Art Journaling with Security Papers

Security envelopes are printed in different patterns.

Security papers are found in envelopes to hide the contents of the envelope. Years ago, envelopes were lined with tissue papers, now they simply have a printed pattern. For years I thought the patterns were all the same, but recently, when I was opening a lot of bills (sigh), I noticed the printed patterns varied from envelope to envelope.

Here’s a scan of a lot of patterns. I think they’ll make great backgrounds for journal pages. Some are quite dark and distracting, others are a little paler. Wonder if I can mix prints?

–Quinn McDonald is a raw-art journaler whose book, Raw Art Journaling, Making Meaning, Making Art will be published by North Light Craft Books in June, 2011.

Index Card Idea Journal

Tyvek journal cover

Creativity Coaching: What’s It Like?

Coaching is about change and re-invention. If you love every part of your life, and don't want to do anything new, you don't need a coach.

Most people who hear I’m a creativity coach ask me, “What’s coaching like? What does it do?” Below are some answers. But before I get that far, let me ask you a question:

Note: the free sessions are filled. Thanks for your interest.

Would you like to try coaching? For the first 10  people who contact me via email at Quinn [at] QuinnCreative [dot] com, I’ll set-up a free sample session of creativity coaching--coaching is done over the phone, so you don’t have to live in Arizona. No obligation. No pressure. Just a free coaching session. The offer expires on September 18, 2010. Read more about coaching. Exceptions: If you have already had a free session with me, or have been (or are) a client currently, this is for others.

Q: What’s a coaching session like?
A. In the first or second session, when we are defining the relationship, I ask the client what his or her goals are, what their dreams are, what they wish they could make of their lives, how they want to show up in the world.  Once we uncover that, we see what the obstacles and gifts are on the path. I create a big space for the client to express their fears, their hopes, and, eventually, their desire to work on a goal. My role is to ask questions to clarify and to toss out ideas that the client is free to follow, discard or change.

Q  Do you teach people how to be creative?
A. Nope, you are already creative. I just make you less afraid of your own creativity. Or how to get in touch with your existing creativity that may be buried.

Q: Do you help artists or writers or dancers?
A. Yes, I help all kinds of artists. But creativity isn’t just about arts, it’s also about being a creative leader or employee, parent, dreamer or seeker. My clients included financiers, artists, entrepreneurs, people in transition and those reinventing themselves.

Q: Will you help me publish my book?
A. I can’t be your agent or editor.  But if you want to write a book, I’ll provide the framework of support and accountability, and hold open the space for you to write. You will either write the book or be clear about why you changed your mind.

Q: Are you an artist yourself?
A. Yes, I’m a Raw Art Journaler, a writer, and I teach business writing. I write a column for a nationally-known art magazine. I’m really an every-day creative person–a problem solver and seeker.

Q: Why do your clients come to you?
A. Generally because they are stuck. They might be confused about their talent, or not have enough time to create, or have too many ideas at once. Sometimes they are conflicted between their creative work and day job, want to create but are afraid to sell their work. Or they get confused between selling their work and satisfying their own creative calling.

Q: Do you have a coaching office?
A. Coaching is done on the phone. That’s how I was trained and it works really well. I have clients in Europe and all over the U.S. No travel, no parking, just a phone call and we can get work done.

Q: Did you go to school for creativity coaching?
A. I did. After I went to school for life coaching, 186 hours worth and graduated, I opened my practice in 2003. Most of my clients were creatives, so I  took another half-year of creativity coaching classes and was the first creativity coach certified in the U.S.

Don’t forget the offer. Email me at Quinn [at] QuinnCreative [dot] com, and we can set up a free sample session of creativity coaching. Coaching is done over the phone, you don’t have to live in Arizona. No obligation. No pressure.

Creativity Coaching: What I’m Asked Most Often

Happiness is a benefit of creativity. Acrylic on paper, © Quinn McDonald

Of all the things I do–art, write, run training programs, the one I’m asked about most often is creativity coach. Here are answers most people want to know:

Q  Do you teach people how to be creative?
A. Nope, you are already creative. I just make you less afraid of your own creativity. Or how to get in touch with your existing creativity that may be buried.

