Fall 2015 Creative Oasis Classes & Workshops

I have crayons, colored pencils, markers, pastels, watercolors, paper, scissors, magazines, glue, writing prompts, handouts, low-pressure creative activities and a treasure chest of Kaizen-Muse Creative Coaching tools and techniques ready and waiting for my fun line-up of

Fall 2015 Creative Oasis Classes & Workshops. 

There's only one piece missing ~ and that's the most important one of all! 

Ready to make more time and space in your life for creative joy and satisfaction? 

Join me for a class or workshop, meet other creative loving people and add your own special presence to the mix. 

Fall 2015 Creative Oasis Classes & Workshops Line-Up includes: 

Mandalas ~ Mandalas ~ Mandalas!

Discover the magic of making mandalas in this fun, low-pressure workshop. No previous experience, skill or artistic talent needed ~ just the desire to dive in and experience the joy of the creative process. As you create different types of mandalas you’ll also receive a basic introduction to the Creative Oasis Coaching methods I use to help people around the world enjoy more creative fun and fulfillment in their busy lives. 

WHEN:      Wednesday, September 9th ~ 6:30 to 9:30 pm
WHERE:   Pigment School of the Arts ~ 4605 West Lovers Lane Dallas, TX 75209
COST:        $125 ~ includes all supplies

(Note: Class size limited to 8. Pre-registration required.) 

REGISTRATION NOW CLOSED FOR MANDALA WORKSHOP

Building Creative Confidence Workshop
Do procrastination, perfectionism and lack of time keep you from your creative passions? This unique workshop introduces easy and effective ways to move past those blocks and experience more joy and satisfaction in your busy life. Using writing prompts and fun hands-on activities you’ll learn a variety of ways to build your creative confidence and enjoy more creative expression in all aspects of your life.

WHEN:      Saturday, September 19th ~ 1:00 to 5:00 pm
WHERE:   Creative Arts Center of Dallas ~ 2360 Laughlin Dr. Dallas, TX 75228
COST:       $65 (CAC members) ~ $95 (non-members) plus $10 materials fee

(Class size limited to 10. Pre-registration required at www.creativeartscenter.org or call 214-320-1275.)

Living the Creative Life ~A 6-Week Class Dedicated to Embracing the Creative Life You Crave

Do you dream of painting, gardening, making music, cooking or writing? Do you long for more time and energy to play with your art supplies, fill your journal, finish that scrapbook, play piano, whip up epicurean delights, take photographs or finally plant a garden? Whatever your creative dreams, this unique class will teach you simple, yet powerful ways to move past blocks like procrastination, perfectionism and that awful inner critic voice inside your head and into a life filled with creative joy and satisfaction.

The relaxed group setting provides a camaraderie and gentle accountability while you learn and practice easy and effective ways to live a more creative life.

WHEN:       Wednesdays, September 23 through October 28th
                     (Choose one: Mornings 11 am to 12:30 pm or evenings 6:30 to 8:00 pm)
WHERE:    Pigment School of the Arts ~ 4605 West Lovers Lane Dallas, TX 75209
COST:         $325 ~ includes all supplies, handouts and weekly e-mail follow-ups.

(Note: Class size limited to 8. Pre-registration required.) 

Choose Class Time AM or PM

11am Morning Class $325.00 USD 6:30pm Evening Class $325.00 USD

Until next time, all the best from my Creative Oasis to yours,

Jill

Jill Allison Bryan

www.creativeoasiscoaching.com

Warning! Creative Play May Result In These Symptoms

When's the last time you enjoyed some low-pressure creative play...just for the fun of it?

Recent personal experience reminded me of the wondrous power of creative play. (See the "symptoms" listed above.)

While spending a fun girls' night in with my mom and daughter last weekend, we decided to each choose a simple creative project from our Pinterest boards, break out the art supplies and dive into some low-pressure creative fun.

My mom chose to color in a mandala with colored pencils. My daughter drew a beautiful freehand lotus flower and enjoyed some intricate geometric doodling with gel pens as well. I drew freehand flowers (they would up looking a bit like peonies) in crayon and then painted them in with watercolors. 

As I've shared before, I don't consider myself a visual artist. But I do love to play with creative supplies and I'll admit to being quite pleased with the way this little piece turned out.

