One of the things I’ve kept an ear out for all year is the words people use to describe that which is 2020.
How we describe it speaks volumes as to what problems we are in contact with, our level of contact, and our willingness to face our world and ourselves. Words like trauma, betrayal, awakening, innovation and love are more accurate than, say, Unprecedented, I believe. Words like cabin fever, crushed-by-homeschooling, and turning point work too. What words do you hear chosen in the media, your circles, your home?
I’d like to propose that re-creation could be a new frame on describing it, one that:
- Trusts in the power of the creative act,
- Cares for the species that is the beloved human family,
- Provides a space to pause and reset, and
- Envisions possibilities ahead.
Whatever the words that describe your particular boat in Storm 2020, we all need to create anew — ourselves, our communities, the world. It is simply the nature of our work right now. What’s been inspiring to me in reflecting on the topic is simply to remember that re-creation is already well underway as it is most of the time. We actually have very little choice about that. Our only choice is how conscious we will be about it: about what, where, with whom, and most importantly how — the process itself — to catalyze that consciousness.
That is why Arts Practica is offering a New Years’ Day Mini-Retreat on Re-Creation. This is the last call to join us. Sign up here.
Agenda
- On Re-Creation. I’ll share some slides and ideas, we’ll explore some questions on re-creation as we know it and see it in life and in art.
- Arts Experience: Re-Creation. There will be writing prompts. There will be drawing prompts. There will be looking at art, and some looking again. There will be conversation. There will be sharing. And there will be no sharing of anything drawn or written that anyone does not want to share.
- Debrief. Takeaways, intentions, parting thoughts. Q+A for those who want to stick around
All will leave with:
- Insights on re-creation
- Perspective-catalyzing examples of re-creation
- Clarity on what re-creation means to you for the New Year (and most importantly, where).
- A list of all works of art viewed and referenced (sent out following the event).
Homework: A very short, and entirely optional, assignment will be sent to you upon your signing up. Its purpose is to boost your experience with the session. It is not a pre-requisite.
Cost: $50.00 USD. If you have a financial hardship, reach out for a no-questions-asked substantial discount.
Registration: right here.
Bring: A journal or little stack of unlined paper, and your favorite pen or pencil. Your family member/couch-buddy is welcome too, as long as y’all stay are on-topic and not distracting.
What it is not: This workshop is not an overarching system a holistic review of last year/setting goals for the year ahead (ie financial, career, family plans, community building, etc). Rather, this material is designed to catalyze knowledge, skills and spirit on the topic of re-creation, and to bring that to wherever in your lifeworld it is most called for. It will work flexibly with whatever you use for reviewing the past and establishing direction ahead, and also can stand on its own.
So much re-creation is happening all around us. Sometimes works of art provoke a vision for the future. Sometimes art facilitates a hard look at what is, or what could be. And sometimes the creativity of the studio doesn’t end up on a gallery wall but rather runs its course through small radical acts in the clinic, the classroom, the boardroom, the newsroom, the neighborhood, friendships, or the home-space.
Intent on bringing re-creation knowledge and energy into 2021, too? Join us!
