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Never too old, never too late…

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An early morning exchange on WhatsApp between Drawifiers* prompted me to take a moment to reflect on beginnings. Perhaps more literally, starting something brand new.

My colleague Bene was posting on LI, sharing in detail, for the first time, how he came to be an illustrator in his fifties. And, just today, he’s beginning to step fully into using the power of LI. (Perhaps visit his page and share a little love and appreciation for his work.) Joao piped up and said he was starting to do the same (leverage LI) at 38. Axelle chimed in and said she started a start-up  (Drawify) at 47. I added that I  might just win the “start something new prize” as I chose to go back to “school” in a totally new field (chaplaincy) 39 years after my last degree. 

Our conclusion? We/People are never too old to start again. 

What do you think?

When you reflect on your life, with the focus of stepping into new endeavors, big or small, what has been your journey?

Lately, I’ve been thinking a lot about what has shaped me—intentionally/of my choosing, by circumstance (friends moving away, deaths in the family, COVID, the economy, and more) and more serendipitously, (meeting new folks and developing new relationships). As I chart that path, my belief in our abilities to continuously develop turns to certainty. 

No doubt, I/we face limitations or constraints—personal and professional commitments, time, funds, capacity, and energy. And, while I am the gal who says, “Yes” probably a little too often, I make time for relaxation and fun.

Here’s a visual I created in 2020, about my professional journey. Gosh, there’s more to add since then! And, I have a parallel journey that includes my art and craft adventures and travel. Perhaps that’s a drawing in my future or an addition to this one… another thread (or two)  in the tapestry.

May I suggest that you make time right now, for just a few minutes, to recognize and celebrate your adventures over the year in your professional and personal development…

I’d love to learn what you have taken up a bit later in life.

How have you surprised yourself with your energy and desire

to continue to learn and develop?

Maybe you will even consider what the future might hold. I hope you will be in touch to share your reflections.

 

* illustrators for Drawify. Drawify is a platform offering over 10,000 hand-drawn illustrations from artists worldwide. If you’d like to learn more about using our work for telling your stories visually, grab a spot on my calendar and we can explore together, or venture out on your own with this coupon for two months of free Hero-level access to the site (no strings attached), and contact me with your questions. 

The Joy of Exploration

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How often do you stop to really reflect about the the tools you’re going to use for a project?

What motivates you to look at your “go-to ” resources with new eyes?

Honestly, I don’t often think about the tools that I use because I’ve already vetted them (explored the possibilities, tested their capabilities, compared them, and made my decisions). When working with markers and paper for graphic facilitation, graphic recording or visual coaching work, I will choose my Neuland markers and the paper that fits the task best. For digital work (and play), I’ll work with Procreate on my iPad with my Apple Pencil but if I am creating illustrations for Drawify, I’ll need to work in Concepts. 

If I’m working on Miro, the online collaborative space, I will continue to discover new resources available through plug-ins and different ways of imagining the canvas. I have mounted large projects,  (my Appreciative Inquiry final project for certification)and imported photos, visuals, documents, and more.

When making my own projects with Zentangle designs or teaching, I use my Sakua  Micron 01, 08, 1, 10 or PN black pens and the lovely Italian paper “tiles” that are a signature resource, or watercolor, or mixed media paper. In  preparation for my first mural work. I tested many markers, paints, and varnishes plus brush tips. And in my Tangling BIG class I am working with markers on canvas and still wondering how I will translate the beauty of using graphite on paper to such a different surface—I’ll know soon!

What about you?

When is the last time you shook it up a bit and did a “tasting” of new tools, materials, and resources?What’s new in your bag of goodies? 

Yesterday morning, I was imagining all kinds of projects for my upcoming Tangling from the Heart class. I broke out many of the possibilities at my fingertips. An hour later, I had made so many discoveries—my paper was crammed with notes: “Love this!” “Oooo, that brush tip is too soft.” “Best result when I write more quickly.” “Oh! These markers smell terrible!” ”Make the tangle pattern first and then do the lettering.” 

Do you ever straddle the line of how much you need to keep experimenting and when is it time to move on?

