Category: Creativity

Creativity in Business Conference in D.C. 10/4

On Saturday, October 4th, I’ll be presenting at the groundbreaking Creativity in Business Conference in Washington D.C.  When conference founder Michelle James approached me to speak, I was beyond thrilled for the opportunity to be in community with fellow creative entrepreneurs who really get the value of creativity in the work world!  Not only am I excited to lead a break-out session on the Right-Brain Business Plan, I’m also looking forward to a full day of experiencing and learning innovative approaches focused on individual, group & organizational creativity in business.

Creativity is widely considered the new capital of 21st century business.  New ideas, new innovations, new systems and new structures depend on accessing novel levels of creativity — for everyone, not just the creatives or “artists.”  Everyone is creative and everyone could use an extra creative boost, especially in the world of business.  At this event, we’ll explore different facets of creativity as the key driver in navigating and thriving in the new work paradigm.

This event is for entrepreneurs, leaders, managers, learning/innovation officers, trainers, consultants, coaches and anyone who wants to be more innovative and adaptive in the changing world of work.  I bet that’s YOU!

I’m also excited that author Sam Horn will be a panelist.  I love her book POP! Stand Out in Any Crowd.

Here’s the lowdown:

CONFERENCE from 9:00AM-5:30PM: Lively, Content-rich, Experiential Break-out Sessions each with a different focus related to the theme of Applied Creativity in  Business; Engaging Thought Leader Panels explore the creativity-centered work paradigm through the lens’ of leadership, social media, adaptive strategy and creative thinking.

FESTIVAL from 5:30PM-7:30PM: Comedy, Music, Networking, Book Signings, Give-Aways and hors d’oeuvres from Mie N Yu  restaurant.

Register today! Early bird discount through August 31: $149 ~ Regular rate after August 31: $197

I can’t wait to be back in the D.C. area.  I was out there last year as a Circle Coach for CTI’s Quest program and had a blast making new friends on the East Coast.  This visit, I’m looking forward to doing yoga at Tranquil Space and connecting with my D.C. friends!

Bold Brushstrokes and Being BIG

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In high school, my speech coach encouraged me to “Be BIG!”  To trust in myself, project my voice and boldy embody the characters I portrayed.  He even had me practice standing more powerfully with my feet wider apart to take up space.  The “be big” and “take up space” lessons continue to show up for me in different forms.  Lately, they’ve resurfaced on paper in my intuitive painting class with a painting that just keeps getting bigger…

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… and bigger…

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… and bolder… AND BIGGER …

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… AND BIGGER still … (This photo gives a sense of the scale compared to the folding chair to the right of the painting.)

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… and yep, you guessed it… even B-I-G-G-E-R!  (Now it’s getting so big that it’s hard to fit the whole thing in the iPhone camera frame!)

I’ve been working on the same painting for the past few months.  It started off innocently as a single sheet of paper.  Before I realized it, I envisioned images extending beyond the four corners of the initial sheet and added on a second piece.  And then a couple of weeks later, I added a third.  Each time I’d cringe as I’d call over to Chris to let her know that I think I needed to add another piece of paper.  Facing an ever-expanding blank canvas was quite overwhelming, however, I knew I needed to follow my intuition.

The painting continues to grow and become more wild and strange.  I’m learning to go with that and challenge myself to continuing pushing my own edges.

At the beginning of class a couple of weeks ago, I unfolded my painting and got ready to hang it on the wall.  Chris came over and offered to help.  As I stepped back to take in my painting, my first reaction was irritation — the images, bold colors and energy were so “IN MY FACE.”  In response, I stood up, shimmied my hands near my head jazz-hands style, shook my body violently and, with my tongue hanging out, cried “Aaaaaaaaahhhh!!!!!”  That’s how my painting felt and sounded to me!  I went with that sensation and the rest of that class I painted with annoying, obnoxious florescent paints.  The acrid colors evoked that same irritating vibration.  I also ended up adding some 3-dimensional aspects to have it take up even more space.  I looked at where my discomfort was and asked myself, how can I turn the volume up on this more?  Funny that Chris hung the painting up flush at the left edge of the wall… she left room just in case the painting decided to get bigger.  And it did! (If I had hung it up, I would’ve positioned it right in the center with no room to add on more.  Gotta love having someone hold me bigger than I see myself!)