That being said, the process...the sitting around in a relaxed atmosphere...the playful experimentation...the "we're just doing this for the pure joy of it" attitude...not the end result...was what brought about the "symptoms" we experienced.

Want to put more creative play into your summer? After last weekend, I know I do!

I've created a way to help you do just that, my "Create the Summer of Your Dreams" Do-It-Yourself Creative Oasis Kit that I'll be releasing very soon.

In the meantime, grab your free Summer Wish List Fun Sheets here to take the first small step to creating a summer filled with creative freedom, relaxation and fun.  

Until next time, all the best from my playful Creative Oasis to yours,

Jill

www.creativeoasiscoaching.com

P.S. ~ If you enjoyed this post please share on Facebook and twitter using the buttons below!  If you'd like to receive bite-size bonbons of creative inspiration like this Mid-Week Oasis Moments plus a free copy of my e-book "Permission to Be Creative 101" join me here: http://www.creativeoasiscoaching.com/newsletter.html.

The Creative Magic of 15 Minutes

Does experiencing this type of creative transformation sound good to you? If so, I invite you to set a timer for 15 minutes and dive into one of the creative prompts below. If you like Click Here to download a free printable PDF version.

 ~ "Even When" Creative Prompts ~

# 1 ~ Even though I feel so tired...one small doable way to spark my creative energy for the next 15 minutes might be to...

#2 ~ Even though my to-do list is sooooooo long...one thing I can release from my list right now without the world crashing down around me is...

#3 ~ Even though I feel like I don't have any time for myself...I can hop off the computer for the next 15 minutes and enjoy some creative play by...

#4 ~ Even though I feel so uninspired right now...I open myself to finding some creative inspiration for the next 15 minutes by...

#5 ~ Even though I just want to zone out in front of the TV...I give myself permission to enjoy 15 minutes of Creative Oasis time right now by...

Here's to seizing the next fifteen minutes to experience the positive transformation of creative time!

Until next time, all the best from my Creative Oasis to yours,

Jill

Jill Allison Bryan ~ Creative Oasis Coaching

www.creativeoasiscoaching.com

P.S. ~ If you enjoyed this post please share on Facebook and twitter using the buttons below! 
If you'd like to receive bite-size bonbons of creative inspiration like this Mid-Week Oasis Moments plus a free copy of my e-book "Permission to Be Creative 101" join me here: http://www.creativeoasiscoaching.com/newsletter.html.

Butterflies, Buddha & Beating Myself Up

This week I went back to one of my favorite pages in my Creative Oasis Journal and played with some digital editing tools to create a new look for it.

I revisited this page because it holds a message I need to hear again (and again) and thought maybe some of you could use the reminder as well.

"If your compassion does not include yourself it is incomplete." ~ Buddha

Do you ever find it easier to show compassion to your friends, family and even total strangers than to yourself? If so, you're note alone. 

I invite you to consider using the quote above as your personal Creative Oasis Mantra for the coming week and practice some gentle self-compassion ~ even if it's only 5% more than you might usually.

Rather than continue to beat myself up because I hadn't created a brand new message for this Mid-Week Oasis Moment, I gave myself permission to visit my journal for inspiration and update an earlier MWOM to share with you. That's how I showed myself some compassion ~ now it's your turn.

To help you get started, here are a few compassionate questions to ponder:

~ What's one gentle way you might treat yourself with compassion this week?

~ What's one easy way you might use creativity to do so?

~ What's one small way you might give yourself permission to enjoy five or ten minutes of guilt-free creative play today?

Click here to see the original post including a 15-second instagram video.

Until next time, here's to treating ourselves with complete compassion on our creative journey,

Jill 

Jill Allison Bryan

www.creativeoasiscoaching.com

Add Creativity to Your Calendar & Joy to Your Life

This past Sunday I reveled in several hours of guilt-free, low-pressure creative fun with people I love dearly. Sounds good, doesn't it?

And just so you know, being a creativity coach doesn't guarantee that this is a regular thing for me. While I do my best to weave creativity into my life on a regular basis and help others to do the same, this was different, deeper, dedicated creative time and wow, did it feel great!

Here's how it came to be:

First, I gave my mom a gift certificate for an All-Girl Creative Oasis Play Day for her birthday. My sister-in-law and daughter were invited too since they're awesome, creative-loving gals.

