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Journal Peek: Hundertwasser
by Lisa-Sonora on 



Journal Peek: Hundertwasser in my Green MBA Journal

In this week’s Visual Journal Peek Show, I’ll show you some pages of the visual journal I made during business school with some ideas on how to work with an altered book as a visual journal.

These pages document the a-ha moment I had when I re-read some of the manifesto’s of Friedensrich Hundertwasser, an Austrian painter and architect born in 1928. I had been a fan of his since ever since I discovered a monograph of his work years ago at a used bookstore in Chicago.



I copied out parts one of his manifestos about ecology and creativity.
He writes:


"Nature, art and creation are a single unity. We have simply separated them. If we rape the creation of nature, if we annihilate creation is us, then we destroy ourselves.

Only nature can teach us creation, creativity. Our true literacy is in our ability to be creatively active...”

Hundertwasser goes on to describe his proposed peace treaty with nature which includes ideas such as tolerance of spontaneous vegetation, living in harmony with nature and becoming a wasteless society.




Among Trees You Are Home
is a poster (shown of right page) Hundertwasser created circa 2000 (the year he died), and donated to promote the Afforestation of the Negev Desert in Israel. This was the image that facilitated a creative breakthrough.



My journal entry reads:

“Last week I spontaneously picked up my Hundertwasser book which had been in storage for 3 years. Suddenly, my whole question about how the Green MBA was relevant to being an artist and a poet was answered.

Hundertwasser did it. A painter and ecologist who designed fantastic green-roofed buildings, who published manifestos about being a zero-waste society in the early 1950’s.

Re-reading Hundertwasser gave me a kind of permission to admit, to commit to my true passions again. Nature. Poetry. Writing. Art-making. Being an artist for social change. Hundertwasser did it.

I am inspired not to care what anyone thinks of me. Reading Hundertwasser helped me see all the patterns woven throughout my life. Ever since childhood, my passion has been for Art, Nature, Writing—all in the service of healing myself and the world I love.”

About the Green MBA Visual Journal
In 2003, I documented my experience of getting a “green” MBA by turning an existing book, called The Working Girl in a Man’s World (1963) into a visual journal by altering the existing pages and adding some of my own. I suppose it was a way of rewriting an old story (not so long ago, and in many ways not so different) of being a woman in business.

Some How-To Ideas: Transforming an existing book into a visual journal

Add some new pages: In the first page spread, I pasted in kraft paper and a photocopy of another journal page.

I collect leaf skeletons, and this one is from one of my friend’s houseplants, almost a whole page big. I pasted it over a map of my beloved Mt. Tamalpais hiking trails and towns. The pages were painted with Golden Fluid Acrylics.

Metallic tape is used to tip in the extra kraft paper pages.

Strive for Imperfection
I like to work quickly and spontaneously in my journals, so don’t bother with trying to be too precise or neat with my writing. I just get it all down in my own messy handwriting. If I had to take steps to make the writing look better, I’d never get any journaling done at all.

Extra pages from magazines. Using a glue stick along the crease in the page fold, it’s easy to add pages from magazines, books or other sources.



Visual Journal as Documentary
This is a quick and easy way to capture moments in time or current events. Pages that include the publication date and/or name provide an instant reference to where you are in time and space.

As the owner of a design and marketing firm, I’ve always collected adds, especially documenting the proliferation of green business ideas going more mainstream.

Adding this sort of ephemera in your visual journal can help document what you are experiencing in the context of history. In this journal in particular, I can see just how quickly the world of green marketing has changed since 2003.

All journal pages and writing copyright Lisa Sonora Beam.
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Minimalist Lifestyles + Artistic Flotsam. How To Deal?
by Lisa-Sonora on 
How do you live and create well, with less stuff bogging you down? This is the subject of most of my google searches these days. Clutter clearing, space clearing, de-cluttering, minimalism, frugality, traveling light, living with less. I do a decent job of this in certain areas of life. But not the main area: my creative work. So this is a problem for me.

Regarding the sorting and care of three-dimensional objects, I asked a friend about trying (yet again) to find just the right system for organizing my mixed-media art supplies:

Am I attempting the impossible?

Or am I just going about the impossible in the wrong way?

That pretty much sums up my ongoing dilemma of being an artist who wants to live with less. When it comes to stuff, I simply just suck at keeping it organized. Maybe it’s because I’m a classic creative type. I call it being three-dimensionally challenged. Strangely, when I do finally figure out a system, it works for me. But it takes a lot of trial and error and trips to the container store to waste money on organizing solutions that don’t end up working for me.

As I pack up my life to head back to the SF Bay Area from my artist residency in LA, I’ve been thinking a lot (code phrase for obsessing) about how much stuff I have. There’s nothing like packing and moving to inspire an episode of de-cluttering mania.

For the most part I’ve always lived rather simply, at least according to the standards in the U.S. This has looked like:

  • living in small apartments or lofts (from 300 to 725 s.f.),
  • not having a car,
  • using my bike for transport (even in Chicago),
  • not having a TV,
  • and not collecting a bunch of stuff.
  • Except for books and art supplies. Therin lies the bane of my existence.
  • Oh, and I also love clothes and good design.

In my 20’s, my minimalist lifestyle could also be called: the starving artist lifestyle.
Let’s be real. It was my financial reality, more than a philosophical ideal, that introduced me to minimalism. This was before blogs and during the 80’s, when spending and hair were big.

Sometimes, when all I really wanted to do was to go on a retail therapy bender at Bloomingdales, I would get out my dog-eared copy of Walden. It was some solace, but then I'd be sort of pissed that this was a dude doing this simple living thing, who didn’t care about clothes. Or matching bath towels, or day vs. night time facial moisturizers, or cocktail-appropriate glassware. Not to mention shoes.

