Hi there,
Welcome to Methods and Madness: Notes on Creativity for 30 September.
We here downunder have just had our first month of spring; you Northern-Hemisphereans will be well into your autumn.
“It is spring again. The earth is like a child that knows poems by heart.” – Rainer Maria Rilke
I found this delightful quotation on Quotomania. This website is full of great quotations; little bite sized pieces of wisdom. Check it out.
This month’s newsletter is full of stuff that I hope you will find interesting: your usual creative prompt, a thought-provoking artifact, a resource, and a news item. I hope you find some inspiration.
And please help me out by filling in my super-quick survey – I am deep diving into what people want from my events and when they want them so get in for your say.
There is one change to this monthly missive: The big, long list of events and opportunities that I have been sharing in the past now resides in a blog on my website. I moved it because it was looking unwieldy, but I retained it as a blog because, even if there is nothing there that you want to involved yourself with, I think it is inspiring to know what is happening in the world. I may still include the odd super-interesting event in this monthly bulletin, though. And I will still list my own events which, as subscribers, you get discounted tickets for.
But here is this month’s Creative Prompt
“As I was leaving St. Mary’s College today I was struck, not by a branch, but by your radiant beauty. You must get these messages all the time. You’re such an attractive tree.”
This is an excerpt from an email that someone wrote to a tree here in Melbourne. (I found it in this article here). In 2013, trees in the CBD were assigned email addresses to make it easier for residents to report problems with trees. However, people started writing to the trees themselves.
And why not? The trees are living beings that share this place with all kinds of other ‘people’ including us humans, so why shouldn’t we develop a connection? During Melbourne’s lockdowns I came to think of the creek near where I live as my ‘friend’ because I would walk beside it every day and, as I live alone, it got to witness my shifting moods more often than other humans.
So, my creative prompt for you today is this:
Pick a tree that you encounter every day and write a letter to it.
Artifact of the Month
Recently, someone shared a screenshot of author Helen Garner’s submission to the Australian Federal Government’s recent community consultation drive towards formulating a National Culture Policy.
As one of Australia’s greatest writers, Garner’s submission is worth reading. In it she highlights the importance of the types of creative labour that don’t look like labour but which are, in fact, vital to nurturing a creative mindset and practice. Have a read. And then have a think about if and how similar practices are important to you.
A news item!
Over the last few years, illustrator Rebecca Stewart has provided me with illustrations for my publications like this:
I love them very much.
Now Rebecca is gearing up to launch her first graphic novel which sounds fantastic (I have already pre-ordered my copy). Have a look:
Video Rebecca L. Stewart, Letters: Simon Robins, Music: Julian Lyngcoln
“A Prime Minister* strides into a boiling sea. And disappears. Plunged into a slippery nightmare, stripped of human power and influence, he must face the consequences of an environmental war we’ve waged on an abyssal world we barely dare imagine. In this wasteland defended by strange horrors, his fate rests upon an uneasy alliance with an outcast woman. He must wrestle with timeless questions, the answers to which can only be found in places he doesn’t belong. Infernal Regions is the first porthole into Rebecca L. Stewart’s comic art series, a love-letter to devotees of hand-inked storytelling. LAUNCHING SEPTEMBER 2022.”
Sign up HERE for news and exclusive offers.
*This really happened in Australia during the 1960s.
Resource of the Month
C’est moi, again. A couple of weeks ago I presented a workshop on making online conversations more human, connective, and creative. I recorded it and you can watch it:
A summary and a couple of recommended resources can be found here.
Speaking of my workshops…
Below are my upcoming events. There are discounts available for subscribers to this newsletter and even bigger discounts for paid subscribers.
And towards the end of the year there will be an event that all subscribers can attend for free (details to come).
All are online. Most offered at various times to accommodate different time zones.
8, 14, and 19 Oct: Join me for Small Epiphanies and tune into your inner world. Take some time out from your day-to-day routine and cosy up to your imagination. What does it have to tell you?
26 Oct: Eliciting creativity: A facilitated conversation exploring the intersection of creativity, facilitation, and gentleness. What techniques can facilitators use to support emerging creativity?
11 Jan: Storytelling for Collaboration: A free online workshop that uses the power of storytelling to help participants explore the collaboration mindset and how it might be applied to their projects. Use your creativity to make connections and find common ground with collaborators. Presented by the Centre for Unusual Collaborations.
Event of the month:
16 Nov: Centre for Unusual Collaborations: Embracing Multiperspectivity. Utrecht, Netherlands. CEST
“What can we learn from artists about struggles in collaboration, to open space for other knowledges? In this workshop we dig into the world of collaboration while stepping into the artists mindset.”
You can view oodles of other upcoming events and opportunities HERE.
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Consider becoming a paid subscriber
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Check out my website – maybe I can support you, as well, through a mentoring appointment or one of my resources in my online shop
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