Years ago, I went to a therapist who used hypnosis. When our sessions were almost over, she would tell me, in her soft voice, to come awake, refreshed and energized, “when you’re ready.” When you’re ready. A simple phrase, but in that altered state of mind, it was powerful. I could, when I was ready, [...]

Changing Seasons

September 7, 2007 | Leave a Comment

[process, essay] by Nancy S.M. Waldman Hi everyone. Welcome to September. Summer here in North America is fast waning—even though where I am in Nova Scotia, September is one of the best weather months. I’ve been feeling quite ambivalent about the PCQ over the summer. There are lots of new visitors and subscribers and readers [...]

[-painting, process, interview-] Interview with artist, Donna Marsh by Nancy Waldman let’s get lost; oil on canvas, 24 x 36 inches; © 2007 donna marsh, all rights reserved Do you paint from photos? what’s in front of you? memory? imagination? I paint from photos and from what’s in front of me. I’m interested in painting [...]

c-ART-egories

August 1, 2007 | Leave a Comment

[-warm-up, drawing-] Here’s a creative warm-up exercise that uses categories. Choose a category each day to draw in your journal. Divide your paper into 8 – 12 small sections. Decide on the length of time you want to devote to this. My suggestion is to start with no more than ten minutes. Quicker sketches will [...]

other-handed

June 30, 2007 | 7 Comments

[-journaling, c-mindfulness-] Next time you are writing in your journal, switch the pen to your other hand and write. I know. I know. You can’t write with your other hand. Never mind. Go on and do it anyway. Writing with our non-dominant hand can have interesting results because it confuses our brain. Part of that [...]

[-process, essay-] by Nancy S.M. Waldman As we create, we use up media, materials, tools, ideas, time, and our own creative energy. Working from abundance means having a well of resources—more than we need—to create what we want. My son used this expression in a conversation about the new songs he had just recorded. I [...]

[-crackles!, c-mindfulness-] by Nancy Waldman I am in the process of writing an article on using the non-dominant hand in journaling as a way to reach the R-mind. In doing so, I decided that my icon and ‘short-hand’ talk of R-mindfulness, based on Betty Edwards work regarding the use of brain hemisphere dominance to teach [...]

[-photography, process-] red carnation Originally uploaded by nuanc. This photo is one I took over two years ago. It came up this morning while I was playing the game Free Association! on flickr. The game involves posting an image in response to the last one posted by someone else. I did a flickr search through [...]

[-writing, exercise-] Writing takes activity. You have to write the words down on the page. Everyone knows that. But what’s going on inside as you make that effort to put a story together? Think about the issue of control and how it does or doesn’t work for you. We tend to think of energy, activity, [...]

Cross-pollination

May 27, 2007 | 3 Comments

[process, inspiration] Book box Originally uploaded by cramzy. A Good Sunday Morning in May to you all! The photo to the right is one from The Practically Creative Group on flickr. It’s posted by ‘cramzy,’ a wonderful fibre artist whose work has impressed me continually. Cramzy, also known as Emmy Schoonbeek, does all kinds of [...]

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