energy for all things that I’m passionate about in life!
Here’s to the new revo’lution!
My Altered Book Pages
This is where I started to notice the appearance of birds in the images I was making for my altered book about my 2010 revo’lution. Not exactly sure what this is all about entirely, but I think it’s something that will probably make more sense to me throughout this upcoming year.
Right now I am associating concepts of flying free and having a “bird’s eye view”. I also continue to learn how to build new “nests”- in the pursuit of creating a safe haven for connection, collaboration, and creativity, while preparing to move on from a couple of other “nests” that are starting to no longer fit or I have outgrown.
I’m entering this new year with a clearer and new perspective on many things, but I think there’s much more to understand about why I included all these birds. I believe the intentions I chose related to encourage, wonder, and learn will have a big impact on the meaning behind this imagery and I look forward to seeing what might develop.
Altered Book Pages
Create Dare Balance
These are the first three intentions of my 2010 revo’lution: Create, Dare, and Balance. Here’s a little bit of why they were included:
Create- Creation, doing, making and action are all central to who I am and without it I would be lost. I like to make art. Paintings. Collages. Altered books. I like to write. Blog. Write about subjects important to me and my work. Make lists of stuff I am working on, need to do, or should be thinking about. I love practicing and promoting art therapy. I also like to create and work on things with and for others. Art. Connection. Networking. Opportunity. I like to create new ideas and experiences. More than just talk about it , make art about it, write or make to-do lists about it (that’s part of my process and it’s important)- but actually DO it, see it happen, and something to show for it that is real, meaningful and authentic. I hope for much energy, vision, and meaning for creating “it” and more in 2010.
Dare- This year I want to continue to have the courage and strength to be true to myself, those relationships important in my life, and make decisions or take the needed risks to grow and do what’s needed to get things done–> right.
Balance- With all the content connected to the above two intentions that primarily fuel my day to day activities, I have to remember to be mindful of balance- which of course, I am not very good at and will again probably be my biggest challenge in 2010. Finding time to just be, relax, go off the grid and be still is needed to balance the intensity behind my work ethic, passion, and interests that drive me.
My Altered Book Pages
No Evolution Without Revolution
I’ve been posting recently on my 2009 rev o’ lution and recent reflections on this from the past year… I was excited to see the rev o’ lution action also take form on Lani Puppetmaker’s Blogspot, where Lani Gerity started her own rev o’ Lution inspired by the concepts of Friendship, Stillness, and Simplicity. Check it out!
So the time has come for me to create my new rev o’ lution for 2010- which I honestly have been looking forward to all month. My process includes first creating a list of words/concepts/intentions I want develop and cultivate more in the new year, that I then narrow the list down to eight words. From there, I create a special altered book where each page is dedicated to the intentions chosen.
This year, an image that I usually keep on the nightstand by the bed kept grabbing my attention as I started to form 2010’s rev o’ lution. It’s a small mixed media image on canvas board that I created sometime in 2006 when I was thinking about running for President of Ohio’s Buckeye Art Therapy Association, after my name was thrown in for nomination consideration. At the time, I remembered having a lot of anxiety and self-doubt about this. I wondered if this was something that I could really do? It’s one thing to be a board member and focused on your specific committee tasks and commitments. I’m good with details, following through on projects and tasks at hand, but was uncertain about my abilities to be responsible for the “big picture” and setting the overall tone, energy, organization, and leadership of an entire board and its members.
The idea frankly freaked me out a lot. And when I’m freaked out, one of the things I do is make art. In response, I created this image of my intentions and anticipations connected to what I wanted to bring to being a leader at this level. It helped stabilize my anxiety, doubt, and create meaning behind my decision to move ahead on this path if given the opportunity.
Anticipation
Encourage. Care. Hope. Create. Learn. Dare. Wonder. Listen.
These were all important concepts that I wanted to develop, contribute, and inspire. I also remember at this time wanting to bring an energy and enthusiasm to move efforts forward through action, dedication, and hard work.