Q: Do you help artists or writers or dancers?
A. Yes, I help all kinds of artists. But creativity isn’t just about arts, it’s also about being a creative leader or employee, or parent.

Q: Are you an artist yourself?
A. Yes, I’m a Raw Art Journaler, a writer, and I teach business writing. I’m really an every-day creative person–a problem solver and dreamer–both day- and night.

Q: Did you go to school for creativity coaching?
A. I did. After I went to school for life coaching, 186 hours worth and graduated, I opened my practice in 2003. Most of my clients were creatives, so I  took another half-year of creativity coaching classes and was the first creativity coach certified in the U.S.

Q: Why do your clients come to you?
A. Generally because they are stuck. They might be confused about their talent, or not have enough time to create, or have too many ideas at once. Sometimes they are conflicted between their creative work and day job, want to create but are afraid to sell their work. Or they get confused between selling their work and satisfying their own creative calling.

Q. Are you a therapist?
A. No. I am neither a therapist not an art therapist. The difference is fairly simple: therapists start from the clients need to be “fixed,” often stemming from past events. Coaches look ahead. My coaching foundation also believes that people who come to me for coaching are creative, resourceful and whole. I don’t “fix” anybody. People don’t need fixing, they may need to find their path or have company climbing their path. But they aren’t broken.

Q: Do you have a coaching office?
A. Coaching is done on the phone. That’s how I was trained and it works really well. I have clients in Europe and all over the U.S. No travel, no parking, just a phone call and we can get work done.

Q: What’s a coaching session like?
A. In the first or second session, when we are defining the relationship, I ask the client what his or her goals are. Once we set goals, we see what the obstacles and gifts are on the path and the client develops a path to the goals. My role is to ask questions to clarify and to toss out ideas that the client is free to follow, discard or change. There is almost always homework–small steps to work on between calls. Sometimes I ask powerful questions for the client to think about between sessions.

Would you like to try coaching? For the first 10  people who contact me via email at Quinn [at] QuinnCreative [dot] com, I’ll provide a free sample session of creativity coaching. No obligation. No pressure. Just one free session of coaching. The offer expires on September 18, 2010. Read more about coaching.

9/11: It’s not about religion

This is a slightly different take on 9/11 because it’s an offer. An offer for you to give up something important to you. An offer to undertake a shift in your life.

I was teaching in D.C. on 9/11–that briliantly beautiful blue day that changed all our lives. I heard the plane hit the Pentagon at 9:37 a.m. We all have memories of where we were on that day, and how we felt, how impossible it was to grasp the death of 3,000 who had been alive minutes before.

From destruction, growth. Image from mindpetals.com

We cannot make their fear of death become our fear of life.

Nine years later, the biggest tragedy is the fear that started on that day, and the hate that followed it. We are a different nation. We are angry for the 2,996 people killed in America on that day, but does our sorrow extend to the 100,000 Iraqi civilians killed on the war that followed? Or the 4,413 American soldiers who have died so far in that war? Or the 5,000 coalition soldiers? My tears are for all the spouses, relatives, children left behind to live out their lives with loss.

The easy answer is hate. Burn the Quran, ban mosques. Those are fear reactions. I’m asking you to do something huge. Something only you can do, something that may be the hardest thing you have done in your life. I’m asking you to put down your fear of the Other, your hatred of the Unknown. I’m asking you to give up any belief that asks you to hate and succumb to your fears and grown anger in the name of  a flag, a religion, or competition, or greed.

I’m asking you to embrace something harder: creativity.  Yes, the creativity of music and art and literature and dance. But creativity in a bigger sense–the ability you have to create thoughts and deeds bigger than fear and hate. Take on the creative rebuilding of your heart, the willingness to give of yourself to help others. Start small, with yourself. Branch out to others that are your color, your beliefs, your politics. Support your local bank or credit union. Support your neighbor who has a small business. A local farmer’s market. And then comes the hard part. Begin to create an acceptance of people not like you. The Other. Them. People who pray in strange languages. People who wear funny clothes. People who vote differently, maybe even people who don’t like you.