Through this painting, I’m also noticing what it’s really like to be in the process.  To honor what I need in any given moment and to not be attached to staying there.  For example, when I added on the 2nd to the last panel, I was feeling so overwhelmed with the bigness and boldness of all that was going on in the painting.  A large body began to emerge which helped me feel grounded in all of the chaos.  When I came back to the image the following week, I was worried about “marring” the peaceful quality of what I created, but Chris encouraged me to follow where my energy was in that moment and I began to incorporate vibrant colors and surreal images once again.  I’m re-learning that I have capacity for the full range of boldness, bigness, chaos AND calm, grounded, centered.  It’s not an either/or.  And as I take up space, I’m learning to stand fully in my own bigness (and to admit that yes, indeed, I’m a Leo!).  It’s certainly still a growing edge and there’s lots more juicy learning to come as this painting is not done with me yet!  Plus, I’ll be starting Chris’ Expressive Arts Teacher Training this Friday.

Check out this gorgeous and inspiring video about Chris and Painting from the Wild Heart.  Art student Peter Lee did an amazing job capturing the beauty and power of the intuitive painting process.  Plus, you’ll see my painting in progress when it was almost a third the size it is now…

Painting from the Wild Heart from Peter Lee on Vimeo.

Where are your growing edges?  How can you be big and bold?  What’s it like when you give yourself permission to take up space?

The Art of Snail Mail

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In this day and age of e-mail, Twitter and texting, old-fashioned snail mail is a breath of fresh air.  Over the past few weeks I’ve received several handwritten notes that have brightened my day, including the amazing correspondence with Dee.  I was thrilled to receive the actual 1967 newspaper article about my grandpa from her earlier in the week.  To honor her kindness, I snail-mailed her a Heart is Hot heart.  (And, thank you Sahara Damore for creating the Heart is Hot goodwill movement.  This story was the perfect example of what Heart is Hot is all about!).

My friend Britt Bravo is one of the sweet souls who penned me a lovely card.  She also shared with me some cool snail mail resources including:

While we may not have the time to decorate an envelope or letter as extravagantly as in Jennie’s book, a cute sticker or a small doodle can add a personal touch.  I like to use artsy cards and especially am loving the following:

Also, isn’t it funny how the perfect book seems to find you at just the right time?  I recently finished reading my book club’s latest selection The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society.  I loved how the story unfolded through correspondence.  It underscored for me the power of taking the time to write a heartfelt letter.

Is there someone you’ve been thinking of lately who you can drop a quick note to?  How about snail-mailing a card to someone who inspired you this week?

Wreck This Journal: Week 9 – The Finale

Wreck This Journal – Final Week from Jennifer Lee on Vimeo.

I couldn’t resist one more video to bring the Wreck This Journal Next Chapter Book Club adventure to a close.

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Drawing with glitter glue at this week’s intuitive painting class.  I didn’t wait for the glue to completely dry before I shut the book, so the pages got stuck together!  Ah, the unintentional wrecking!

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My left-handed doodle from my hammock on my self-care Friday.

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Last weekend, I went to SARK’s Juicy Pens Thirsty Paper workshop and did a bit of journal wrecking there.  SARK hand writes all of the nametags with words that she intuitively channels and we randomly get handed them as we walk in the door.  My nametag said “Feisty” and I thought that would make a good sign.  One of the pages I’d been avoiding was the hang the journal in a public place and invite people to draw on it page.  Well, donning my “Feisty” tag, I raised my hand before break and invited my fellow workshop participants to join in the wrecking fun and draw on the page.

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People had a lot of fun participating and several were inspired to get Wreck This Journal to kickstart their own creative juices.

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Some people even went on to the next page. Of course I had grand visions for what the “trace your hand” page was going to be, but I had to let it go.  Another lesson courtesy of WTJ, some times things don’t go as planned and that’s okay!

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The SARK workshop was a blast.  I took my notes in the form of the “document time passing” page.  Every minute was filled with juicy learning!

