So this is where we begin, together.
I want you to begin this journey thinking about space. This workshop is about you finding or re-finding, and reconnecting to your art-self, and then creating the conditions for your art-self to exist, be nurtured, thrive. These tips below are some ideas to help you prepare for the workshop, and some ideas for how to approach the workshop throughout the week.
I will be here on hand if you have any questions, but here are a few tips for creating physical and mental space to help you get the most out of the workshop:
YOUR SPACE/TIME/RITUAL
For me, so much of the making process is about creating the conditions for the ideas to come in. How can you create the most nourishing, inspiring, motivating space for this workshop? One thing I’ve learnt is that creativity loves ritual, so can you set aside a specific time and space where this work can happen every day? A space where you can be alone, undisturbed, completely in relationship to yourself and this process? I would suggest that you set up this space, or at the very least decide where this space is (in your head, in your home) before the workshop begins on Monday.
Here are some things you might want to think about when setting up this space:
Where is it? Is it a physical space or a mental space? i.e. is it an undisturbed corner of your home, or if not, is it a time everyday where you put headphones on to shut the outside world out every day?
Gather your tools: make sure you have a nice journal and pen, or other creative tools in this space
What does this space feel like, smell like, sound like? What can you introduce into the space to inspire you/light you up/motivate you? Think: candles, music, your favourite essential oils, images, your favourite plant, a window where you can see the sky, a comfortable chair, a cosy blanket, mood lighting
What rituals can you introduce into this space to make it feel like you are closing the door on your everyday life, and creating a moment that feels alive and inspiring to you? Ideas: turning your phone off when you enter this space, a sign that asks your aren’t disturbed, lighting a candle at the beginning of the task and extinguishing it at the end, listening to your favourite metal/classical/EDM music playlist during your time in this space, doing a quick dance/saying a prayer to the art gods before you begin every day etc etc etc
DAILY WARM UPS & CHECK INS
Leading on from the idea of rituals, consider making a daily practice of warming up and checking in with yourself before each day’s session. Just in the same way that you wouldn’t begin a dance class without warming up, think about warming up your creative mind and art-self every day. This can be as simple or as elaborate as you like. If you need a starting place, here’s my suggestion:
Warm Up by doing some simple stretches and a quick Youtube dance party to your favourite song
Do a quick ‘Check In’ by responding to these prompts in your journal (one liners is ok!): I AM, I WANT, I NEED
PLAN YOUR TIME TO MAKE THE MOST OF IT
As you should know by now, this is [mostly] a self-serve workshop: every day at 7am you’ll receive an email with a video and your tasks for the day in it. It is up to you when to open the email, watch the video and when to complete the tasks. Most of the tasks can be done from your desk, but some will ask you to go out into the world on an adventure (Day 1 hint hint), which means that if you only open the email at 9pm that night you might struggle to complete the task. Of course- if that is the only time you have that day then that is completely fine, but my recommendation to you would be to at least read the email in the morning you can get an idea of the tasks and when you should plan to complete them that day. In some cases it might be nice to read the email, watch the video in the morning and then let the ideas percolate until you find time to do the creative tasks later that day. Of course this is all up to you! We’ve included rough timings in the emails, both of the video you’ll be watching and a minimum time guide for each exercise, to help you plan :)
PERMISSION TO CREATE BADLY AND FAIL WILDLY
The aim of this workshop is to unblock you, to motivate you, to help you to fall in love with your art practice again. It will be a space where I invite you to show up every day, to experiment, and to be messy and wild and playful. So here you go: consider this your permission slip to create badly, to fail wildly, and to enter into the joy of that. So whenever your pesky inner critic or inner perfectionist pipes up, REMEMBER THIS.
MAKE FRIENDS WITH YOUR RESISTANCE
We’ve all been there: you feel super inspired, you’re excited to begin, you want to do the work and then just as you sit down to do it the procrastination gremlins appear, the self-sabotage voice begins, your mind goes blank. If this happens to you at any point during the workshop, then here are some tips to help you work through it:
Allow any negative feelings to be part of the work, rather than a reason to stop it (ie instead of letting them get in the way of the work, where can you write about them, be brutally honest about including them in the work, create with those feelings in mind?)