Sometimes I went Bloomingdale's after all. OK. Oftentimes. The search for salvation has happened at the mall more often than I care to admit. Thus, too much stuff buildup. Less space, less money, less traveling light.

My creative work was always the number one priority to me, so I easily made sacrifices of comfort, convenience and at times, calories, in order to have the time and space I needed to earn my living as an artist. My books and clothes were bought used. My art supplies funded by contract gigs in advertising. All was well enough. (Except for when I fell off the wagon and went shopping, noted above.)

It doesn’t help that I have a lot of interests. Workwise, for example, I’ve always been a writer, visual artist, graphic designer, then creative director. For a while I also designed a jewelery and accessories line, indulging my fashionista side. I've also taught workshops in addition to the above. Each of these vocations requires supplies. Plus wardrobe changes. Thoreau, I am not.

A funny thing happened as my career became "more successful". I earned more money. I spent more money. And acquired more stuff. A hell of a lot more stuff.

Somehow, I even managed to acquire a small building, which used to be a warehouse. For me, a dream house for an artist. Over the years I’ve slowly renovated the place on a shoestring budget and turned it into two separate live/work spaces. I live in one, and rent the other out. Tools and building materials entered my life. So did furniture that I could not move myself. Oy!

When I had the opportunity to come to LA, I rented out my SF Bay Area space. As things unfolded, I sold most of my stuff, so I wouldn’t have to pay for storage space. This was a great purging, as I easily unloaded half of my stuff. If not more. I kind of wish I had tracked it better, just for the documentary value.

My main categories of purging stuff were clothing, art supplies, furniture and household stuff. Now I am left with mostly clothing and art supplies. And I find that I just want to have lots less of it all.

But how? I’ve been reading several blogs* that are talking about minimalist lifestyle design, mostly as a way to have freedom from debt, or a job you don’t like, or to be able to travel the world. Or all of the above. But as far I as I can tell, except for maybe my friend Colleen Wainwright, who just did a wonderful series on clutter-clearing on her blog, none of these folks are artists/designer types who have supply-intensive creative work.

Are there any artists out there who are moving toward a more minimalist lifestyle? If you’re out there, give a shout! I’d love to know what you’ve done to address these dilemmas. Or what you have tried, or are thinking of trying.

The questions I am asking myself:

How do I minimize my art supplies, so that I have what I need to do my work, but not so much that I am overwhelmed by stuff?

How do I then organize the remaining supplies, so they are easily at hand when needed, stowed when not.

How do I have less clothing and not look like a dork? Now, French women seem to have figured this out. Apparently, less is more. They buy quality, not quantity. And they also ride their bikes in high heels, which is reason enough to hang out in Paris, just to see.

No offense to guys, but I’m jealous that you have it so much easier being minimalist, especially when it comes to shoes. I especially want to hear from women on these issues. If you are a women who doesn’t only want to run around in Keen’s or Dansko’s, how have you minimized your wardrobe?

When I mean less clothing, I mean, like a suitcase full. Is that even possible? Considering you need wardrobe changes for different weather, casual/business, athletic activities (I swim, surf, do yoga, dance, hike, bike). Also, I do not iron. Ever.

Reminds me of the shortest poem I ever wrote:

Never iron.

In the past few days, I have had some breakthroughs about these issues, which I’ll share next week. But I’d like to combine them with your ideas, and links to blog posts, and articles, if you’ve got ‘em.

Meanwhile, tell me your strategies for living and creating more, with less.

*Here are links to my some of my favorite blogs that talk about living well with less stuff.

mnmlist.com (Minimalism is the end of organizing.)

Is a site by Leo Babauta of Zen Habits. If you don't know about Zen Habits, and you are interested in this stuff, you'll want to go bookmark that, too.

In Leo's words, about mnmlist.com:

It's about minimalism, and why it's important today.

It's about stuff, and how it has come to overwhelm us.

It's about distractions and commitments and a neverending task list.

It's about the culture of more, of bigger, of consumption.

It's about how less is the answer.



ManvsDebt.com
Not just a man, but a family who is living and working abroad. Adam Baker is the man in Man Vs. Debt, and I appreciate his transparency and honesty about the taboo subject known as money. As Adams writes in his about page: "This blog is a real-time chronicle of my journey not only to “get out of debt,” but to “get into life.”

thistinyhouse.com
A blog about living in tiny spaces. Says Hillary, the author:
My desire to own my own tiny home (and not go into debt) led me to buy a used lightweight fiberglass travel trailer in January of 2008. (I can tow it with my fuel efficient car!) Michael and I have been fixing up this 50-square-foot space and customizing it for traveling and full-time living.

EarlyRetirementExtreme.com
What I love about this site is the "extreme" part. Meaning, all of the ideas are not for everyone, but it gives such good food for thought, that you're brain is bound to stretch into some new territory that previously seemed impossible. At least, that's what happened for me. Good stuff!
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J'adore Voyager: A Peek Inside My Barcelona Journal
by Lisa-Sonora on 



This week's Peek Show: Between the Covers of My Visual Journals, takes us to one of my favorite cities: Barcelona.

Writing in cafes offers an antidote to the isolation of the writer's life. So I recommend doing this, even in your home town. Bring your camera and take some snaps of your table. I have a mild obsession with doing this -- and these shots go in the journal, eventually. These are the type of photos that are generally only of interest to the writer, even more reason to take them.

Here's a quick tutorial on an easy way to add some visual elements to your journal: no art experience required.

Supplies: Blank page (or a page you don't like and want to paint over), any old cheap paint, an old credit card or expired gift card (that you don't mind wrecking).

