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I watched two hawks circle on my walk the day of the continued action meet-up.

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Hi everyone! I really enjoyed my first Create + Engage meet-up on Wednesday. Connection, not surprisingly, was a big word that came through. I want very much to find a creative cohort— more creative connection. I'm attaching two images from my journal pages. I am fascinated &curious by the phrase 'connection can be a strange dance,' that emerged from circling words.

Hope to see you all on a meet-up in the new year.

Cheers, Lisa from the CO Rockies

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Working out how to respond creatively to the challenges ahead.

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The word that jumped out as I thought about incorporating my values into my creative practice.

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I am so grateful for Christine Wong Yap's introduction where she reminded us that as children we have limitless creative potential that is often lost and sadly replaced with self-doubt and criticism. I am an urban planning/geography student interested in participatory action research in the built environment, and this got me thinking about how one obstacle to participatory action work is that it's perceived as a check-box for urban planners so they can say that they "talked to the community." In reality, there is no way to design spaces (virtual or physical) without people showing up as their true selves with a willingness to share their needs and lived experiences. In observing my own city I see that spaces for kids are more colorful and intentionally designed to support intellectual growth and foster connection, while spaces for adults are...dare I say...dull? uninspired? clinical? It doesn't have to be like this! Let's get back to that child-like state of wonder and creativity so we can imagine spaces that are truly people-centered and based on our real needs.

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Renee's Positive Feelings in Color + Shape

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Renee's Positive Feelings in Color + Shape

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It was interesting to find connections between different emotions by looking for patterns in color or shape. For example, the shape/design of "curious and stimulated" looks a lot like "loving and warm", but the latter is a deeper hue. This suggests that these feelings are on the same spectrum but with varying depth.

I also had the idea of reverse engineering this. I could paint a situation that I'm having intense emotions about, and then afterwards try to uncover the different facets of the scenario by understanding the colors and shapes I put on the paper.'

Thank you to the wonderful hosts for facilitating this exercise ❤️

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Thank you everyone for sharing and joining this week. I found it helpful to capture the color and associated descriptor with the feelings in this moment in time - and to recognize moments where there might be overlap. It’s a reminder to myself that I need to be mindful to recognize which sensation I might be feeling if it’s presenting in the same area of my being.

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That was fun!  Mine is quite similar to Vicki's...

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This was such a fun exploration of colors and the energy and emotion that they can hold and express. Beyond the really wonderful playfulness of the activity itself, I greatly appreciated the chance to share space (virtually) and time with other people all choosing to engage in a creative process together as a community. So excited to participate in more in the future! 🤩

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I just listened to the recording - fabulous!! Both presenters were so inspiring - humble, grounded, wonderful artists, engaging as activists and as people. I found myself pondering ways to connect the communities most present for me currently: my wild swimming mermaids, my yoga moon sisters, and my family. I see ceremonies, retreats, and lots of play and adventure to celebrate connection to self, to earth and ocean, to spirit; to feel the joy in these connections radiate outward.

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A map to teach young moms how to write poetry for themselves

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This was such a great workshop. The prompt was to make a map, and to think about who you were engaging, what the event is, what outcomes you hoped for, and how to think about the network in a non-linear way. I am doing a workshop to teach young moms about poetry in a few months, and so this was an attempt to map out how to help them visually think about how poems can be formed in us. It's quite on the nose as a flow chart goes, but I think it will help so much. Thank you to the contributors. I will be watching the replay for additional notes! -Sarah

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Visual Storytelling: Art as communication. Birthday Coffee Storyboard 

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Visual Storytelling: Art as communication. Birthday Coffee Storyboard 

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I had fun documenting memories of a birthday coffee date with a friend this morning for my storyboard :)

Thanks for a great workshop-- lots of things to think about and take inspiration from. I really appreciated hearing more about both of your processes-- thank you for sharing.

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my piece from the workshop really became quite the exploration in observing and playing, especially as I took it outside to take a picture- there's still a body of water drying on the page so Ill have to wait for the "final".