My love of creativity and play is a double-edged sword. Honestly, there are only so many hours in the day. I also need to remember that my time for experimentation is not limited to this one experience. So finding what will work now and leaving the door open for new possibilities feels right… even if I’d rather keep plorking (playing and working).

What are you working on that brings out the need to experiment with new tools—pens, markers, colored pencils, paper, tablets, apps, and more? 

What’s your approach to the process?

For me, it’s all about finding the best materials for the project AND having fun in a (mostly) efficient way. I’d love to hear how you dive into this realm of your work… no doubt I can learn from you!

 

The Delight of Creativity—and the Reality of Time

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Just the other week, I had two experiences that gave me pause. 

Very close to the actual event, I was asked if I was interested in volunteering to pull together a pop-up extravaganza for the IAF Impact Awards … I discovered that folks in the NYC Metro area didn’t have the appetite/time/energy to get together in person to watch the awards and discuss facilitation. Wanting to support the event, I offered to graphically record it. The timeline for prep was tight—I had a lot of other projects on my plate too and so not a lot of time to devote to this last-minute choice to offer my services. 

Truth be told. It was a very challenging event. So many winners of the awards, fascinating, life-changing projects, and many moving (SHORT) parts to the agenda. Orchestrating the capture of info in the breakout conversations happened at breakneck speed. I also, true to form, felt I had to try something new to make it a learning experience for me. I usually create my own templates or design and yet this time, I decided to work with their imagery—a blessing and a curse. With a bit of working with their materials—gaining new skills and ways of thinking in the process—I achieved new and different results. It was a bit messy —getting to the result I desired—and it took a bit longer than I’d planned, yet creativity is like that for me. 

What about you? When is the last time you chose to take a new and different path? 

What did you discover—like and dislike—about the process that will influence your work going forward?

The very next day I started preparing for my session for Drawify. To share the fun and excitement of using the new Drawify plug-in for Miro. In fact, I hadn’t used this new app on Miro so I had to learn how. It was a snap (yay!). Then I needed to design the session to teach how to install the app (easily accomplished) and show a few use cases… because I’m me, I also wanted to make the session an engaging learning experience for participants. 

As I started playing with the app, I became immersed in the possibilities—thank goodness that there are only about 800 images in the plug-in and not the almost 10,000 on the Drawify site as I would have fallen deeper into the rabbit hole! I also wanted to show folks how quickly they could create a fun, appealing, and useful visual. I timed myself—the very first time using the plug-in on Miro—and in just over 30 minutes. I had found more images than I needed, combined illustrations and text, and had a fresh look for material previously conveyed in my hand-drawn visual. 

Using a wide variety of styles was joyful. I had also designed a way for participants to collaborate with this new piece—something I hadn’t done when I originally presented the material. 

I then shifted to preparing the frame in which the participants in the session would collaborate with me to develop an evaluation/feedback tool. With my original hand-drawn digital piece from several years ago and a draft of the text for the new document, we got to work searching for illustrations. In less than 10 minutes’ time, we had created a new resource that was easily interactive for a group of virtually any size. Granted, it needed just a little more fine-tuning yet the results were… well, you can judge for yourself! 

It was great fun and people’s questions arose while learning/working with the plug-in:

  • What illustrations are available in the plug-in-in? 
  • How do I search for them? 
  • What happens if I don’t find what I’m looking for?
  • How is the plug-in different from the Drawify platform? 

Our 30 minutes together flew by! Folks left with the ability to use the plug-in immediately… my work was done.

If you’re planning to create Miro and you’d like a hand in working with the plug-in, (perhaps a 10-minute conversation over Zoom in the app) let me know! My guess is that you’ll get it in a heartbeat—if not, you know where to find me. 

If you’re interested in playing with the Drawify platform—having access to the almost 10,000 illustrations there, you can try it out for free for two months—no strings attached, https://drawify.com/promotions/Drawify2MonthHeroJill

If you’d like to walk this path of reflection and learning with me, let’s talk. I offer coaching with an Appreciative Inquiry lens. 

Will you try on a new perspective?

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When is the last time you were energized by meeting with colleagues?

(I’m hoping that your answer is, “It was earlier this week!”)