Painted Backgrounds: Pour some paint out on a paper plate or scrap paper, and use the credit card to pick up some paint and wipe it over the pages. Experiment with mixing different colors right in your journal. Make a bunch of pages. Try adding borders, strips, scribbles.

Voila! No more blank white page!


In this example, the rubber stamp image was already on the page. It's an old journal I had lying around from the year 2000, when I was really into my set of Mexican Icon stamps -- so I stamped a bunch of pages and then never did anything in the journal.

I have been committed to recycling my old work, and using up supplies I already have, so no new journal was bought for this trip. Thus, this one came in to play.

Any sort of cheapie craft paint will do. If you are someone who paints, your acrylics will work, too, if you make the layers very thin.



In this example, I was cleaning up my paint for the day, so just the dregs left on my palette were scraped on to the page. The numbers on the right page edge are from cleaning off my rubber stamps.

I love the random nature of just slapping paint down on the paper and not trying to make it look "artistic". It's part of my creative practice. A way to limber up and stay loose.

Once you've got some painted backgrounds, you can go anywhere and not have to travel with paint. Just a pen is all you really need take with you.



Here's a finished journal entry. I made a bunch of date labels before I left, which I stamped with my trusty date stamp. A gift from my local librarian when the hand-stamped due date went the way of the dinosaur. She knew of my fondness for date stamps. I'll try and keep them alive in my own small way.

In this entry, I made a sketch of my wine bottle. My selection of wine was based entirely on the beautiful typography on the label. It unfortunately didn't taste that great to me. I'm sticking to Rioja.

All photos by Lisa Sonora Beam.

For a little background on this weekly series of Journal Peeks, you can read all about it here. Enjoy!
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Connecting Creative Women Entrepreneurs
by Lisa-Sonora on 

Jennifer Lee, Kimberly Wilson, Britt Bravo and I were on a call the other day talking about how fun it would be to put together an event for creative women entrepreneurs to connect, create, and learn together. 
We came up with our own description of what an event like that would look like, but we want to hear your thoughts and opinions, too.
We put together a six-question survey to find out what your ideal creative women entrepreneur event would look like.

By providing your feedback, you can enter in a raffle to be one of four winners to receive either a half hour social media consulting with Britt, a copy of the Right Brain Business Plan e-Book  by Jennifer, a copy of Creative Entrepreneur by Lisa, or a copy of Hip Tranquil Chick by Kimberly.

Click here to take the survey

Thank you very much for your input! We'll be designing an experience that caters to you and is what we wish we had along our journeys. That's why we're excited to create it!
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Project Journals: A Creative Way to Get Things Done
by Lisa-Sonora on 

If you've ever struggled with completing a creative project, you probably don't have a big hang up about commitment or finishing what you start. You probably just get stuck somewhere in the middle.

Here's my tried and true method of project management. I call it the Project Journal. If you come up with a sexier name for it, please let me know. Enjoy.

What is a Project Journal?
A Project Journal documents the both the process and the production of any type of new creation or goal, from initial idea to completed product. It’s a visual and tactile project management technique that is especially helpful for creative thinkers.

Think of it like the logbook a ship’s captain makes for a long voyage. There is a daily record of weather, direction, encounters, notes about the crew, supplies consumed/purchased, creatures, flora, and fauna. All of this information is used to navigate the unfamiliar more successfully and help plan future trips.

Since taking on a new creative endeavor is a lot like voyaging in unfamiliar territory, I’ve come up with Project Journals as a way to navigate and demystify the experience of creating something new. But their real value is that they help me be more accountable and get things done, without going too far off the deep end when the going gets tough.

What kinds of projects?
The word project is used broadly. All sorts of things benefit when tracked in a Project Journal.

I’ve used Project Journals for:

  • Travel planning
  • Writing a book
  • Working on a new series of paintings
  • Going back to school
  • Developing workshops and classes
  • Moving house
  • Budgeting and financial planning
  • Tracking goals set in my annual review


Why keep a Project Journal?
Getting from A (where we are/our initial idea) to Z (where we want to be/a product we are happy with) is not only a long, strange trip, but there are myriad attractions along the way to divert our attention and focus.

Not to mention potholes, flat tires, sick days, delays and other potential derailments. Or the fact that it’s tempting to skip over a bunch of steps to get to Z faster. Which usually backfires.

In between beginning an important project and a successful completion, lies a vast and largely unmapped territory: the middle.

It’s pretty easy to begin something new. Recall those New Year’s resolutions and best laid plans. It’s not so easy to bring something—especially a creative project, or a goal spanning many months—to completion. It’s not because we’re bad at finishing what we start. It’s because we don’t know how to navigate the middle. The part in between starting and finishing.

A Project Journal is a way of mapping your way through the middle as you go. Once you’ve done this with one project, you’ve got some very potent information about how you work that you can use to inform other projects.

How to Make a Project Journal
A project journal is simply a notebook of any kind, separated with specific sections. It’s what goes into the Project Journal that is most important. First you’ll get your notebook together, then you’ll add your project content.

Supplies:
  • Notebook of choice (see hints for choosing, below)
  • Sticky notes in various sizes
  • Clear tape
  • Glue stick
  • Highlighter pens (I use these primarily for coloring)
  • Paper clips

  • Types of notebooks to use for your Project Journal:


Hints for selecting your notebook:

Where to find notebooks
Composition-style books can be found at office supply and department stores, and sometimes at the local dollar stores.

University bookstores sell a wonderful selection of lab books designed for math and science projects with some interesting visual elements. These appeal to the geeky side and are a nice alternative to plain or lined paper.
 