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Hope you can read my handwriting--- since I wrote them in my sketchbook I figured Id just take a picture :)

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I can't thank Bird and Renee enough for this beautiful workshop that reminded me to slow down, look, listen, and take the time to creatively respond to what I learn about our natural world. As Heli mentioned when they shared their beautiful work in the chat, I also tried to 'let water be water' during my creative response. I decided to do some finger painting and play around with water and watersoluble pastels directly on the paper while thinking about my local watershed and its movements. Being able to feel the water and pigment and paper also helped to ground myself in the materials I was using, which I usually don't feel when I'm using brushes or other tools, and also relinquish control which was exhilarating. I left the workshop feeling grounded, inspired, and so ready to channel this feeling into my daily life! ~ Suganya

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I was glad to learn about how to find my home watershed, and be able to teach others how to find and learn about theirs.

It was interesting to see the watershed health of creeks in my city, and I feel a call to action to be informed about the health of the water in my community.

In the days and weeks ahead when I am closest to my community physically (the ground/grass/trees/water), I will be intentional to notice it, be more engaged with it, and deeply appreciate it.

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I really enjoyed this today. "Beauty as a trojan horse." It really is a great way to communicate what our watersheds are and their importance. Thank you.

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I really enjoyed this today. "Beauty as a trojan horse." It really is a great way to communicate what our watersheds are and their importance. Thank you.

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I loved looking at the map of Coal Creek that runs through my town and tracing it back to its source, then looking at the whole route from there back to my home.  Thank you! Love, Genny

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I loved looking at the map of Coal Creek that runs through my town and tracing it back to its source, then looking at the whole route from there back to my home.  Thank you! Love, Genny

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Thank you for your time and thoughts. Being held while holding the weight and unlearning control really resonated with me. Not only unlearning control of the art but letting the land do its thing as well.

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Shining eyes of emotion and gratitude over here! I didn’t expect to feel so overwhelmed by feeling, inspiration and admiration for such awesomeness happening in this room, (had to video off to feel the feels). I was doing non profit watershed work away from my ‘home’ watershed and have shifted to be grounded in place. In this shift, in the last month has seen paddling on the local waterway in a 30’ canoe and now this! I am totally new to being able to name art as a key part of who I am. I'm stepping away tonight with a whole new feeling and connection to the prompts and radical noticing. Everything feels different in the best way. I am humbled and awed by this space tonight - huge thank you everyone!

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I am leaving with so many different ways to connect-- thank you.

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I love thinking about all the different ways you could illustrate a watershed.

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Tonight's session and everything we're talking about = I can't stop thinking about this book.

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We Are Water Protectors: (Caldecott Medal Winner) a book by Carole Lindstrom and Michaela Goade

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Winner of the 2021 Caldecott Medal#1 New York Times Bestseller Inspired by the many Indigenous-led movements across North America, We Are Water Protectors issues an urgent rallying cry to safeguard the Earth’s water from harm and corruption--a bold and lyrical picture book written by Carole Lindstrom and vibrantly illustrated by Michaela Goade. Water is the first medicine.It affects and connects us all . . . When a black snake threatens to destroy the Earth And poison her people’s water, one young water protectorTakes a stand to defend Earth’s most sacred resource.

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I just wanted to thank Anna for creating this space and community. I imagine it's a lot of communication and coordination and work, but oh how generative it is! I suspect it generates 100x the positive energy it takes to create it, and that's a beautiful ripple effect.

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Reflections — we'd love to hear what you'll be taking with you from the session

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Reflections — we'd love to hear what you'll be taking with you from the session

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What’s something you’re thinking about differently based on what you heard today?

What new questions do you have based on what you learned?

What is one thing from today’s discussion that you’ll be thinking about next week?

What is a micro-action you might try out?

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Create+Engage is a multiple-part series of free virtual sessions and hands-on workshops with invited guest speakers and artists to deep-dive on specific topics of civic engagement.

Through these sessions and additional planned programming, we hope to bring people together in a dynamic space to inspire creativity while engaging in meaningful action leading up to the November 2024 U.S. elections.

