Creative Oasis Fall 2012 Classes & Workshops

Craving Creative Fulfillment?

This fall Creative Oasis Coaching is offering more ways than ever for you to learn and practice easy, effective ways to enjoy a creatively fulfilling life! These classes and workshops help you make the time and space for your creative passions – whatever they may be – even with your busy schedule!  They're also a great way to meet other interesting creative loving types who find it challenging to get to their creative interests as often as they'd like. (Sound familiar? You're not alone!)

Pre-registration is required for all classes and workshops. Space is limited to 8 people per session, so please register to reserve your space as soon as possible. 

#1 – "LIVING THE CREATIVE LIFE" 
WORKSHOP          

Saturday, September 8th

1:00 – 4:30pm

$99 

(includes creative supplies and handouts)

A great introduction to Creative Oasis Coaching. We'll explore fun and effective ways to make more time for creativity in your life. Writing, photography, cooking, painting, singing, gardening, scrap-booking…whatever your heart longs to do, you’ll be introduced to unique tools and techniques to help you easily enjoy the creative satisfaction you desire. 

Location:

Pigment School of the Arts

4605 West Lovers Lane

Dallas, TX  75209

For more info or to register, please email creativeoasiscoach@me.com.

#2 – "HOW TO LIVE A CREATIVE LIFE" 
6-WEEK CLASS

6-week course dedicated to weaving creativity into your busy life          

Tuesdays – September 18th through October 23rd 

10:30 to Noon

or

Thursdays – September 20th through October 25th 

6:30 to 8pm

$275, plus $15 materials fee

                           

A more detailed exploration of and opportunity to practice creativity coaching methods designed to help you to experience more creative satisfaction. No matter what your interest – blogging, photography, cooking, writing, collage, watercolor, needlework, gardening ­– whatever creative expression you love, you’ll learn and practice innovative tools and techniques to help you enjoy the creative fulfillment you crave. Choose the morning or evening session.

Location:

Artistic Gatherings

9440 Garland Rd., # 138

Dallas, TX  75218

For more info or to register, please email creativeoasiscoach@me.com

#3 – "PERMISSION TO BE CREATIVE 101" 
MINI-RETREAT

         Saturday, October 13th

10am – 3pm

$85 for CAC members

$115 for non-members

plus $10 materials fee 

(Please bring a sack lunch.)

Do you have a closet full of creative projects you haven't touched in ages? Do you long for the time to dive into creative endeavors – painting, writing, gardening, scrapbooking, dancing, singing –  in short, whatever energizes and delight you while adding joy to your life? This mini-retreat, set amongst the inspiring classrooms of the Creative Arts Center of Dallas, is another great introduction to Creative Oasis Coaching and share great ways for you to get back on track with your creative passions!

Location:

Creative Arts Center of Dallas

2360 Laughlin Dr.

Dallas, TX 75228

For more info or to register, please contact the Creative Arts Center by calling 214-320-1275 or visiting their website at http://www.creativeartscenter.org.

Are you ready to stop making excuses and start making the time and space in your life for creative fulfillment? Then sign up today for the Creative Oasis Coaching class or workshop of your choice, and take the first small step to turning that dream into a reality.

Email me at creativeoasiscoach@me.com and reserve your space today!

All the best from my creative oasis to yours,

Jill

Jill Allison Bryan

Founder of Creative Oasis Coaching

Certified Master Kaizen-Muse Creativity Coach

Singer/Songwriter

www.creativeoasiscoaching.com

Creative Oasis Hiatus

Remember when summer meant three solid months of no schedule…staying up late…sleeping in…reading stacks of books…hanging out with friends? Remember when the biggest decision of any given day was choosing which swimsuit you’d wear to the pool? Remember what you had for breakfast? (me either!) Those days are but a fond memory, but I have taken a summer break of sorts.

Though I’m still coaching my fabulous one-on-one clients, my Creative Oasis Day Trippers, group classes and workshops are on a temporary hiatus. Look for them to pick back up this fall with more choices than ever. I’m using the down time to create some new offerings including a fun new e-course created to help couples connect creatively as well as a 6-week class focusing on weaving creativity into the workplace.