Other types of notebooks that make great Project Journals
  • Spiral notebook
  • Sketchbook (if you’re a moleskine fan or have another favorite brand)
  • Ring binder with loose leaf paper

The perfect notebook does not exist
If you are a procrastinator/perfectionist like me, you might be tempted to seek the perfect notebook for your journal. I’ll tell you now: the perfect notebook/sketchbook doesn’t exist. I’ve been creating using journals for about a million years now, and I have not yet found the Perfect Solution.

So use what you’ve got

Chances are, you’ve already got a 3-ring binder or spiral notebook laying around. Or some very beautiful journal you’ve been saving until you had something important to say. Use one of those.

It’s empowering to use the tools that we already have on hand. It interrupts the part of us that thinks we need the right something or other to make a start.

You’ll learn by doing
By working in any old notebook, and by making Project Journals for various projects, you’ll find you’re own way of working. It’s by doing the work that we find our technique, our voice, our own process.

A Project Journal is a perfectly non-threatening way to makes these discoveries, as it’s not for commercial use or for someone else to see. It’s for our own information only. You’ll figure out the best form for your project journal by working in any old notebook, and evolving to a different one for the next project.

How to Prepare and Use Your Project Journal
  1. Get a notebook that will be used just as your project journal.
  2. Use some sticky notes as tabs to create some sections in your notebook. Reinforce the tabs with tape, to make them more durable.
  3. Fill in the three sections with content related to your project.
  4. Decide on how often you will chart your progress.
  5. Keep going until the project is complete.
  6. Make a final entry on main take-aways and key points to remember for next time.
  7. Have fun and enjoy the journey!

The following sections with help you organize your Project Journal.

Section 1: Project Notes
This section describes the project and serves as a place to catch ideas and brainstorm. Since creativity is non-linear, you’ll have a place to capture ideas as they flow.

The tabs in this section will be specific to your project. For a writing project, they will be things like chapter ideas, structural ideas, characters, topics. For a health/fitness project you would have tabs for menu ideas, supplements, workouts, inspiration.


Section 2: Progress Goals
The more you can quantify the project with a series of measurable goals, the better you will be able to objectively track the progress.

Quantifiable measures include: time frame, duration, quantity. (Stuff you can measure.)

So you may have tabs that mark things like:
  • Project Timeline/Key deliverable/Deadlines
  • Your daily/weekly/monthly quota of some deliverable, i.e. 1 drawing per day, 1,000 words per day, 3 workouts per week, amount and type of calories consumed.

If you like spreadsheets, charts or checklists, these will give you at-a-glance info about your progress, and can be glued or taped in to the journal.


Section 3: Process Notes
This is where we document what happens in the middle, en route from A to Z. Process notes are journal entries that document our thoughts/feelings/actions that happened as you worked. It’s like a diary, except that it is specific to the project.

This is especially helpful to keep the momentum building. You’ll immediately spot when the project is lagging. For longer, ongoing projects this is normal. Momentum ebbs and flows. Circumstances and life impose themselves upon our good intentions and best laid plans. That’s OK.

Commit to making a weekly process note entry, or even daily, depending upon the type of project. It’s important to take some notes, even if you are just checking in to write, “I’ve been sick as a dog. Not doing anything.” or “For some reason, I just don’t want to be working on this. I wonder what’s up with that?” or “Well, the holidays are here and I’m not only stressed, but eating my body weight in simple carbs”. You note taking will help you unravel what sorts of scenarios help or hurt your focus and momentum.

A little bit of history
I got the idea for process notes from my days, long ago, when I was a therapist working in psychiatric hospitals. Every day, we were required to chart on (make process notes about) our patients. We learned an objective way of writing about our interactions with, or observations about, our patients, and this went in to their medical record. Doctors, nurses, and other therapists all added their notes.

This way, there was a coordinated narrative that informed the treatment plan and filled in details about medications, treatment goals and progress/setbacks. This was the only way dozens of people on a team could track dozens of patients through their hospital stay. Chart notes were made a minimum of every 4 hrs., or twice per shift.

Process notes allow you to chart on yourself -- and you can be as subjective as you want. The more you talk about how you feel about what you are experiencing, the more information you’ll have to inform your way of working.

Mapping the mysterious
The whole reason behind making and keeping a Project Journal is to begin understanding our own creative process. Your notes and observations provide clues and facts that you can sort out and, gain insight from, and use to make going through the middle of any project easier, faster, and more fun, next time.

When we do something challenging, we often forget what exactly the steps were that helped us navigate the hard parts, or make our job easier. The Project Journal has it in there.

That’s more than enough info for you to get started. Try this at home. Let me know if you have any questions. Tell me how it’s going for you. What are you making a Project Journal for? How is it helping you navigate the middle, that place in between here and there?
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Introducing the Weekly Peep Show
by Lisa-Sonora on 

Peep Show: Between the Covers of My Visual Journals

Note: This post has sort of a long, introductory preamble. I didn't plan it that way, but I wanted to give a proper sort of entree into this new series. So if you're in a hurry, you can skip down to the "Peep" and just come back to this part later. Thanks!

Preamble to the Peep
I thought Peep Show would be an apt title for the new weekly series where I share something from one of my visual journals. You see, It’s easier for me to be naked in public than to show my journals to people. Also, I have a rather irreverent sense of humor, and like to make fun of the whole “sex sells” thing in advertising.

But first, allow me to explain about the naked in public part. In certain places that have hot springs, like many of the West coast retreat centers where I’ve taught, we go naked*. Which means that hundreds of workshop participants have seen me naked. I’m pretty sure no one else has blogged about it except me, right now. (Thank you, kind world!) But only a few people have ever seen my visual journals.