That was three years and two terms as President ago. To date, that’s 14 board meetings, 17 board members, over 200 members, 2 Symposiums, 1 national art therapy conference, introducing 2 art therapy legsilation bills, 2 strategic plans, a new mission statement, a new website, and too many e-blasts, e-mails, follow up phone calls, newsletter and meeting reports, and website updates to count. Most importantly, I believe this collective work and everyone’s participation has contributed to energizing our community, connection, and hopefully truly serving the needs of art therapy in Ohio and our members.
I reflect on all of this because 2010 will be my last year finishing this term. In creating this year’s rev o’ lution, I thought a lot about this journey and its impact on my life over the last few years, including how other experiences and expectations of good vs. bad leadership have ultimately influenced and shaped future desires, intentions, priorities, and decisions that I face in the here and now.
I have learned *a lot*. And there are many good friends and supports who have helped, encouraged, and taught me so much along the way. This journey and those who have walked with me over the last few years have been invaluable to keeping me on course and reminding me of the “big picture” during times that were uncertain, difficult, and challenging. Where I stand today is with gratitude, strength, and a renewed passion connected to what and who matters most. I believe there’s lots more great work still to come in this upcoming year- not just here in my own backyard, but also on a bigger scale. I’ve gotten a little better with seeing the “big picture”.
I am looking forward to what this new year will bring as I remember some of my old intentions with re-discovered meaning to create new ones for this year’s rev o’ lution.
So here’s my rev o’ lution for 2010: Create Dare Balance Encourage Wonder Learn Sustain Transition
To celebrate the launching of this new rev o’ lution, watch a short film I created featuring the altered book I made about each of these concepts. During these last few days of 2009, it’s time to kick off next year’s rev o’ lution and believe me, I am ready to go!!! Look for more rev o’ lution reflections throughout this week.
What does your 2010 rev o’ lution look like?
2009 was the year I finally joined Facebook… I used an app today (thanks Gioia!) on Facebook that randomly selects your status updates throughout the year to create a word collage from this content. Here’s what Facebook chose for me, based on what I have been telling Facebook and my friends all year:
My 2009 Year in Review According to Facebook
I found what was selected very appropriate to summarize my year and so true: lots of work, being busy, attempts to take breaks/rest, big initiatives and commitments with BATA, eating junk food, social media life, and watching stuff saved on the DVR… and now, preparing for my 2010 rev o’ lution and what this upcoming year hopefully will bring… More on that later!
My 2009 rev o' lution
Trust - This year I learned a lot about what trust really means to me and the relationships I choose to invest in. Accountability, authenticity, integrity, and responsibility are important qualities I highlighted around this concept when developing and reflecting on my 2009 rev o’ lution. However throughout the year, this concept strongly developed into how trust in its basic form connects to my experiences of feeling safe, protected, and secure from outside crazymaking. I have made a lot of difficult choices this year around stopping my involvement with toxic environments and relationships that at one time I believed in and valued, but now, I can no longer support and need to break free from. No more crazymaking. I saw a D.Waitley quote come through on Twitter recently via @MindtheD that I thought really related to my thoughts around this: ”Change the changeable, accept the unchangeable, and remove yourself from the unacceptable.
Change- During this year I engaged in a lot of discussion and energy around the topic of change. I believe in being part of change, living it, and visioning it, particularly related to my love of the art therapy profession. Most of this year I was trying to figure out where I might fit in related to this big picture. How could my work and my efforts reflect my authentic self, values, passion, and a purpose rooted in trust, innovation, compassion, equality, and empowering community? After much reflection, I made the decision to invest my direction and commitment towards developing efforts that reflect a vision, understanding, and meaning that I can really believe in for art therapy. I have really enjoyed the work I have contributed in co-developing new and refreshing opportunities during this year through the Art Therapy Alliance and supporting the mission of the International Art Therapy Organization. I am proud of these efforts, connection, and the future possibilities that social media and technology can create to help bring art therapists together and showcase art therapy.
