How to Be More Human

“Community thrives when more people become themselves, not when more people agree to act like each other.”

— Michael Meade

For today’s PICTURES post, I collected photos of art that’s not meant for framing — that is, ways that people weave creative acts into daily life. These expressions of imagination are not for the purpose of winning awards or earning money or wowing audiences. Rather, they help solve quandaries, spread joy, or make deeper connections with others.

I know you do this, too. Imagine your “everyday creativity” photo appearing below with the others. 📸

After the pictures, look for an announcement about the Doodling Lunatics. 🤷🏽‍♀️🌙✏️📖🤓

Here We Go!

On Monday evenings, Mark meets online with some buddies for Fly Tyin’ & Lyin’. Hailing from four different western states, they share fly patterns, plan their next river trips, and tell stories that never seem to get old.

I’m the lucky recipient of whimsical snail mail from several beloveds. This collection has Patti’s style written all over it! ✏️💌

Bob, a long-time high school English teacher, would read poems in his Instagram stories (hence they don’t show up here), “… just so there was more poetry out in the world for anyone who followed me. Sometimes mine, or others — just cool poems I thought should be shared.”

Debi says, “I had a recent need for doodle journaling* to help myself get past all the data I’m researching and ‘telling'… to ground myself…” [*editor’s note: 👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽]

“… [Y]ou mentioned that it’s not the data that motivates interest - it’s the doing… especially when there’s a heartfelt and compelling WHY behind it.”

Brenna, co-director of Espacio Flamenco, invented gutters made of tarp strips, to connect the patchwork of tents so that party-goers (see next photo) would not get too dripped on in the forecasted downpour. The entire venue — her backyard — is a work of COVID-era ingenuity.

Thanks to the guttered tents, we were able to bring our dance moves from the classroom to the party without getting soaked. 🤠 (BTW this was in December before the Omicron wave reached Oregon. 😷)

Pam, the founder of Belle Flower Farm, where I led an Artful Journaling workshop last week, has attendees choose and read an affirmation as a way to begin each class. She writes them on little watercolored cards for us to take home as reminders. ❤️✒️🏷

It’s All Optional, and It’s All Beautiful

You’ll notice that none of the activities above were part of anyone’s job description. The ideas were improvised. Results were not guaranteed. They weren’t even homework assignments, although you know how much I love assigning this kind of homework! 🤓🔖❤️🙌🏽

Each one was a self-generated act of connection, a creative impulse aimed at making life more fun, more joyful, more meaningful (and in one case, also less soggy 💦).

I can’t think of a better definition of art.

Hey, Doodling Lunatics: Let’s Keep Glowing with Creativity

Wanna practice together? I’m starting a monthly online gathering called the Doodling Lunatics. Our sessions will be scheduled shortly after the new moon, during my favorite phase: when you can see a sliver of crescent and slight illumination of the entire sphere. ❤️🌒

Here are the deets for the first couple of sessions:

Doodling Lunatics 📖🖍🌙🤓

• What is it? An online gathering (via Zoom) to honor the moon and share artful journaling practices. A little dose of spaciousness.

• How will it work? After a brief welcome and grounding/centering activity, I’ll share a prompt or mark-making idea. Then we’ll spend time working on our own pages, chatting, asking questions, etc.

• Who can join? Anyone with interest and access to a computer.

• When do we meet?
  Tuesday, February 1st at 5:30 pm Pacific Time*
  Friday, March 4th at 5:30 pm Pacific Time

• What materials do we need? Really, just a pencil and paper. You can get fancier with other art supplies if you want to.

• Why are you scheduling it with the moon? To pay more respect to the lunar cycle, and because I hear that the waxing crescent phase is a good time to set intentions and brainstorm new endeavors. (It’s also the phase I was born under!) Plus, the moon represents feminine energy, and our hyper-masculine society could use more balance in that direction.

• How much does it cost? It’s free! I’ll send the Zoom link out with my blog post the day before. As always, if you super love it and can’t resist the urge to show it with a little moolah, you can “buy me a coffee.”

Whatever Your Flavor

Whatever your particular brand of you-ness looks like, let it flow freely and often. When you do, others feel permission to let their flavor flow. It’s like a pandemic of creative health: we make each other stronger when we share our artistry.

With waxing enthusiasm,
Pam

*These times have been updated from when originally published, and are accurate here.