At retreat centers with hot springs, there is a a nice code of respect in place. You don’t stare, you don’t comment, and you certainly wouldn’t take pictures. And you don’t blab about what you saw to anyone else. It’s just not cool.

It is in this spirit of respectfulness that I’ve always held my workshops. (Not that I’ve compared it to being naked before, but I think I will from now on.)

The Code of Respect in My Workshops
There is only one real rule I have in my workshops:

No comments on anything you see. 



Why? We work with art supplies and blank pieces of paper in my workshops. This alone is enough to scare the bejeezus out of most people. So I do not allow commenting in or out of the studio.

This means you don’t have to worry about someone going, “Wow! I love what you’re doing!” or... “Oh! How did you do that?” or...”You’re so good at this, and obviously have talent that I don’t and so things must be so easy and wonderful for you.” Blah, blah, blah.



The thing with commenting, is, people will always say nice things to you out loud. Which interferes with the things they are saying to themselves, not out loud, in the privacy of their own mind.

These things are typically not-so-nice, along the lines of: “What do you think you’re doing here, anyway? At a creativity retreat? Ha! You’re such a fake.” or...”Do you think this is really going to help you?” or...”Those people clearly know what they’re doing...your work is crap compared to that.” etc. Ouch.



Since these sorts of thoughts arise (no, I’m not psychic or a mindreader—I've just heard them all) we get uncomfortable.

We naturally want to deflect that discomfort. An easy way to do that is to talk about what someone else is doing. 



That just provides static interference. You can’t hear your own inner dialogue when you’re talking. And the person you’re talking to can’t hear theirs. And neither can anyone else in the room. They’re hearing you and so and so talk nice, and they think: “Why didn’t she say that about mine?”
And off goes their own critical mind to the races...



No one has not loved my One Rule
Because I want my workshop participants to get their money’s worth, I have collected a lot of safe, (sometimes sneaky) ways for us to dive right in to the discomfort.

Not commenting provides a mutually respectful environment in which to go places where we have previously feared to tread. Places that we need to go in order to have the damn breakthrough we’re hoping for. Which makes relaxing in the hot tub afterward so much the sweeter.



Now, Not Commenting is different than dialoging about the work. I’ll show you how to do that in another post.

Why the Peep Show?
Sharing selected examples of my own work is helpful for those who want to do visual journaling themselves, or are just curious what a visual journal is. Yes, it's OK to be VJ-curious here.

My aim is to bring the tools and techniques of visual journaling to anyone who wants to try it. When I was writing The Creative Entrepreneur, the hardest part was finding visual journal examples to illustrate the concepts.

The way share examples in the workshops under our code of respect is known to all participants. Also, I am right there, working with people as they go, helping them get un-stuck. But since I can’t be there next to the readers, they need some kind of examples to go on.

Lots of brave people opened up their journals so we could photograph examples for The Creative Entrepreneur. It was only the second time I allowed any of my own pages to be published. I couldn’t very well ask others to contribute and not do so myself.

Even thought it feels risky and uncomfortable, when I have shared my visual journals, it’s been meaningful for the viewer. So, after a lifetime of being extremely selective about who gets to see my visual journals, I’m going to start sharing more here, and see where it goes. Like they say in yoga, I’m going to my edge. It’s the next step in my own journey.

Each post in this series will include some info about how it was made, what it was about, and some journal prompts you can use to try this at home.

----If you skipped ahead to the Peep. Here it is.----


Why Keep a Visual Journal?

The following journal entry is from one of my visual journals from 2003. The image is of a river in Alaska, cut out of a magazine article about the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. I have lived in Alaska’s back country wilderness, an experience that continues to shape and inform me, many years later.

This particular journal was made by altering a book, titled The Working Girl in a Man’s World. I found it at the Salvation Army just before starting my MBA, and knew this would be the perfect book to chronicle this unlikely journey. I glued in lots of extra pages cut from stuff in the recycling bin, especially paper bags.


The text says:

Why Keep a Visual Journal?

People wonder why I make these books. I do it because I NEED TO. The way we need to breathe and eat.

By paying attention to the minutiae (which sounds a lot like the word minute) we hone in closely to our own true selves. The person-soul beneath all the business (busyness) and chaos and errands and to-do lists that never end.

The creative source begins to spring forth when we water it this way. What we fear, what we love, what we wonder about and what we despise, all finds it’s way into our pages to inform and enlighten us. The visual journal is a kind of revealed wisdom. It’s your wisdom.

Being present to the marvelous moments. Now. We discover everything we are seeking is here. Wanting for nothing and feeling complete. This is true freedom.

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Visual Journal Tip:
When you find a magazine article that has particular meaning to you, clip the whole thing out and glue it right into your journal. It is a wonderful thing to come across these treasures years later and find them with the thoughts and feelings you were journaling about at the time.

Visual Journal Exercise:
Write about why you keep a visual journal. What does the process do for you? How does it help you? How does it delight you?

Dare:
Remember, a visual journal is a journal first. Not art. Dare to hand write your journal entry, stream-of-conscious style, right in your book. Don't edit. Don't stop to spell. Certainly don't get hung up on your handwriting.

I promise:
Your handwriting and your first thoughts contain gifts from the part of you that knows things that the part of you that struggles with this really wants you to know.

Don't worry if that doesn't makes sense right now.

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Struggling to Get Things Done?
by Lisa-Sonora on 
When you're struggling to get things done, or find yourself suffering over your so-called procrastinating ways, blame it on the creative beast. Then learn to tame it.

Because creativity is a strange beast. Perhaps "beast" is too strong a word for some. But I can think of a stronger word. It starts with a B and rhymes with witch. Maybe you call it something else.