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Learn more about how Create+Engage came about.

All programming is free and accessible for all participants, there are two ways to support this programming:

1. Become a paid subscriber on Substack

2. Make a financial contribution to Create+Engage. These contributions will go to speaker honorariums and support the series.

NEXT WORKSHOP

Micro-Media: The Power of Zines with Sarah "Shay" Mirk and Christina Appleberry

Wednesday March 13, 5:00-6:30pm Pacific

Join us for a hands-on zine workshop!

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What are you paying attention to in your community, and what media do you consume to learn about it?

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In a world flooded with news and media, it can be hard to pay attention, hard to focus on the issues that impact us.

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In this workshop we'll explore how micro-media, in the form of zines, can be a way to focus attention and scope. We'll learn about the history of zines from librarian Christina Appleberry and do a hands-on workshop to make our own zines with artist and educator Sarah "Shay" Mirk.

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FEATURED SPEAKERS + ARTISTS

Christina Appleberry

Christina Appleberry (she/her) is a school librarian in Palo Alto. She is especially interested in programming that provides opportunities for creative self-expression. She has taught zine making workshops to all ages and has advocated for zines in libraries at the American Library Association Annual Conference for a decade.

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Sar ah "Shay" Mirk

Sarah "Shay" Mirk (she/they) is a graphic journalist, editor, and teacher. For six years, Shay was a contributing editor at comics publication The Nib, where projects she worked on won both Eisner and Ignatz awards. They are the author of Guantanamo Voices, an illustrated oral history of Guantanamo Bay prison. They are a zine-maker and illustrator whose comics have been featured in The New Yorker, Bitch, and NPR. Shay is currently the Applied Cartooning Fellow at the Center for Cartoon Studies in Vermont. She is white, nonbinary, and queer. In her free time, she befriends strangers' dogs.

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Follow: @mirkdrop

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SUPPLIES

This is a hands-on workshop.

Here are the materials you'll want to have on hand:

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Sketchbook or notebook

Pen or pencil

Loose sheets of paper

Scissors

Markers

Check back as we announce new speakers, artists, and workshop topics. ​

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Wednesday, April 17, 5:00-6:30pm Pacific: TBA

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Wednesday, May 8, 5:00-6:30pm Pacific: TBA

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Wednesday June 12, 5:00-6:30pm Pacific: TBA

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Wednesday, July 10, 5:00-6:30pm Pacific: TBA

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Wednesday October 16, 5:00-6:30pm Pacific: TBA

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Continued Action - Wednesday, November 13, 5:00-6:30pm Pacific

CREATE+ENGAGE TEAM

Create+Engage is a collaborative endeavor.

Artist and Founder Creative Fuel Collective

Anna Brones (she/her) is a writer, artist, and educator. Believing in the power of creativity to build community and she is the founder of Creative Fuel Collective and produces the Creative Fuel newsletter and podcast. She regularly facilitates workshops and retreats devoted to exploring creative practice and using creativity as a lens for staying engaged and inspired.

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Find Anna on Instagram at @annabrones

Activist Artist and Educator

Anjelika Deogirikar Grossman

Anjelika Deogirikar Grossman (she/her) is an activist artist, educator, and researcher. She is an artist-in-residence at Georgetown Lombardi Arts & Humanities Program; and instructor at Case for Making and MoCA Arlington. She draws from experiences in the public and private sectors, including Genentech, White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, and Georgetown University.

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Find Anjelika on Instagram @anjelika

Writer, Organizer, Democracy Nerd

Marta Hanson (she/her) activates communities around issues that matter. Currently, she manages Power the Polls, a nonpartisan initiative to recruit poll workers to ensure elections run smoothly; her previous work has supported civic engagement initiatives at the local, state, and national level. Marta holds degrees from Stanford and the Harvard Kennedy School of Government.

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Find Marta on Instagram @poemforarainyday

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Create+Engage is a multiple-part series of free virtual sessions and hands-on workshops with invited guest speakers and artists to deep-dive on specific topics of civic engagement. Come join us!