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My internal “dialogue” before going to bed one night this week.  This reminds me of an exercise I did dialoging with my Inside Team.

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A couple of weeks ago I did the “other ways to wreck this journal” page.  One of them was to draw a face and put make-up on it, so that’s what I did here.

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When I reflect on what I get angry about, it usually has to do with some of my core values not being met.  Here I journaled about two things that have been bugging me.  The process underscored for me that my values of creativity/uniqueness/self-expression and meaningful relationships/friendship and authenticity/integrity/wholeness were not being fully honored in these two situations.

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I did my own take on the “write backward” page.  I took Japanese in college and it was difficult to learn because everything is backwards compared to the English language.  You have to write vertically from right to left.  Even the grammar seems backward with the verb coming at the very end of the sentence.  Here was my poor attempt at writing, “Hello my name is Jennifer.  I studied Japanese (or the backwards order of ‘I Japanese studied’). How are you? I’m fine thank you.”  The calligraphy on the lefthand page is from a gocco print I made out of my Grandpa Fukuda‘s shodo practice sheets.

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I enjoyed connecting with fellow wreckers on the Wrecking Ball call with Jamie on Friday.  Given that I had challenged someone on the call to do a page she’d been avoiding, I challenged myself to do one, too.  My favorite page, the fruit sticker page, is going to Jennifer Moore of Pink Heels.  The cool thing is we’re swapping fruit sticker pages because that was a page she’d been avoiding, too.  So it all works out in the end 🙂

I discovered so many gems on the WTJ journal and relearned a few good lessons, too:

  • Mistakes, failure and unintended wrecking often lead to wonderful creative surprises beyond what I could’ve planned or imagined.
  • Inviting creative cohorts to play not only enlivens me and the creative process, but also gives the other people permission to giggle, wreck and have fun (and they might not have even realized that they were yearning for just that!).
  • Having a supportive community makes stepping out of my comfort zone a whole lot easier.
  • Responding to a structure or prompt actually spurs my creative process.  I can take the suggestion and run with it or I can say no and make it my own.  Either way, I’m moving forward.
  • I like having variety and challenge in my creative process.
  • Wreckage can be ugly and uncomfortable AND it can also be cute and beautiful – there’s room for a whole range of experience and expression.

And I listed some other lessons in an earlier post here.

What have you learned through the wreckage?  I’d love to hear!  See you at the next Next Chapter book club for The Joy Diet by Martha Beck.  It sounds yummy!

Inspiration & Writing Wisdom from SARK

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OMG, that’s me with the wild and succulent woman herself, SARK!

This afternoon, I joined about 70 other creative souls in a packed room at the Hayward Library to participate in SARK’s Juicy Pens Thirsty Paper workshop.  What a treat to meet SARK in-person and experience her vibrant creative energy and warm spirit.  She had me in stitches as she shared one hilarious and fantastical story after another.  And when I wasn’t laughing my ass off I was nearly in tears, touched by her heartwarming tales.  The afternoon was filled with one delicious morsel of inspiration after another.  A few of the SARK-isms I’m savoring include:

  • “Delight yourself first and others will be delighted.”
  • “Action comes before inspiration. Inspiration comes from the actual doing of anything.”
  • Ask yourself, “How well are you loving yourself today?”

I also appreciated learning how SARK honors her introversion.  As a fellow introvert, it’s comforting to know that someone who is so successful and in the spotlight has found ways to balance her energy through honing her extroverted skills (she’s a riveting presenter and her energy lights up a room) and protecting her need to be alone and to not be busy all the time.  It was also good to hear directly from her how she can get distracted from her writing, but how she keeps her momentum through micromovements.  Last year, I did an Art Every Day Month post with the page of reasons why I don’t feel like writing from the Juicy Pens Thirsty Paper book.

One of the activities SARK had us do was to craft our own writer’s manifesto.  Here’s what I came up with:

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We also filled in some micromovement wheels to help us find delightful, do-able actions that we could complete in just 5 seconds to 5 minutes.  I’ve already accomplished two.  The publisher catalogs from my trip to BEA are now stacked in a neat pile instead of strewn across the floor unintentionally acting as a makeshift pillow for Emmett’s head.  Also, I added to my new “I am a published author” vision board on my Vision Board iPhone app.  I included the photo of SARK and me and my writer’s wo-manifesto.  Woohoo for accomplishing a few steps toward my creative dreams today!