But summer can’t be all work and no play, so I’m also sprinkling mine with Instant Oasis Moments – quick and easy, soul-satisfying bite-size bonbons of creative joy! Five or ten minutes spent creating a collage…snapping fun photos with my phone…improvising a quick dinner using fresh veggies and herbs from a friends’ garden. It’s amazing how spending even a small bit of time doing something creatively fulfilling can pump up the happiness factor in your life in a such a big way.

I hope you’re finding lots of little ways to dive into your own Creative Oasis and squeeze the most sweetness out of this summer you can. (Think fresh lemonade with a cherry on top!)

All the best from my summer Creative Oasis to yours,

Jill

Q & A with Creating Time author, Marney K. Makridakis

Recently, I've had the pleasure of meeting and working with Marney K. Makridakis author of newly released book, Creating Time. She founded the Artella online community for creators of all kinds and the print magazine Artella. A popular speaker and workshop leader, she also created the ARTbundance approach of self-discovery through art. 

Marney provided an exclusive presentation for the Creative Oasis Day Trippers at her Dallas book launch this April and I heard from so many people who were unable to join us but wanted to learn more about this fabulous new book, that I'm thrilled to be able to share this interview with her now.

I hope you enjoy learning more about Creating Time with our Q & A session below. Oh...and if you haven't ordered your copy yet here's a link that will take you right where you need to go! I  highly recommend buying the paperback vs. the electronic version. You won't want to miss all of the beautiful four-color illustrations and examples of ARTsignments shared throughout the book!

Why did you write Creating Time?

Like most people, time has been a big challenge for me throughout my adult life, but it escalated to an extreme after I gave birth to my first child in 2008, and struggled in vain to find the time to “do it all.” I devoured every time management book I could get my hands on, but still found myself exhaustively chasing time. I put myself on mission to find a new solution, and began to explore ways that I could apply my best resource (imagination) to my biggest problem (time). I created an online course to help others do the same and saw that other people had success with these techniques as well. After that, I finally felt able to sit down and write a longer work that developed these ideas much more fully. 

Creating Time is for people who feel like they don’t have enough time to live the kinds of lives they want to live. I want everyone to know: when we don’t have time, we have to create it, and the incredible news is that we can do so using one of the greatest resources ever to exist on our planet: human creativity.

What does "Creating Time" mean?

To me, it means that there is amazing power held by each of us to imagine, create, and completely reshape the way we experience time. For too long we have been servants of time when in fact, time that can and should serve us. We can finally drop all the archaic view and limitations of time that have held us back from fully embracing the wild beautiful truth: time is not a defined line; it is instead a vibrant, completely moldable, layered, multi-faceted work of art that is in your hands to create and design, each and every day.

How is your book different from a typical "time management" book?

Time-management books, as well as the latest time-tracking and productivity aids, can certainly be of help to us on the practical level, but they are limited in their long-term effectiveness, since the true nature of time extends beyond the chronological hours displayed in our calendars, wristwatches and smart phones. I really wanted to dive into the psychological, philosophical and emotional aspects of time, to help readers come away with a liberating new view of self and a fresh perspective on the meaning of being human, empowered, and fully alive. So while the book is definitely filled with practical, hands-on tips for creating more time in your day, it’s also about finding a new way to experience time in its entirety, your full time on this earth…shifting our focus away from how we spend time to instead reveling in what we receive from our time. And, besides, most time management books won’t guide you to make collages and design offbeat new clocks and creative time-pieces! While intensely practical, I also wanted the 14 time shifting projects in this book to be a lot of fun and inspire a sense of playful abandon and freedom.

ARTsignment by Violette Clark

Professionally, you work primarily with artists, writers and creative individuals. Does someone have to think of him/herself as "creative" to benefit from your teachings?