Next, we set a date and we put it on our calendars. Seems like a simple step, but it’s huge. Putting creativity on our calendar transforms dedicated creative time from a “wouldn’t that be nice” thought to a “this is gonna happen” event. (My e-booklet Creative Oasis Dates–  Make Time to Pursue YourCreative Passion in Five Easy Steps walks you through the process.)

After we gathered around the table and took out our supplies, we found an acoustic guitar station on Pandora and relaxed into our time together. Sometimes we chatted…sometimes we just listened to the music while we dabbled with our various projects. We all agreed it was a peaceful, fulfilling and fun way to spend the afternoon.

I started off with some doodling using a kit I recently purchased. You can see the results in the time-lapse video up top. (You can find this fun-filled kit by Stephanie Corfee in my amazon associate store by clicking here.)

It was a great low-pressure way to enjoy some pure creative process and not worry about the end result. Doodling is one of my favorite dive right in Instant Oasis moments ever and this how-to book has lots of great ideas to try. I love it!

My sister-in-law, Shannon, brought a package of adorable, tiny little canvases – talk about Kaizen! They feel so small and doable - not intimidating in the least. I had a blast using watercolor and markers to create my teeny-tiny masterpiece below.

Shannon created a pinterest inspired project that was super cool! Though I didn't get a shot of the final piece, here's one in progress. (Can you see a glimpse of the painting for R.S.V.P. by Tori Pendergrass peeking through?)

My mom brought some knitting and also a cute little sprite from her fairy garden that needed her paint freshened up. Too cute, right?

Does some relaxing creative time like this sound good to you? Why not take out your calendar right now and choose a date? Can you think of some friends or family members who might like to join you? What if you forward this post to them right now with an invitation to set up your own Creative Oasis Date? 

As always, I’d love to hear all about it if you do. Please post your comments below and let me know how it goes.

Until next time, here’s to putting our Creative Oasis time on the calendar a little more often and enjoying life more than ever! 

Jill

P.S. – If you'd like to have Mid-Week Oasis Moments (bite-sized bonbons of creative inspiration) delivered each week please sign up here: http://www.creativeoasiscoaching.com/newsletter.html

You'll also receive a free copy of "Permission to Be Creative 101" – my e-booklet that will help you take the first small steps to make the time and space for creative fulfillment – your Creative Oasis – in  your busy life!

You'll Love this Fab, Fun Coloring Experience

My Baby Blue by Jill Allison Bryan

I'm always on the look out for new ways to experience low-pressure creative play so I'm thrilled to share a fabulous new e-book that offers that up in spades! The Collabyrinth Challenge by Tina Gray-Siebers combines thought-provoking Creative Questions plus Musings and Meanderings with free-form abstract black and white coloring pages. Gray-Siebers, a certified Kaizen-Muse® Creativity Coach and artist, says Collabyrinth is a "unique blend of intuitive expression, labyrinth, mandala arts and problem-solving to help color your world in a different way." 

I'll go one step further and say it's an absolute blast! Gray-Siebers has created a wonderful method of giving us permission to experience creative play in a meaningful way. For the affordable price of just $15 the return on your investment for your creative spirit will be tremendous! (Click here to purchase your own copy.) 

I had so much fun creating My Baby Blue piece above! The title can be attributed to my Breaking Bad obsession and the fact that the last scene of the series finale has been playing over and over in my head along with the tune, My Baby Blue by Badfinger. (Click the image below to listen to this classic rock tune.)

Her Creative Questions such as "What if you used more than one medium?" and "How might you add texture?" provided the perfect balance of creative freedom and gentle structure to spark my creative process. After reading the first several pages of her book I felt completely open to playing with my creative supplies in a non-judgemental way. It felt wonderfully freeing to simply sit down and pick up my colored pens and pencils, pastels, crayons and watercolors and add them to the page I'd printed in a playful way. (Hint: Printing the coloring pages on card stock is a good idea if you're going to use watercolors or thick markers.)

Even though I'm a big believer in focusing on the enjoyment of the creative process more than the end product, I have to admit, I'm in love with my piece. It makes me smile every time I see it and I'm looking for the perfect place to hang it in my office. I know it will serve as a colorful reminder that I can experience soul-satifsying creativity in as little as ten minutes! 

