Meet-up #2

Isla

Instagram: @islashelly Email: sayhellotoisla@gmail.com

The question I came with:

What is healing?

The question I leave with:

What does healing work look like for me?

How would you sum up your Makers Marathon in 3 words?

A healing experience.

How would you define making?

Making is capturing a thought/idea (noticing), visioning what it could look like in the real world (imagining), then doing everything you can to make that vision come true under the constraints that exist (hoping). Making is seeing the world as your studio, your canvas, your guide, your inspiration and your toolbox. Making ideas are everywhere, you don’t need to create anything new, you just need to get good at finding them.

What have you learned from this process?

‘Don’t let the writer you think you should be, stop you from becoming the writer you could be.’ This quote is from one of my favourite TV shows, The Bold Type, and it encapsulates my greatest learning from this process. I need to let go, to surrender, to not make sense, to make a clay model of a bathtub, a collage of a woman and then an audio of ocean sounds. I need to follow my instinct, not my logic. I need to allow myself to be. This lesson goes so much deeper than my making practice; it’s my life philosophy, and my rebellious response to a world that demands my choices must make sense.

Tell us about something you’ve made.

Around halfway through the marathon I was moving house and as a result, I had little to no time/energy to spend on making. I had gone three weeks without creating anything and I remember feeling really disappointed. During a coaching conversation with Katie, I discovered mini-making: 1-5 minutes where I make something new out of materials that are within reach. That’s when I painted my first shell (pictured below). The painted shell was my healing response to this busy time period when I was deeply craving to create but felt scared to spend all my energy on making and overwhelmed by life admin. Mini-making is now a very important tool in my toolbox that I go to when I want to make but don’t know where to start or struggle to find the time.

Mini-making

What advice would you give to someone who wants to connect with their inner maker?

What does play mean to you? If this is the first time asking yourself this question then don’t let it be the last. Your inner maker is desperate to play, to be spontaneous and to adventure. In adulthood we’ve lost the art of play in exchange for sensibility and safety. Play can mean something different to everyone - be it face painting on a weekday, going for a walk without a map or eating breakfast for dinner. Whatever it is, let yourself be cheeky, let yourself be rebellious, let yourself be surprised.

Activity: Life Manifestos

Writing a manifesto is an act of standing up for what you believe in, and an expression of who you are and want to be. Articulating your values can be hard to do in abstract, so Isla’s workshop developed a series of beautiful prompts to generate content as the building blocks of a personal manifesto.

You will need:

• Pens • Dixit cards - if you don’t have them, check out: https://tinyurl.com/6kdb8tt2 • A timer

Step 1: Images that speak to you

• Spread your Dixit pack out on a surface, or open up the link above. • Pick 3 - 5 cards that jump out of you. • In the space opposite, take each card one by one and write the words that arise when you see the image. Time 1 minute per card. Don’t overthink it!

Step 2: Traits you admire

• Now think about a couple of people you look up to. They could be famous, or someone you know. • In the same space, take 3 minutes to note the qualities in them that you most admire.

Step 3: Character strengths

• Take a moment to get to know your strengths with the Via Character

Strengths survey: https://www. viacharacter.org/ • Add your strengths to your notes.

Notes on Steps 1-3 Notes on Steps 1-3 Step 4: A Letter to Your Future Self

It’s time to connect with your future self by responding to the following prompts:

Dear Future Self,

My wish for you is…

I hope you are continuing to…

One thing I can learn from you is...

With love,

Notes on Steps 1-3 Step 5: Your Manifesto

You should now have the building blocks to create your Life Manifesto. Go back through your notes so far and highlight words or phrases that stand out to you. Use colours and forms that speak to you and your life to create a border in the space below. Using your building blocks, try forming a set of affirmations to make up your manifesto. Inspiration here: https://tinyurl.com/6vs9b9ke

Bailey

Website: bailey.work/music

The question I came with:

Can writing new songs help me rediscover my voice?

The question I leave with:

How can songs help us process emotions and thoughts to change how we see the world?

How would you sum up your Makers Marathon in 3 words?

Inspiration, Encouragement, Performance.

How would you define making?

I loved hearing Ali’s definition of play as when we ‘luxuriate in our own competence’, when we are excited just to see what we can create and what skills we can hone. That’s how I see making. I’m making when I’m taking time out of my everyday to sit down with my guitar and notebook, struggling to think about rhyme and meter. I’m making when I get into a state of flow, when time flies by and suddenly it’s time for dinner. I’m making when I’m creating a space and a moment for an audience in the midst of performance.

What have you learned from this process?

I’ve realised how important songwriting and performing are to my sense of self. I grew up around music and musicians as a church chorister, and then started writing songs and gigging when I was around 15. Performing was such an important part of my discovering myself as a teenager. I met wonderful creative friends through the local scene and earned cash from gigging and busking. It gave me independence. I’ve realised that my performer self can co-exist with my professional self, especially now that I’m more established in my career. Being in my mid-30s isn’t such a barrier after all.

Tell us about something you’ve made.

In July I wrote and performed three songs, ‘Anger in three parts’. It was the week before our Power Up accountability session, the first time the group would meet in person. I was excited to perform. I’d been inspired by Tingyu’s performance art and by talking to Isla about how anger drives me. I wrote a song on sexism (‘As a Father of Daughters’), a song on capitalism (more specifically, Jeff Bezos’s trip to space), and a song about diet culture. As I performed them for the group, rain violently poured onto the roof windows above me. Live music is magic.

What advice would you give to someone who wants to connect with their inner maker?

Over the last six months I’ve been working out why I want to make music. It’s only by understanding what drives my desire to make that I’ve been able to get out of my own way and actually do it. For me, I want to write songs to perform them. I want to create a special moment for an in-person audience. I want to reward people for putting away their phones and for turning away from conversation to listen to me sing. I want to leave people with a powerful message or feeling. Work out what drives you and get out of your own way.