Absolutely not! The conclusion of each chapter presents an “ARTsignment,” which is an art project designed to activate and expand self-awareness and transformation. ARTsignments, which are at the core of my ARTbundance approach of self-discovery through creativity, offer a powerfully effective way to internalize and absorb a process and truly take it in. I’ve discovered that engaging our minds, imaginations, and bodies through physically creating art catalyzes an unmistakable transition from simply reading a concept to absorbing and becoming it, and this is true for anyone, not just people who think they are creative or artistic. Through the creative projects in this book, absolutely anyone can enjoy the adventure of being transported through creativity, and this has very large and valuable implications regarding time “traveling” and time creation. Each ARTsignment combines a step-by-step introspective process; interactive journal questions; and a unique, hands-on art project that pulls you directly into the full dimensions of time, extending the breadth of its meaning and experience. You don’t need to be an “artist” to tap into the transformative power of creativity! In these projects, the emphasis is completely on the process rather than the product, and their transformation power holds true whether you are sketching stick figures on a paper napkin, making a collage of magazine cutouts, painting on a canvas, or creating an elaborate mixed media sculpture.

What do you most hope that readers take away from this book?

I hope that readers will come away with a new sense of a time, as well as practical tools to put this new approach into action, both in their day-to-day lives and into their fuller spectrum of meaning and purpose in life. When we are not slaves to time, when we are not chasing time and wishing time was different, we finally set our souls free to live the lives we’re meant to life. We enter into a new realm of possibility, partnering with time to create a life filled with awareness and fullness, instead of an inherent sense of lack, worry and dread. Believe it or not, time is in your hands, and you can mold, craft, and create time to be just about anything you would like it to be.

Thank you so much to Marney for sharing more details about Creating Time and explaining some ways in which we can think and feel differently about time in our own lives. I can assure you that I've enjoyed every minute I've spent with this book so far, and look forward to hearing your comments and stories about how this revolutionary book touches your life as well.

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

Jill

How Making Time for My Creative Self Led to Meeting a World-Renowned Artist

photo from TIME Style & Design

 When I read the article “The Noisemaker” by  Richard Lacayo (Spring 2012 Time Style & Design issue) I fell in love with the artist Nick Cave. I was instantly enchanted by his sound suits…the way they look…the way they sound…imagining the way they must feel. I was inspired by the way his world-view informs his art. I was intrigued by the way he incorporates sculpture, sound, and dance into his performances pieces. And I was thrilled to learn that Cave’s latest work, Heard, would be performed both at the University of North Texas (my alma mater) and the Nasher Sculpture Center.

Though I was unable to make it to Denton for the UNT performance during the week, I held out hope that I would still be able to make the Sunday performance at the Nasher. There was a lot going on that weekend…work, my daughter’s dance photos, obligations, and more excuses…excuses…excuses… Yet, something kept pulling me towards this experience. I wrote it on my calendar in red ink. When the day finally came, I felt compelled to make it happen and get myself down to the Nasher.

I felt guilty about not being able to take my daughter or husband. I felt guilty for not scheduling this as a Creative Oasis Day Trippers event. I felt guilty for taking an hour out of our precious weekend time to do something just for me, but I still went. (all these years of coaching and being coached has paid off!)

Portrait of Nick Cave by Xenobia Bailey 

When I first arrived, I noticed the street directly in front of the Nasher had been blocked off. I approached a cameraman to see if he could suggest the best vantage point for watching the action. He told me I was standing in the best spot – so I stayed put.

photo from huffingtonpost.com

As the crowd began to grow, and the employees of the Nasher parted the sea of people to make room for the 60 people dressed in the 30 spectacular sound suits. They looked like magical horses made of shining, shimmering raffia. Then I spotted Nick Cave across the sidewalk. As the drum-line kicked in and the dancers made their way into the street he moved closer and closer until before I knew it, he was standing right next to me! The feeling flowing through the crowds was positively electric! I couldn’t believe I was standing beside the person who had conceptualized and brought this piece to life. (with the help of many talented UNT students, professors and the Nasher Sculpture Center)

Me trying to sneak a shot with Nick

At first I tried to snag a photo of Nick by shooting one of myself with him in the background, but after we actually exchanged a few words about the performance, I just went ahead and blurted out, “It’s incredibly serendipitous that I am standing here next to you. Would you mind if I take our picture together?” To which he immediately and graciously accepted as you can see below.

Ask and you shall receive – Me & Nick Cave! 

I took this as a very handsome, talented sign, that I was absolutely justified in carving out an hour of a very busy weekend (when are our weekends or weekdays not busy I ask you?) to feed my creative spirit with this amazing experience and to be immersed in a sea of people who also believed that making time to experience art so visually stunning and emotionally stirring was important and joyful and certainly a worth every moment.