I know that I'll be reaching for The Collabyrinth Challenge often to add more Creative Oasis Moments to my life. I also think this will make a super present for friends and family and is a great idea for teacher gifts as well. 

The Collabyrinth Challenge is for you if:

* You want to try something different

* You're in a mental rut and need a jumpstart

* You want to step out of your comfort zone

* You want to be creative, play and have fun

* You want new insight

* You enjoy coloring mandalas

   

If you do purchase a copy for yourself, I'd love to see your creations and hear about your experiences. Drop me a line at creativeoasiscoach@me.com to share. And last, but not least HAVE FUN! 

Final note: though Gray-Siebers kindly shared a free copy of The Collabyrinth Challenge for me to review, I'm not being paid to give my opinion or sell copies. I just adore this book and believe everyone should know about it!

P.S. – If you'd like to have Mid-Week Oasis Moments (bite-sized bonbons of creative inspiration) delivered each week please sign up here: http://www.creativeoasiscoaching.com/newsletter.html

You'll also receive a free copy of "Permission to Be Creative 101" – my short e-book that will help you take the first small steps to make the time and space for creative fulfillment – your Creative Oasis – in  your busy life!

Practicing What I Preach 5 Minutes at a Time

Lately I'm giving myself permission to enjoy creative play even more than usual. The quickly created spread in my Creative Oasis Journal above is an example of how I've been practicing what I preach. Of course, I never wanted to be preachy – but I do love reminding you how  even just a short bit of  creative time can lead to great big creative satisfaction in your busy life!

What does that look like?

* Setting a timer for 5 or 10 minutes
* Opening up my Creative Oasis Journal
* Diving into low-pressure creative play without over thinking things
* Cutting and glueing images, painting with watercolors, writing quickly and freely

How does that feel?

* Fantastic * Freeing * Fabulous *Fun

What happens?

*I experience a huge amount of creative satisfaction in a short amount of time.
* I feel energized for hours afterward in all aspects of my life.
* I'm reminded of why I love my creative time and am more likely to get to it again sooner than later.

Why is this important?

 * It's a quick, easy and fun way to add joy to my day, especially if I'm having a bad day.
* Every part of my life (work, family, friends, personal) benefits when I make time for creativity because I'm a happier, healthier person when I do.
*It's a wonderful way to take a break from my never ending to-do lists and rejuvenate myself.
* Being in the creative flow relieves stress and enriches my life in amazing ways.

As a Kaizen-Muse® Creativity Coach I know this to be true and share this with my clients all the time, still I continue to be delightfully surprised when it's reaffirmed time and again in my own life! 

Some Gentle Reminders

 * It doesn't have to be perfect.
* You don't even have to know exactly what you're going to do when you begin.
* You get to just go for it and have fun.

*Creativity comes in many forms - in addition to painting, collaging, crafting, knitting, making music and writing there's gardening, cooking, entertaining, sewing, yarn bombing, crafting, scrapbooking, dancing, doodling, canning, making cards, taking photographs, enjoying nature...
Like I always say, your Creative Oasis is whatever makes your heart sing and time fly!

What if?

What if you gave yourself the next five or ten minutes to dive into your Creative Oasis?
What might that look like? How might that feel?
I'd love to hear from you.

Until the next time, all the best from my Creative Oasis to yours,
Jill

P.S. – If you'd like to have Mid-Week Oasis Moments (bite-sized bonbons of creative inspiration) delivered each week please sign up here: http://www.creativeoasiscoaching.com/newsletter.html

You'll also receive a free copy of "Permission to Be Creative 101" – my short e-book that will help you take the first small steps to make the time and space for creative fulfillment – your Creative Oasis – in  your busy life!

Make Mandala Magic in Minutes

This morning I gave myself permission to enjoy 15 minutes of pure creative process by coloring in this free printable mandala. Click here to watch my 15 second instagram video that brings the mandala making magic to life: http://instagram.com/p/cJ1WamsRKP/

If you're looking for a way to experience some quick, fun creativity mandalas are fabulous. You'll find a nice assortment of free printables at www.printmandala.com and many more sites if you just do a quick google search. You can print them on regular paper to use crayons or colored pencils or card stock for markers and watercolor paints.