The thing is, I love all things creative. The nature of creativity, the creative process, how we utilize our creativity and what stops us. These subjects are endlessly fascinating to me.

 

Probably because I struggle
with my own creative process so much.

 

Now this may seem like a strange thing to admit. But it's true.

 

Yes, the author of The Creative Entrepreneur has (many) days when she feels utterly un-creative and a hopeless wreck at this thing called entrepreneurship.

I've also noticed that it's on those beasty days when I do my best teaching, coaching, problem-solving, and creative work, if I use my tools. Here's something from my own creativity toolkit:

 

Tame Your Creative Beast

Here's something to try if your creative project is feeling particularly beastly:

 

  1. Don't wait until you "feel better" or "feel inspired" to work.

  2. Set some real deadlines for yourself and tell others what you are doing (preferably in public, like on your blog, eek!) so you can be accountable.

  3. Make a list of treats (these can be free and not food-related, in case you're worried about that) and use them to reward yourself during and after challenging tasks. Just like you reward a new puppy you are training. I got this idea from Martha Beck's fantastic book, The Joy Diet. Highly recommended.

  4. Set a schedule to work and stick to it. In The Creative Entrepreneur I talk about the modes of functioning and how Action is really supported by rhythm. That is--a regular schedule. If you have babies or young kids, you know how important a rhythmic structure is to support their well-being.

    Just like little kids, our creative action thrives in an environment of regular structure, including naps/snacks/recess/playdates.
    Create your own equivalents. 

  5. Rinse and repeat until you've gotten the project done and/or had a mini breakthrough. And make some project notes about how this works for you, so you'll know what works for next time.

I've just gone and done all these things.
 
Result?

Relief & Accomplishment after a long struggle.
Doesn't that sound like an I Ching diagram title?

Let me know if you try this. Also, I'll be writing more about creative beasts, just in time for Halloween. Tell me, what is the most beastly creative challenge you are facing right now?

Post in the comments, or dash me a quick email. I'll address the toughest creative challenges in upcoming posts.

photo by diablospinner
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Gorgeous Genius Guest Post
by JenM on 

We get so many stories from people who are using The Creative Entrepreneur to advance their creativity and work in the world. So instead of just keeping them to ourselves, we're going to (with their permission, of course) share them.

 

This idea has been kicking around from some time. The Creative Entrepreneur is filled with examples from workshop participant's work, and now that the book has been out almost one year, we're getting examples from folks who are using the book as their own workshop. Which was the intention all along: to get this work out to a wider audience. Stories are coming in from all over the English-speaking world. (As far as I know, the book has not been translated yet into other languages.)

 

Without further ado, I'd like to introduce you to today's Gorgeous Genius:

Kelly Platt, a life coach from Minnesota, USA.

 

 

Where Passion Met Purpose

 

In 2008 I found myself going through “the ring of fire” – a painful, growthful, never-want-to-go-through-it-again time of my life. This is something we all have to experience in order to get to our right life according to Martha Beck, in her book “Steering by Starlight”.

 

A couple of significant things happened during this period that turned it all around for me.

 

The first was that I decided to follow my calling – to become a Life Coach. 

 

My first nudge was from Martha Beck “5 Best Pieces of Advice” in an article for O Magazine.  Rule #2 “We Should All Work Like Dogs, All the Time  She says that, as dogs do, “…we should do what comes most naturally, reflexively, effortlessly… My first and last sales principle is this: Love sells better than hate. Find a way to package what you can't stop doing... Use the work-like-a-dog principle to make your career and time-budgeting decisions. Should you …? Only if it makes you salivate with desire.”

 

And then my fabulous stepdaughter, Chelsea, followed her heart and made the decision to pursue her creative calling by attending art school.  My hero.

 

That was the spring of 2008.  So, now, after months of study and “deep practice” I am now a certified Martha Beck Life Coach. Woo hoo!

 

The second thing that happened was that I found THE CREATIVE ENTREPRENEUR.

 

After I made my decision to pursue coaching, I began to frequent – OK, hang out in - bookstores again (I love bookstores).  I’d wander the aisles.  Buy journals, because I love them.  Wander in the art books section. In the business book section. Architectural books. Spiritual books.  I love books.  And then I found THE CREATIVE ENTRERENEUR.

 

There was just something about that book. 

 

I’ve always kept journals.  Since I was sixteen.  I have dozens of them. But I don’t like to go back and re-read them because when I do, I see that I’m living the same problems – over and over.  Not good. Hmmm, I’ve heard a lot about “like attracting like.”  Maybe writing down the bad stuff isn’t such a great idea. Food for thought.

 

But I do love to write. Mom’s a writer. It’s in my blood.  And writing is in my life plan -  a novel someday.

 

And I’ve always kept a file that I call “stuff I like” – pictures, clippings, ideas, house plans – all images that made me feel good.

 

Along comes THE CREATIVE ENTREPRENEUR, aka; Lisa Sonora Beam.  She has the recipe for taking my “stuff I like” file, adding a generous dose of thoughtful journaling (I love the journal prompts) throwing in some dashes of paint, markers, great paper and ephemera and voilà!   A visual version of my budding business that I can create to fit me perfectly! What a grand idea!

 

But wait, there was one problem. I’m not the artist in the family.  The thought of putting that first pen to paper in my pristine journal!? …. Argghhh!  My sister, Kari is the talented one. She was born an artist. The girl can sit down and in a few minutes an eagle is staring back at you. Effortless.

 

Me? I’m the “responsible” one - the goofy sibling who dances around the house singing silly songs, but can’t draw her way out of a paper sack.  But Lisa Sonora Beam says that doesn’t matter??