Leadership- According to my rev o’ lution post last year, good leadership is something I wanted to see, be, and understand more in 2009. Throughout this year seeing, being, and understanding this kind of leadership included figuring a lot out about what this means to me, really understanding the influence of internal and external intentions, and honoring the priorities and values in my life and what/who/where I choose to commit my energy and ideas towards to make a difference.
Leadership Intention- Something New, May 2009
Openness- At the beginning of this year I had lots of hopefulness and a longing for more opportunities that would bring collaboration, exchanging of innovative ideas, and building community. This concept in my rev o’ lution has surfaced many exciting things throughout the year in co-creation with International Art Therapy Organization Founder Cathy Malchiodi, such as our Art. Peace. Sustainability Interactive Art Event, launching the art therapy e-zine FUSION, and altered domino making are only a few of the highlights. More are on the horizon for 2010.
Gratitude- Focusing on this concept throughout the year has reminded me to appreciate so many people in my life and what there is to be thankful for despite day to day stresses, expectations, politics, and to-do lists. These relationships inspire and remind me what is really important in life and what the bigger picture is all about. In my rev o’ lution this year, I wanted to create more art connected to exploring gratitude and expressing this to others through my art making. One of the art-based activities I participated in to focus on this theme was an altered art gratitude book round robin that I found really rewarding.
Hope Seek Dream Fly- Altered Book Page, June 2009
Health- Over the last seven years I have come to understand better to not take my health for granted and am very thankful for another year free of major issues related to my myelin behaving. While I still have days where having an auto-immune disease is something I do not have time for, do not want to deal with, or try to forget about- I have actually been slightly more accepting, accomodating, and open (than I have ever been) about what I need to do to keep myself healthly and continue doing all the things I love to do in life.
Calm- Cultivating calmness in my life always seems to be challenge because I am always up to something and for the most part, enjoy this… I do feel that I made much progress connected to this rev o’ lution concept (see Trust and Change for starters). I did finish my mini altered book on detachment earlier in the year, which has continued to be a great visual reminder when I need it. I have also become better at letting go and saying good-bye to those parts and relationships that are not healthy for me or no longer fit. But still need to remind myself of these lessons. My discovery of and addictive art-making with Polyvore this year really helped me reflect and focus more on these concepts too.
Stuff She Didn't Need Anymore- Polyvore Art, September 2009
Voice- My 2009 rev o’ lution and all the above concepts helped make my voice stronger this year through being myself, focusing on what’s authentic to me, and meaningful. I believe this year I figured out how to best use my voice in a way that I am finally good with. I am dedicated to using this voice to help, support, and work with others who share the same vision and energy in the spirit of the three C’s (connection, collaboration, and creativity) to do good and amazing things!
I recently was invited to and signed up for a group fatbook project with some art therapists and artists in my area. The way this collaborative mixed media project will work is that everyone creates a 4 x 4 page for each person participating, and then at the conclusion of the project, participants will all come together to swap pages and bind our book with the creative content everyone has created. For more about making fatbooks check out this link here.
I am looking forward to creating my pages for everyone and excited to see what pages and variations of the fatbook’s theme will be created by everyone else. The swap won’t be until the summer, so I have lots of time to work on the pages I need to get done!
I started to work on some ideas via Polyvore around the theme of this fatbook: Dichotomy. Right now I am brainstorming concepts and cultivating imagery related to the dichotomy of right-left brain characteristics, mind-body connection and theory, as well as ideas about the thinking brain vs. the feeling brain that I can incorporate into collage. I am drawn to these concepts in my art therapy work with clients, especially related to trauma and I think this fatbook project will be a fun and creative opportunity to explore these subjects more and the relationship between them.
Below are some of my sets created with Polyvore that I will print and use for collage in the 15 pages I need to create. Look for more updates on my dichotomy fatbook as it develops– the process is just getting started!
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