 How will you feed your creative spirit today? It doesn’t need to take an hour. Maybe it’s just watching a few minutes of the video above and enjoying a bit of the magic I experienced with Nick Cave. (You might even be able to hear me ask him - does this make you happy and his resounding "YES!" If you can't watch the whole thing I suggest fast forwarding to the point where the horses split into two and keep dancing – so cool!) Feed your creative spirit and it will bring you and the people in your life joy a hundredfold!

No time to read this? This Day Trip is for you!

Finally – time management for creative types! 

If you barely have time to read this, you'll definitely want to join me for this exclusive Creative Oasis Day Trippers event! 

What:

Marney K. Makridakis, author of new book 

Creating Time: Using Creativity to Reinvent the Clock and Reclaim Your Life,

 will present an exclusive Warm-up Workshop only for the Creative Oasis Day Trippers prior to her public book launch in. She'll share a behind-the-scenes look at the her process with writing and publishing Creating Time, and guide us through several fun ARTsignments – self-discovery exercises infused with art and creativity – to help up get even more from her formal presentation. (Click here to contact me to reserve your space today.)

After Marney concludes her Warm-up Workshop, we’ll have time to share and discuss as a group before convening to enjoy her public presentation, to be followed by a reception and book signing. (We Trippers may mosey over to Blue Mesa after that.)

When:

 Sunday, April 15, 2012

Special Day Trippers Warm-up Workshop @ 3pm

Public presentation and signing @ 4pm

Where:

 Barnes & Nobel (Lincoln Park)

7700 West Northwest Hwy. Suite 300

Dallas, Texas 75225

Cost:

$15 

Click here to RSVP and I'll save your space and send your registration form right away!

Just can't wait to learn more about Creating Time?

You're in luck! Marney has put together a FREE 3 week Mega Time Extravaganza featuring live webinars, inspiring interviews from beloved leaders in the creative world (such as Jill Badonsky, Jennifer Louden,  SARK, Michael Gelb and more !), and lots of free bonus goodies too. To sign up, simply click here and they'll send you everything you need to participate in this amazing event which begins April 2, 2012. Why not sign up now? There's no time like the present! 

Painting Party - No Experience Required!

"Flutter" 

Love the idea of painting but think you don't have the time or the talent? Well, let's put an end to that nonsense right now! Join me and the Creative Oasis Day Trippers as we head to Pinot's Palette in Lakewood to act "as if" we're artists extraordinaire. No prior artistic experience or talent of any kind required. (other than the ability to have fun!)

Here's how it works:

You provide your favorite libation (be it Pinot or Pomegranite juice.) 

I provide the creative prompts and permission. 

Pinot's Palette provides the canvas, paints, brushes and instruction.

And we're having big-time, low-pressure creative fun before you can say Modigliani. (which I can't)

This past summer I took my mom to a painting party like this in Breckenridge at Ready, Aim, Fire and we had a blast.  While I'll admit to having several creative talents to my credit, being a visual artist is not one of them. Still, I love the thought of painting and I dabble with watercolors from time to time in my Creative Oasis Journal. These painting parties are a fabulous opportunity to just go for it and play with real paints on a real canvas. I was delighted by how easy it was to follow the instructor and amazed at how well my painting turned out. Plus, it was an absolute blast!

Me & Mom painting Columbines

I'd love for you to join me for this night of creative camaraderie and fun. Let me know that you want to join us by sending me a quick e-mail to creativeoasiscoach@me.com. Here are all the details:

What:

Painting Party at Pinot's Palette 

(say that 5 times fast)

6465 East Mockingbird, Suite 420

Dallas, TX 75214

When:

Tuesday, March 20, 2012 from 7 to 9 pm

Cost:

$15 Creative Oasis Day Tripper Fee

$35 Pinot's Palette Fee

RSVP:

Please email me at creativeoasiscoach@me.com as soon as possible to reserve your place with your party. Advanced registration for this event is required with your non-refundable $15 Creative Oasis Day Tripper fee due no later than Saturday, March 17th.

The Great Toilet Paper Roll Creative Challenge

I think we all have one or two of these around the house.