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And here I am with my friend the inspirational Laurel Bleadon-Maffei who was there assisting along with her wonderful husband Wes.  My other creative buddies Chris Zydel and Michelle Favreault participated in the workshop, too!  It made the day even juicier to be surrounded by these wonderful women.

If you haven’t checked out Juicy Pens Thirsty Paper yet, I encourage you to give it a whirl.  It’s fun, inspiring and practical.  Also, I signed up for the e-course Juicy Journaling with SARK: A nourishing adventure to start your day off write.

When I ask myself the juicy question, “How well have I loved myself today?” my answer is “pretty darn well.”  I chose to say yes to being in creative community with likeminded spirits, I chose to honor my creative dreams by taking some micromovements, I delighted in affirming my creative gifts as writer/artist and last but not least I laughed my ass off. 🙂

Creative Play is the Way

Creative Play Workshop

I’m excited to announce that my dear friend Leah Piken Kolidas and I will be co-leading a workshop in the Boston area this fall! Join us for a lighthearted, fun-filled workshop called Creative Play: An Afternoon of Intuitive Art and Creating from the Heart.

Creativity and play are two of my top values and Leah is the epitome of creativity and play – for goodness sakes, the girl makes the cutest smooshing noises when she’s squeezing her paints! I’m thrilled that we’ll be rolling up ourselves together and getting messy and silly with you! If you’re in the area, I hope you can join us. It will be fun to meet you in person!  Sign-up here, space is limited.

What is creative play for you?  How is it showing up in your life?

For me, creative play paves the way for intuition to flow freely, giggles to run rampant, and wonderful surprises to emerge.  Here are a few of the ways I see creative play frolicking about in my life right now:

How can you invite creative play into your day today?

Wreck This Journal: Week 7 – Getting Sticky

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While I’ve enjoyed the past several weeks of wrecking, this was the first week that I felt a little stuck around it. Not as inspired to crack my book open. Wanting a bit of a break from all the creation/demolition. During the creative process this can be thought of as the dip or a lull. I’ve noticed that in this pause, I’ve been renenergized around some other projects. I’m thinking that now might be a good time to mail the journal out to myself (one of the activities I’ve been avoiding since I’ve been so attached to it). We could probably use a break from each other for a few days!

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I’ve been avoiding the “sticky” page, because well, it’s sticky/yucky. I’m also afraid that ants are going to invade my journal when they smell the honey and maple syrup!

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Last week when I visited the East Bay Depot for Creative Reuse, I picked up an old UC Berkeley newspaper from 1974.  I clipped an article for my “random newspaper”page from it. I used to work at the UCLA Daily Bruin and that’s where Brian and I met, so I had a bit of nostalgia using a college paper.

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I had fun practicing some handwritten type with the “four-letter word” page.

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Perhaps having more ideas of how to wreck this journal will inspire me next week!

I have to say that the most excitement for me around Wreck This Journal this week came from my hilarious friend Connie. She conducted her own brilliant awards ceremony video – you must check it out. I’m super honored to be the winner of the “Cute as a Cupcake Wreck This Journal Dirty Footprints Studio award” and can’t wait to get my page from this creative chica!  Thanks, Connie!

One Person’s Junk is Another’s Treasure

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I can’t believe that I’ve lived in Oakland for more than five years and had yet to visit East Bay Depot for Creative Reuse!  Well, last Friday my friend Julie and I rectified that situation.  We beamed with excitement as we read on the website, “Every teacher’s first stop and every artist’s second home.”  Since Julie’s a teacher and we’re both quite crafty we knew this could be dangerous!

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While I’m not one to rummage through garage sales and flea markets (I just get too overwhelmed), I was amazed at the random and fun things I found at the depot.  You can buy scrap paper buy the inch, crayons by the pound, buttons by the bag and so much more!  I picked up a handful of those bright yellow buttons, a bag of cool retro book pages, an old UC Berekely newspaper from 1974, some upholstery swatches, a few sheets of handmade paper and a blank book shaped like a tag.  I’m looking forward to the creative ways I can use these goodies.

