
We ran our first public workshop with 16 participants, offering yoga, art therapy, playful+mindful drawing, and creative writing. The aim was to help women find a sense of ease within their creativity and life. People came away feeling inspired and energised - we hope they go out and create whatever their lives are asking of them.
I came home from the experience buzzing and spent the next 2 weeks thinking hard about where all this could go. This is an ongoing question (as it should be) and not least because I have so many different things I want to do with my life... Sound familiar anyone?
So, several sessions of playing with colourful post-it-notes later, I am getting a little clearer. I want to continue painting - this is because it keeps me centred in my practice, both the art practice and also the Zen practice. It helps me digest and make sense of the world around me. Yep, painting is my external digestive system; my gut!
Sometimes, this external gut of mine gets a little constipated.
Which brings me to workshops/retreats. Workshops and retreats are my way of emptying myself, getting unstuck, rediscovering flow, getting off my butt and creating something beyond my comfort zone, etc etc. I've always loved facilitating workshops and I want to get more and more experimental with them. So bring on Tess's idea of allowing the workshop to evolve from within the group - fully emergent and co-creative. In fact, bring on all the ideas you lovely ladies of the forest.
Here are some titles and tag-lines I've come up with for my corner of the collective:
- Creative Mojo Health-Spas
(the gentle laxative for creative constipation)
- Making your Mark retreats
(drawing deep to fully come alive)
- The Radical Art of Self-Acceptance
(creating transformation)
- Embracing your Life Creatively
(experience and express your enoughness)
- Mojo's on the Move
(creating clearer pictures of purpose, passion and priorities)
- Paper Scissors Porridge
(the humble art of creative transformation)
I'd love to hear your responses. Which words, ideas, themes, make you buzz? Which make you want to know more? Which make you want to grab a bag and go?
And to my sisters in Melbourne, what yummy dandies would you like to offer up? And how can we support each other and work together to make more of these events happen?