09. September rabbit trails

Over, under, around, and through

Dear fellow adventurers,

September signals a change in seasons and rhythms for most people - because of the return to school and work after the slower pace of summer. As homeschoolers, we don’t feel that shift as much aside from the playgrounds and pools emptying out once again to make room for quieter visits for us. For me on the newsletter, I have some new plans for Autumn that reflect my own shifts in capacity and energy. Now that we have passed the Autumn Equinox and are officially in Fall, I want to share some of these changes with you!

Firstly, I plan to share more from my creative practice with you in this newsletter. You will see more photos and tidbits from my creative rabbit trails, things I’m playing with in my art practice. I will also share some of the books and media that are inspiring me or that I come across. Hopefully, instead of only talking about creativity and the creative process, I can show you the day-to-day ups and downs of it, too.

I will also be sharing some reflections on the use of expressive arts to process our emotions and experiences. I have been exploring this through my coaching practice this past summer, and I want more people to experience the breakthroughs and shifts that can happen when we engage in embodied reflective practices.

I hope you will enjoy these new glimpses into my creative rabbit trails. I’m so thankful that you are here for the journey.

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Ink and Wash + Urban Sketching

As part of the closing ritual for one of my coaching courses this summer, I created Zoom portraits of my classmates and facilitators. Sometimes I sketched them during class when they were doing coaching demos, and I rewatched many of the recordings to find poses that captured their coaching presence. I learned a lot about mixing skin tones in watercolour! These were really fun to make and to share with my class.

I am part of a global movement called urban sketching - we sketch on location and share our sketches online. If you want to find out more about who we are and what we do, here’s is a link to the Urban Sketchers Manifesto (the “rules of engagement”, if you will, that make urban sketching what it is). This past month, I sketched around town to try out a minimal sketching kit (as seen in the photo below) - a limited palette of 4 colours in an old mint tin, a water-brush, a fountain pen, and some coloured pencils. I realized the coloured pencils weren’t super necessary but great for adding some texture to buildings and trees.

Sketching on-location keeps it fresh - I love the novelty of trying to sketch whatever is in front of me wherever I end up (especially sleeping people on trains!)

Other Creative Rabbit Trails

My other creative practices involve lino printing and culinary adventures. As you can see, I’m a bit of a generalist and like to explore creativity through lots of avenues (or I hate being boxed in?). These are more relaxed parts of my practice where my main goal is to play and experiment. I think every creative needs some “side projects” where they get to play.

I printed some permission slips that I’d be more than happy to share - if ever you realize you need to give yourself permission to do things like try a new hairstyle, embrace imperfection, make mistakes, etc - let me know and I’ll mail you some permission slips to fill in!

Sometimes having certain dietary needs mean we have to get creative (I’ve written about limits and creativity here)… We got a bubble-waffle maker so we can make vegan, dairy-free bubble waffles. You’d think bubble tea shops would make dairy-free bubble waffles (and drinks!) because apparently 90% of Asians are lactose intolerant?! Not that only Asians go to bbt shops, but if your original target audience… a missed opportunity there… anyways. So here we are. If you are also lactose intolerant or want to help the environment by going plant-based, come over and I’ll make you these delicious bubble waffles with vegan ice cream and locally grown strawberries (subject to season availability).

Books etc.

Last but not least, books! Here are some that I’ve read through September:

• The Spirit of the Chinese Characters (Barbara Aria, Russell Eng Gon) - I picked this up at a thrift store in the summer. I’ll say right off the bat that It’s odd to learn Chinese characters from a British lady. But for me, it’s less learning as it is remembering through muscle memory as I practice writing them and understanding more the story and spirit behind the characters that I only learned for utility in primary school in Hong Kong. It’s part painting and part drawing, and the practice is part of my morning ritual as I go through each of the 50 or so characters in the book.

• The Art of Gathering (Priya Parker)- How you gather people as a host is as important as why you gather people. This book is giving me much to chew on as I consider gathering people in my work and in my coaching practice. And let me tell you, a lot of these tips draw on your creativity as a gatherer and exercise your participants’ creativity just as much, if not more.

• Hockney, a Graphic Life (Simon Elliott)- The life and times of artist David Hockney (who hails from Yorkshire) in super vibrant graphic novel form.

• Night Sky with Exit Wounds (Ocean Vuong) - My dose of poetry this month.