One of the highlights of my last week was the opportunity to share my passion for Appreciative Inquiry with a group of folks from around the world at an event hosted by Axelle Vanquaillie, founder of Drawify. It was fantastic! 

The five original core principles of AI were the focus of this introduction into the field. If Appreciative Inquiry is new to you, it’s a generative, practical process model for approaching change, in ourselves, organizations, and society. AI is a paradigm, a way of seeing the world that invites us to attend to the positive dynamics in our relationships, work, and communities. 

In this short video, I developed to introduce the session, you get a sense of how AI enables us to have a complete view of life—both the positive and the negative. The principles and practices provide ways to re-wire our brains to think positively, to overcome the negative bias (which protects us in times of danger, yet can bias our thinking). We can learn to intentionally change our thought patterns, repeat them over time and literally change our perspective on the world. Living, or being AI requires enhancing our awareness through cycles of reflection and action.

With my ever-present view of gatherings as opportunities to share new ideas and begin skill development, I also want to ensure that the exciting new knowledge and practices find their way into the daily lives of participants. With that mission in mind, I created this template in Drawify so that the questions could spark reflection and action following the session.

What do you think of all this? Would learning more about Appreciative Inquiry, strengthening your skills at finding the good in circumstances (and using that knowledge to work with the challenging aspects) enhance your personal and professional lives? 

I endeavor to be AI every day… in times like these, it’s a perspective that keeps me focused on my foundation that supports and empowers me to build on what works, to tackle what is challenging. If you’re curious to learn more, reach out! I love talking AI!

The best way to predict the future is to invent it. 

Alan Kay

I am offering an Appreciative Living learning Circle, beginning April 23rd. You can learn more about it here. As readers of my blog, I am happy to offer you a 20% off coupon to join the circle, click here to access it. Please contact me with any questions you have about the circle!

Connection

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In these difficult times, I believe it’s important to search for, find, and immerse myself in experiences, relationships, and communities that nourish and support me.

How are you feeling? Are you making time to check in with yourself and take good care? 

Happily, there are a few experiences of late that are providing me with support, inspiration, and a sense of belonging.

  All cards are from The Coaching Game card deck, copyright, Points-of-You.

Just yesterday, I shared one of my favorite experiential encounters with my colleagues and friends in VEOLI  Visualizing End of Life Issues, (www.veoli.net). We made time in our regularly scheduled meeting to pause/step away from what had preceded our gathering together, using The Coaching Game© card deck, (Points-of-You.com). We explored the question, “What is the potential of VEOLI and us (as members)?” We dropped into the experience and shared from the heart about what we feel, believe, and hope. It was a wonderful experience that surfaced questions, pointed to subjects of future conversations, and strengthened our relationships.

When/where and how do you pause and connect with others? What resources do you use? Do you want more of those grounding experiences? 

At the beginning of March, I stepped into a new role, as community engagement coordinator for Drawify (www.drawify.com). It is a delightful experience! I’m connecting with people I know and people I know of (in the larger professional community) for conversations about how we want to show up and be in community together as Drawifiers. We are building on the foundation of what is working in the community of illustrators and imagining into the future about what we want to co-create. The process is exhilarating!

Which elements of your life are a place of comfort, inspiration, or connection for you —perhaps a certain group of colleagues, special events or communities?

And, I find that some one-time events provide me with connection and joy. 

Yesterday I was part of the Visual Jam, sharing my passion for templates with folks from around the world. We connected around the topic and the feelings that arise around the work and play of drawing/creating. 

On Sunday, I was tangling with folks in my Zentangle Series. The sessions are an opportunity to teach (which I adore), to learn (in the moment when I do well and make mistakes), and connect with students who want to grow their skills and experience the calm that accompanies tangling.

I savor all of these different experiences.

When you pause to consider the range of engagement in your life, what are you savoring?

I anticipate that tomorrow’s Drawify event, Viewing Life with an  Appreciative Lens, is going to be more of the same.  I LOVE this topic and can’t wait to offer up Appreciative Inquiry as a way to live in the world. I hope to see you there, you can register here

I hope that you will connect with me, reach out with your answers to my questions, or maybe with questions of your own.