Last week I sent an impromptu email to my “Living the Creative Life” class with the subject line “The Great Toilet Paper Roll Creative Challenge.” What does a creativity coach with no particular agenda on a lazy, rainy Saturday afternoon do for fun? She dreams up a creative prompt using empty toilet paper rolls.

So, I'm a slightly compulsive about recycling, (hmmm…“slightly compulsive” is an oxymoron, isn't it?) and as I tossed another toilet paper roll into the recycling bin that day I thought “What if I used this ubiquitous household item as a creative prompt?” (BTW – asking ourselves "what if" is a fabulous way to mine creative gold!) I'd made some cute little owls for my daughter several months earlier that I’d seen on The Hidden List. She in turn had recently created something on her own she dubbed “The Little Roll of Happiness” and left it on my desk as a surprise. As you turn the roll the messages say: I love you! You are amazing! You are beautiful! Best mom ever! Best wife ever! You are you! (Still get vklempt whenever I read it.)

So, inspired by these fun little projects, here is the optional creative challenge I offered up to my class:

“Sometime before we meet this week, what if you created something with an empty toilet paper roll?  You can use one roll or fifty. (though I doubt you have 50 spare used toilet paper rolls handy) You can create the project all on your own or you can look for something fun on the internet. You might collage it, or paint it, or write a poem to it or about it. There are no rules other than to have fun with it!”

Everyone chose to participate, although some admitted that at first they weren’t going to, either because they didn’t think they had the time or couldn’t imagine what they would do or thought it was a little silly. But, in the end everyone came up with a wonderfully creative idea of their own and completed their creations in a short amount of time.

Funky Necklace

One person shared that though she was excited to create something at first she soon felt stuck. She found herself worrying about whether or not she would make something “good enough” (does this sound familiar to anyone?) and it totally shut her down. Then, as she sat holding her empty toilet paper roll she saw the humor in it. “Why am I freaking out over making something out of a used toilet paper roll?” And she decided to lower her expectations. (The super cool serendipity here is that lowering expectations was a Kaizen-Muse® Creativity Coaching tool I'd already planned on sharing that week!)

She gave herself permission to create the ugliest thing ever and that released the pressure she was feeling and helped her begin. She allowed herself to have fun. She combined her love of color and textures with the belief that anything can be turned into a necklace and ouila! Before she knew it she had created something very cool in a very short amount of time and had a lot of fun doing it. (and, as it turns out…she may end up using this as a template for some other real necklaces – yay!)

The Guardian Angel of Toilet Paper

Another wonderful creation was The Guardian Angel of Toilet Paper. She watches over your bathroom to make sure your holder is always ready with a full roll with the paper faced in your preferred direction! The wings were crafted from the used roll, flattened and covered with glitter and Modge Podge. Then the angel herself was made from actual toilet paper. (we all agreed there may be a market for this beauty, so consider her copyrighted!)

Planter and beautiful reminder

This tiny planter holds a bit of soil and some lemon balm seeds. The lovely reminder reads, "When I tend to my garden my creative spirit soars!" This was one of the wonderful creations that nearly didn't get made. (not enough time...don't know what to do....ect....) And then, when the idea came to her, she created the entire project from start to finish in less than ten minutes and admits it made her very happy to do so. When the seeds begin to sprout, she's going to plant them outside as a living reminder for herself. (I told you - these are amazing!)

Toilet Paper Butterfly of Transformation

This sweet butterfly was inspired with a discussion of the butterfly as a symbol of transformation in a previous class. Again...a fun creative project, created in a very short time which gave a large amount of satisfaction to the creator and to the entire group.

In a beautiful bit of serendipity, Jill Badonsky, founder of Kaizen–Muse® Creativity Coaching recently shared this fun list of creative modalities:

Though toilet paper rolls are not on the list, I feel sure she would applaud their addition!
So there you have it. Further proof that it doesn't take huge amounts of time or baskets of expensive materials, or even a particularly serious idea to enjoy some wonderful soul-nurturing creative satisfaction! If you're up for The Great Toilet Paper Challenge I'd love to see your creations. Please send a photo to me at creativeoasiscoach@me.com! 
Until next time, all the best from my creative oasis to yours,
Jill
www.creativeoasiscoaching.com