Creativity has no religion, no bias, no hatred. Creative forces shape our culture. Make your contribution in a way that represents your best, not your fear. A small step is the beginning.  I believe in Albert Einstein’s certainty that “Any intelligent fool can make things bigger, more complex, and more violent. It takes a touch of genius — and a lot of courage — to move in the opposite direction.”

Art Supplies: Lab Coat for the Studio

Lab coat with long sleeves.

Yes, it’s a lab coat. I just bought one at a uniform shop to wear in the studio. No scientific experiments in the studio–vigorous multi-media work. It took just one drop of brown ink to wreck my cotton blouse, and a stray drip of PVA glue, tinted with acrylic paint, to wreck my slacks.

After I made that blouse and shirt my studio clothes, they were in the washer next time I needed them. I could see my wardrobe turning into all studio clothes, all the time. I wanted something that I didn’t have to change into and then change out of when I left the studio.

Most artists seem to love the long bib-aprons for the studio, but they don’t work for me. The top, bib, part is never wide enough for the generously proportioned.

The neck tie part needs adjusting when you move from sitting to standing,  and I don’t want to keep retying it. The waist tie allows a shirt to crawl up and over, and results in constant tugging and paint fingerprints on the edge of the shirt.  Professional chefs, who suffer from the same splatter problem,  wear those loose button- tops for a reason.

The lab coat covers my shirt and pants, allows for free movement, doesn’t care what I spill on it. When I plan on being very messy, I wear it backwards, giving me total coverage and a look that will scare the most intrepid vacuum cleaner salesman from the front door. And I never have to change into- or out- of it. It covers what I’m already wearing and makes dashing into the studio easier, less of a chore.

All artists know that any time they leave the studio can be the last time. A lab coat makes it easy to come back, even for just a few minutes.

–Quinn McDonald is an artist, author and certified creativity coach.

Two Artists Who Can’t Draw

When I begin any of my journaling classes, I explain that we will be doing more than writing. Before I explain what it is we will do, someone will say, “This better not be about drawing. I can’t draw.” There is a lot of fear about drawing. Most people have their creative play driven out of them by fourth grade.

They are told what art is, and lessons are generally about precision and not making a mistake. Instead, art is about seeing and being. And making mistakes so you can fix them and learn to see better.

My big fear is that to be considered acceptable as a teacher, I better have a lot of “stuff.” Stamps and UTEE and templates; cutters and vinyl and foam; printed paper squares and ribbons and stamp pads in pigment and dye and chalk. But I don’t. I don’t have all that stuff. I have colored pencils and inks and some handmade papers and great drawing paper.

I believe you can make art without a lot of stuff. Art comes from within you, not through stencils, transparencies and puffy paints. I’m not saying they aren’t fun, or that creative play should be sparse. I am saying you don’t need to break the bank and become an art-product consumer to be an artist. It’s not what you own, it’s what you do with what you have.

Preternatural Breakup by Justine Ashbee, (c) 2006

Here are two great examples of what I mean. Both of these people can’t NOT make art. They stand in the flow of time and art and the work pours out of them because there is no other choice. They have their own ideas of what art is, and the only tool either one of them uses is a Sharpie pen.

Justine Ashbee uses nothing except Sharpie pens and good paper. Her flowing lines and subtle use of color are incredibly beautiful art. She does it freehand. It comes from within her. It’s the flow of art. You couldn’t stop her creative work because it makes meaning. It doesn’t need to be supported with a million products.

Austin Kleon, the other artist, does a totally different kind of work. In this short video, he show you that with very little “artistic talent” you can draw recognizable emotions on faces. Austin shows you how in a simple, way.

Art isn’t about being able to make photorealistic recreations of horses (the most often requested animal), it’s about doing satisfying creative work.