If you feel stuck during a creative task, and nothing is coming up: focus on the sensations in your body, the feelings that are coming up (even the nasty ones), the reasons you might be stuck
If neither of the above work, then change up your energy! Scream into a pillow, go on a furious walk listening to metal, dance your butt off to Beyonce, belt out your favourite song (and then write/create about that experience)
FEEL INTO & TRUST THE WEIRDNESS
Say yes to anything and everything that comes up for you during this workshop: the weird feelings, the random thoughts, the ideas or images that you aren’t sure about or have no idea where they came from. If I’ve learnt anything from being an artist, it’s that these things that seem strange, the bits that you have no idea how they fit, the ideas that seem to come from the left field are all clues, like breadcrumbs leading to the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow (I hope you enjoyed those mixed metaphors). As cheesy as it sounds, surrender yourself to the mystery of art-making- let your ideas reveal themselves to you slowly. Pick up the clues as they come. Enjoy getting lost on the path. Lean into weirdness, randomness. PRO TIP: if you’re a control freak like me and that seems hard, then just commit to surrendering to this idea FOR THIS WEEK ONLY. After that you can go back to trying to make sense of it all.
CELEBRATE YOUR WINS BABE
Making time for yourself and your practice can be hard! Creative tasks can bring up weird/difficult/draining emotions! Working through blocks can make you feel 😠😵😬🤬🥴 And that is all allowed and ok. But my tip here is to celebrate any win along this journey- big or small. Managed to put 10 mins aside for a creative task today? That deserves to be celebrated. Got completely lost in the process and spent 5 hours in a YouTube rabbit hole researching your next big project? Deserves to be celebrated. Created the world’s worst tone poem? Also deserves to be celebrated! What I’m getting at here, is that you should celebrate every day that you show up for this work, and celebrating this will make it more likely you will come back the next. How you celebrate is up to you: treat yourself to a nice long walk, write yourself a wild 5 star review for that day’s tasks, indulge in your favourite sweet treat, watch some trash TV, have a nice long bath etc etc etc. If you want to be really extra, I would also recommend creating yourself a little ART-ALTAR somewhere in the space, where you can keep items that remind yourself of how amazing you are.
THE HOW TO BEGIN COMMUNITY SPACE
You will have received a link to join the How To Begin community space in your welcome email (please let us know if not!). I’d like you to think of this online space as an extension of the mental and physical space you are creating for yourself for this workshop, as well as a space to feel seen and supported, and hopefully a space to keep yourself accountable to the tasks: all very necessary ingredients in making magical art in my humble opinion! How you use this space is up to you: for some it will be a space to connect, to ask questions, to others it may be a space where they can find an audience for their work on this journey, for others still the space will incentivise the tasks for them. There is no pressure, but I would encourage you to be curious about the space, and invite you to experiment with it and to lean into it. I would ask that you commit to: a) posting once a day (either the results of your task, or some reflection on the tasks themselves), and b) to supporting others in the space. You can access the space via your internet browser, or by downloading the Mighty Network app. Once you’re ready, please sign up, create a profile and introduce yourself to the group as outlined in the welcome email 🌱
COMMUNICATION / HELP
If you need anything during the workshop please feel free to either drop us a message in the Mighty Network, or email us on producer@louiseorwin.com
Louise will be active and monitoring the Mighty Network all week, so she will be around to help you if you need tips, questions answering, motivation, inspiration, or just want a gossip/moan ;)
WHAT YOU PUT IN = WHAT YOU GET OUT
Lastly! I’m sure this is a bit of a workshop cliche by now, but just a final reminder that the good olde adage very much applies to this workshop too: the more you are able to invest in this workshop in terms of energy and time (time and energy permitting of course), the more you will get back. If you are able to, I suggest diving into this space with wild abandon, or if that seems too much then come in cautiously, slow and tentatively, but however suits you come with an open mind and open heart. (Ok cheesy bit over 😬)