 

So, “OK, here goes” I sat down and started to glue, write and (yikes) draw… And it’s been glorious. 

 

Day # 1 with my Visual Journal.

My business is called “Second Star Life Design” so, of course, being such a literal person… I start by drawing stars… but (aghast) one of them WASN’T PERFECT! So I start trying to fix it. Straightening the lines, layering colors on colors on colors …. Trying to fix the imperfect star (the other one is nice and symmetrical… ahhhhh) So, I’m layering and layering, trying to make it perfect like the other – and then, I pause, backing away a bit, looking at the “ugly” star and … I love it, it’s great!  How did this happen? I like it the best!

 

LESSON #1: I DON’T HAVE TO BE PERFECT! WOW!

 

I’m moving on and working through the pathways of the mandala.  Getting clearer and clearer. 

 

“Creativity is a soul’s journey.  It requires courage and some good tools for either charming the fierce deities or kicking their butts. Are you ready?”

 

Yes, Lisa! I’m ready!

 

My business is growing into something.  My Visual Journal is a work in progress and it’s with me every step of the way.

 

And THE CREATIVE ENTREPRENEUR has become a tool in my coaching business. I am using it with many of my life-coaching clients.  Whether they are starting a business or just getting on with the business of their lives, it helps them to get clear about their journey.  It’s a wonderful tool.  Giving people back their creativity and confidence – or opening up whole new directions for them.  It helps the to learn to just jump in and create, rather than be afraid that they might “do it wrong.” And I too have learned that very valuable lesson.

 

“I’ve noticed that the biggest difference between wildly successful people and total failures is that the successful people fail more.”—Martha Beck, The Joy Diet

 

Lisa and her book have given me courage. She’s convinced me that I am in fact, a creative person. And that’s success!

 

Pay it forward

 

And now, time and again as I talk with my fellow coaches I have the opportunity to recommend THE CREATIVE ENTREPRENEUR… And without fail, I hear back from them that it’s helping them to “see” their business plans and visualize their practices…

 

…And then, a couple of weeks ago, wonder of wonders, the email PINGS and it’s Lisa Sonora Beam contacting me!  How about that! She asked if she could use a couple of my comments about her book on her new website – OF COURSE! This is the way life is supposed to work.  Put it out there and the universe gives back. 

 

You wonder where the name “Second Star Life Design” came from… “The second star to the right shines in the night to show you that the dreams you plan really can come true.” (Sammy Cahn/Sammy Fain)

 

Yeah, baby!

 

 

To learn more about Kelly Pratt and Second Star Life Design, visit her website: http://www.kellypratt.com/Second_Star_Life_Design_-_Kelly_Pratt/Welcome.html 
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Grow Your Biz with these Rock Stars
by Lisa-Sonora on 
I'm about to launch a new website and brand based on the work I do with The Creative Entrepreneur. You see, this website was just meant to be a more or less temporary landing page for the book.

I thought I'd have the brand and website up much sooner. Like, oh, a year ago. But it didn't turn out that way. The harder I tried to force the issue, the more the "right" brand didn't materialize. This seriously bummed me out. But I wasn't going to launch something half-assed.

Meanwhile, going through my own glacial-speed re-branding process, I've been reading and following a whole bunch of other writers, coaches, bloggers and learning a lot about how to use the Internet as my primary marketing tool.

Since I'm so behind with my strategic plan and launch, I'm going to need to ramp things up. But how?

One of these blogging rock stars, Dave Navarro (not the guitar player) a coach to start ups like me, put together a Dream Team of 12 of his top picks on this very topic:

More Buyers Now --- Without Burning Out.

This dream team is composed of people I've been reading and wishing I could afford to hire myself. People like Pam Slim, Mark Silver, Chris Guillebeau and Charlie Gilkey. Wow!

How did he choose them? Here's what Dave says (he's referring to images of people he chose for the Mastermind):

"See all those pictures up there? Those are all people who were "new players" just a few short years ago. Some of them were on the scene already when I began (for example, I was one of Copyblogger's first 600 blog subscribers in 2006 - he's at 74,811+ now). Some of them are new faces for 2009 and seemingly came out of nowhere. But they all have something in common: they're all growing their businesses a hell of a lot faster than I have this year.


First that made me mad (and I'll bet you've shared that same twinge of frustration when others are growing faster than you are, no matter how noble we all aim to be). But then it made me curious: what were these people doing that I wasn't doing to get their businesses, their blogs and their bottom lines growing so rapidly? So in a flurry of emails, phone calls and tweets I began grilling them for some answers."



 I'm so psyched about this. Because now I CAN afford to hire them all. Click on the link below to get all the juicy details from Dave himself:

The 2009 More Buyers Mastermind

Hope to "see" you there. I've been out there doing tons of research on this subject—these folks are the best of the best.

Thanks for reading and I'll be posting some periodic updates in the coming weeks about my project code name: Brand NEW.
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Write Away! Books on Writing, part 2
by Lisa-Sonora on 

Writing from the Inside Out: Deep Journal Writing
Part 2 in the series, Write Away! Books on Writing

In Write Away! Books on Writing, I’m reporting on the books that help me write. In Part 1 of this series, Brenda Ueland encouraged us to:

Keep a slovenly, headlong, impulsive, honest diary

Here’s how.

Writing from the Inside Out: Deep Journal Writing
Here are two books I’ve referenced over the years that delve into the how’s and why’s of keeping a journal. If you are stuck in your writing, or stuck in your life, for that matter, you’ll find some value here. There are great exercises in both that you can adapt if you teach expressive writing.