Being creative is not about owning stuff, buying stuff, or having a fabulous studio to store the stuff. It’s not about taking classes (although that can be fun and useful) having a degree, or being perfect. Creativity is making meaning in your life. Anyway you can. No excuses. Get busy doing one thing that you love. It’s fine if you think you can’t. Just get into the studio and start. The rest will wash over you and sweep you away in art.

–Quinn McDonald is a certified creativity coach who helps people discover they can make meaning in many ways. See her work at RawArtJournaling.com

Choosing Art Supplies: The Kitchen Method

Of course you know you don’t need a lot of equipment to be creative. Paper and pencil is fine. Paints and brushes. Scissors and glue if you work multi-media. But in our consumer society, we are pushed to be “creative” by buying equipment, products, “stuff” that will make our creative work easier. Their is a fine line between “need” and “want,” and even if the line is clear, it doesn’t mean we don’t want. There is

This brush does a lot in one stroke. From Tonyspainting.us

also that slight frisson of fear that if we buy one more thing, the producers of  Hoarders will come to our door while we shriek, “I’m an artist, those are my tools!”

If you have limited space (don’t get me started on those magazines of huge studios with special lighting and doors), you need to make careful choices of what you need and how you will store it. It doesn’t make sense to have the perfect piece of equipment if it takes you an hour to find it. So how do you make that choice?

I asked my spouse, who is a chef. Yes, he has a ton of equipment, too, but here are some great kitchen rules that work in the studio:

1. Choose equipment that does more than one thing. For example, toasters ovens can cook without heating up the whole kitchen, broil, and make toast, but a specialized bagel toaster can just toast bagels. Does anyone need a banana hook? Look for equipment that can do more than one thing. A paper cutter for example, can trim straight edges, cut papers in half or other fractions, make triangles, squares, and other straight-edge geometrics. A paper cutter can also cut heavier papers for covers, pockets, and cards.

2. Avoid equipment that requires you to buy more than one to achieve the same idea. Years ago, we used a square cake pan and a round cake pan to make amazing cake shapes. Now you can buy cake pans in the shape of brains, vampires and SpongeBob SquarePants. How often will you use each one of these? The same thing works for shaped hole punches that you can buy in eight sizes. Will you really use all eight sizes of butterflies? Nope. But when you are standing in the store, you aren’t sure what size you will need the most, so you buy them all. Marketing loves your indecision; they are counting on it.

3. Buy the best of what you use the most. For a chef, knives, bowls, pots. (Notice these are all multi-use tools.) You need good ones and several because you are not going to take time to plan your meal so you can keep washing one pot and reusing it. The same is true for paint, brushes, paper, and whatever you use in your specialized kind of art.

What purchase do you regret? What was a great discovery? Let me know in the comments.

--Quinn McDonald is an author, artists and creativity coach who works with other creatives to help them get unstuck.

Writing is Life-Long Learning

It’s not the money or the prestige. (Best read with irony.) I teach adults. I create the courses, and each time a class starts, I feel a surge of possibility.

Writing is a lifelong effort. No class can teach someone how to be a good writer in one day–the length of most of my business writing classes. I create tools that the participants can use to create simple, clear communication. But unless they use the tools, practice with them till the heft and force of the tools cuts out fatty words from sentences and strengthens the muscle, their writing won’t improve.  Armed with the tools, participants have to figure out how to use them for their own purposes, how to hone them, how to make them work when the going gets tough. Writing doesn’t happen in a vacuum. Many of the people I teach how to write have supervisors who know little about writing, but insist that good writing is doing it the way the supervisor has done it for years. “Pick your battles,” I say, knowing that a good writer can easily be swatted down by a threatened supervisor.

In the classroom they have permission to be good writers. Once they have tools, anything is possible. Here’s what I love most: students learning from each other. Seeing an “Aha!” travel around the room. It almost always happens student to student, a special connection that works when one student “gets it” and manages to express it so someone else catches the idea.

“Education” comes from the Latin word “educare.” It means “to pull out of,” rather than “to stuff into.” And it works every time.

–Quinn McDonald is a seminar leader and instructional designer. She teaches journal-writing courses and business courses.