Mandalas provide ideal Instant Oasis Moments because they're easy and fun. You get to choose your colors and mediums but the shape (structure) has been provided for you. There's something very meditative about the act of coloring in or making a mandala. As many of you know, I love mandalas.

My logo is a mandala.

We've had Creative Oasis Day Trippers outings to create our own mandalas.

(click here to learn more about our outing)

We created a mandala using found objects at one of my 

Creative Oasis retreats at the Double J Art Ranch.

One of my wonderful clients recently hosted a group of Tibetan Monks who were 

performing an intricate sand mandala ritual in Oklahoma.

(click here to see more gorgeous photos and read about her wonderful experience)

Here's to giving ourselves a few minutes of creative play time using mandalas for this week's Mid-Week Oasis Moment.  If you create a mandala and would like to share, I'd love to see it! Feel free to send a photo to: creativeoasiscoach@me.com.

Until next time, all the best from my Creative Oasis to yours,

Jill

P.S. – If you'd like to have Mid-Week Oasis Moments (bite-sized bonbons of creative inspiration) delivered each week please sign up here: http://www.creativeoasiscoaching.com/newsletter.html

You'll also receive a free copy of "Permission to Be Creative 101" – my short e-book that will help you take the first small steps to make the time and space for creative fulfillment – your Creative Oasis – in  your busy life!

Mandala Making Magic

This week the Creative Oasis Day Trippers headed to PigmentSchool of the Arts to make our own mandalas. I’ll be the first to admit that I don’t spend as much time playing with visual art projects as I’d like. I tend to gravitate toward writing and music for my personal creative time, but I still enjoy making collages and water coloring, ect…

That’s why it’s so wonderful to have a group like the DayTrippers that gives me the opportunity to make a creative play date and dive into something I normally wouldn’t – such as creating my own beautiful mandala and inviting others to join me!

Tori Pendergrass who runs Pigment School of the Arts provided us with a basic outline, loads of great art supplies to play with and gentle guidance when we need it. I provided a creative pre-trip prompt that asked us to consider what we may want our mandalas to represent. (and also gave full permission to just have fun with it and forget the representative part if that didn’t resonate) I’m very attracted to mandalas and their many meanings, hence my Creative Oasis Coaching™ logo!

A few of Tori’s weekly adult students were also in the studio space with us. The atmosphere was inspiring, congenial and chatty. Creative camaraderie was another reason I created the Day Trippers. It’s so nice to get out and meet other like-minded creative spirits. (I wish I had taken more photos – but I was pretty wrapped up in making my mandala.)

Our two hours of drawing, doodling, cutting, gluing, painting, chatting and sharing creative inspiration flew by and this is my end result. I got to play with collage, tissue paper, watercolors, colored pencils and glue! To me, my mandala represents organic growth, radiating positive energy in life, natural balance (rather than perfection), and joy! But it was also simply a blast to create. There was no pressure for it to be one thing or another. All of our  mandalas turned out so differently and so beautifully. (again – I wish I’d taken more photos!) Here's mine:

How would it be to make your own magical low-pressure mandala? Lowest pressure? Simply draw a circle on a piece of scrap paper and doodle it in. Have a little more time to play? Draw a circle on a piece of cardstock and use a variety of materials to fill in the space. It can be asymmetrical or not. It can use one medium or five. It can be one color or many. The main thing is to just have fun. Time a concern? How would it be to set a timer and give yourself just ten minutes to see what you come up with? If you’re having fun and have the time – you can keep going. If you’re having fun, but need to wrap it up, what if you came back for ten more minutes the next day?

My Mini-Mandala on tiny post-it note created in less than 30 seconds!

For follow-up ideas as to what we might do with our mandalas I shared these “what ifs”:

What if you posted your mandala on your fridge for the next week to remind you how good it feels to take time out for creative play?

What if you cut your mandala up and created a collage or a card to share with it?

What if you wrote a poem or song or created a dance inspired by your mandala?

If you live in the DFW area, I hope you’ll join me and the Creative Oasis Day Trippers for future outings. If you don’t, I hope you’ll consider scheduling a creative trip of your own very soon.

Until next time, all the best from my creative oasis to yours,

Jill

(Any typos, grammatical, tactical, or deisgn-related errors were purposefully left in this blog post to uphold the non-perfectionism that Creative Oasis Coaching advises and supports in the name of getting sh*t done!)