These authors have assembled books that are really cleverly disguised self-coaching material. They also link the writing process with spirituality, so if the inner life or the world of spirit (however you define it) is not your cup of tea, you may wish to skip these.

Both books were published in the early 90’s, an era that was just ripe with New Age spirituality. New Age bookstores that opened in the mid-eighties were serving these types of books up to an eager crowd of people interested in alternative everything: healing, spirituality, work, lifestyle, and...creativity, including writing.

I mention this because I bought both of these books right when they were published, and they have the flavor of that era, at least to me. They might not for new readers.

As with any book or process, different strokes for different folks. You don’t need to read these from cover to cover to get writing again. This could actually be a stalling technique. Just pick one exercise that resonates, or read one chapter then go write about three take-away’s you had. You’ll be writing again without any strain.

Life’s Companion: Journal Writing as a Spiritual Quest by Christina Baldwin (Bantam) 1990

This book was a recommended staff pick at Barbara’s Bookstore, an independent small chain in Chicago. While waiting for my tax appointment at the H&R Block on Broadway, I wandered across the street to Barbara’s where this book found me back in 1990. Since I couldn’t put it down once I started reading, I bought it and read while the newly-minted CPA doing my tax return asked me an occasional question.

I’d already had a lifelong habit of journal writing that at time felt somewhat strange (why do I need to write about everything?) and burdensome (when moving to another apartment.) The boxes of were journals piling up. I was also on and off the wagon of a meditation practice, and I liked the inter-weaving of spirituality and creativity I found in Baldwin's book.

Life’s Companion helped me to use my journal more as a tool of inquiry and problem-solving, than as a big rant. Not that there’s anything wrong with a big rant. But I wanted more from my journals. Especially if I was going to have to physically move them again.

The focus of Life’s Companion is much more about nurturing one’s inner life, than it is about writing. The journal is used as a means to that end.

This book can easily be used as a workbook, because of how it’s structured. The right hand pages form the narrative, which you can read all the way through if you are procrastinating on your writing. Hey, we all have those days.

The left-hand pages are chock full of writing prompts and exercises, examples from the author and her students (all are anonymous, so you don’t know which are hers, which I found a little annoying) and best of all, some excellent quotes on writing, spirituality and the creative process by dozens of identified sources.

Baldwin uses the metaphor of travel and journeying to explore the writing process and there a relevant tips you can adapt to your own travel journal or travel writing.

About her own journaling throughout a tour of Europe as a teenager,

“...I made an important discovery: my real journey had very little to do with traveling Europe, and a whole lot to do with traveling my own mind.”

I don’t know about you, but that is like a permission slip to acknowledge the sometimes gigantic inner shifting that comes about through travel. Stuff that has nothing to do with the supposed romance of Paris or the delights of Provence.

Wherever you are traveling, especially if you are taking an inner journey, Life’s Companion is just that, a good companion to help you make sense of things via our favorite medium: writing.

Writing for Your Life by Deena Metzger (HarperCollins) 1992

The subtitle of this book has been changed to:
Discovering the Story of Your Life's Journey

The first edition subtitle is: A Guide and Companion to the Inner Worlds

Who knows why the subtitle of this book changed? Perhaps an editor wanted it to be more about writing. Maybe the “companion to the inner worlds” things seemed to new age. Or someone in marketing at HarperCollins presented a compelling case.

After you’ve gotten into the creative habit or practice of journal writing, Metzger’s book helps you go deeper into your own writing and extract the story and forms your writing might take in published form.

Metzger’s own stories are a compelling read, woven into the how-to narrative. There is a sense of sitting at the foot of a wise teacher, who teaches through story-telling.

In fact, Metzger and Baldwin both teach variations of story circles and writing retreats in this manner.

In addition to being a poet and writer, Metzger is a therapist so her work has definite psychotherapeutic bent.

“To write is, above all else, to construct a self.”

“The first and foremost question a writer, public or intimate, must ask is, What must I say? To begin to know the answer to this question is to begin to know the essential self.”

The roots of her shamanic explorations are here, too. Again, pick and choose what resonates and leave the rest. If you’re into psychology or shamanism, you’ll probably like this. Yeah, I know those are two widely ranging subjects. Metzger is an eloquent representative of both.

My favorite part of Writing for Your Life (in addition to the title) is the first chapter On Creativity, which discusses how to deal with the inner critic, facing fear, daring to write. and how journal writing can be transformed into poems, stories, play and other forms. Metzger’s journal prompts and exercises can be used to help you be your own writing mentor or teacher.

It makes a case for journal writing as a powerful way to explore new ideas and themes without the pressure for the writing to be anything.

“The writing we are doing here may remain in journal form forever...It may be addressed to another individual in a letter or a poem, or to the world, eventually, in the form of a  novel. But in this moment, we need think of none of this—only of the words presenting themselves and our willingness to set them down.”

Unfortunately, this first section only makes up the first fifty pages of the book. And those 50 pages have made the book worth keeping (for me). The next 200 pages are much more philosophical and wax on about the role of story and story telling for the individual, and about The Larger Story: Archetypes, Fairy Tales and Myths.

This will probably only be interesting to folks who want a rather philosophical treatment of these subjects, or who want some gutsy exercises to try for memoir writing. These sections might also be helpful to others who teach writing, because there is some fine backstory here you could riff on and share with your students.

But I’m afraid these sections just keep me reading and not writing so much. And my aim is to be writing at least as much as I’m reading.

How About You?
I’m curious. Do you use journaling to help you write for publication? How have you used a journal, or not?

And if you have a favorite book that helps you get off your duff and write, let me know.

Thanks for reading. I'll continue to post on this topic, as there several other books that I use to keep the writing mojo workin'.

Now go write.....
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