If you haven’t been yet, definitely check it out.  And of course while you’re in the Temescal area, stop by Bake Sale Betty‘s for the fried chicken.  Julie and I waited in a line that went almost down the block, but it was worth it for the delicious fried chicken salad, ginger cookie and lemonade.  (We rationalized to ourselves that the fried chicken salad was much healthier than the famous fried chicken sandwich!).  Also, my favorite yarn store, Article Pract, is nearby, too, as is my friend Danielle Fox’s beautiful new gallery Slate Art and Design.  Lots of creative inspiration along this street!

Wreck This Journal: Week 6 – More Wreckage

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The wrecking continues on week 6 of the Next Chapter Wreck This Journal adventure.  When I was at Trader Joe’s this morning, a woman came up to me and asked me if I was a life coach.  She had seen my coaching website the other night and also enjoyed looking at all the wreckage of the Next Chapter bloggers.  Very cool!

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Here’s my chewed up page.  It did not taste good.  Yuck.

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During the 4th of July holiday weekend, Brian and I took a lovely walk around Lake Temescal in Oakland.  I’m glad I brought my journal with me as the beautiful natural setting inspired some more wreckage.

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I spotted a muddy patch on the path around the lake and recklessly rubbed my page with dirt.

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Also on our walk, I noticed blackberries starting to spring up along the bank.  I almost fell into the lake trying to pick berries.  Not only did I mess this page, but I also messed up my leg with several pricks from the blackberry thorns!

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I don’t drink coffee, so Brian graciously share the last few drops of his Blue Bottle coffee on our walk.

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I had a lot of fun with the “sew this page.”  I even created a pocket that contains a secret message – shhhh!

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And finally, here’s my “test supplies” page on week four of being my blotting paper at painting class.

Wreck This Journal: Week 5 – Making My Mark

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During these past five weeks of the Next Chapter’s Wreck This Journal adventure, I’ve had so much fun making my mark on this book.  I even had to change the title to Wreck Jenn’s Journal!  The cute stickers are from my friend Ana Ottman (thanks Ana!).  Here’s a look at my wreckage for the week.

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I drew two disgusting, yucky true stories about my pup Emmett.  Sure he’s cute, but it’s really gross when I accidentally touch his poo or when he barfs on chicken bones.  I thought these were perfect fodder for the “ugly…poo…barf” page.  Click here to see a bigger version.

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Do you remember the old-fashioned toy Wolly Willy with the metal filings and magnet wand?  While getting my haircut last Friday, I was inspired to make my own versions for the “create a drawing using a piece of your hair” page.  With journal and glue in hand, I picked up my hair trimmings and decorated my page.  My hairstylist got a kick out of it and even suggested a few of the ‘dos.

Oh, and you’ll see that there’s a blue splotch, too.  The blue soaked through several pages after I swam with my journal.  The absolutely cool thing is, the ink is from the “color outside the lines” page.  Not only did I color outside the lines, I colored in three-dimensions!

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This circle page feels so cheery and fresh with all of the bright colors and fruit.  My journal actually smells lemony now because I infused it with some “Lusty Lemon” essential oil.  I got the idea of finding images of circular objects after seeing the Ganesha icon from the wrapper of my Yogitoes skidless mat.  I also added the Ganesha description, “The God of knowledge, wisdom and wealth, Lord of success and destroyer of all obstacles” to the title page.  Perfect!

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On Monday, I ran into my dear friend Julie Daley at Bittersweet.  We had a lovely conversation and afterward I invited her to wreck my journal.  She signed her name with decadent chocolate cake!  Yummy.

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Here’s the magazine page with my favorite words on it circled.

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And here’s the “test art supplies” page on its third week of being my blotting paper at intuitive painting class.  It’s super cool to see it get messier and messier!  It looks even better in person.

I’m really feeling like the freedom to destroy, deface and make my journal my own has enhanced my overall creativity.  I’ve been in a creative flow the past several weeks.  I’m looking forward to more wrecking!