Contemplative Creatives Journey – Autumn 2020 Workshop

JOIN ME FOR THE AUTUMN SEASON OF THE ONLINE WORKSHOP THAT EXPLORES–AND CELEBRATES–THE EXTRAORDINARY IN THE ORDINARY

WELCOME!

Contemplative Creatives Journey gives me a calm, safe place to renew and rejoice and connect with uplifting humans. I can’t imagine life without it. ~ Linda Bannan

If the words contemplative and creative have sweet juiciness for you and you’re interested in a different sort of online workshop, read on:

There is no set curriculum but plenty of opportunities to explore, play, create, muse, share, enjoy. There are no expectations or catching up, but lots of serendipity and infinite possibilities. There are no formal objectives, but an always-available way to engage and interact with your world through art, nature, and the written word.

I combine my roles as curator of life experiences, writer, artist, Certified Kaizen-Muse creativity coach, and Certified Miksang (contemplative) photography instructor to offer you a meaningful and fulfilling online workshop with a well-established active community of fellow journeyers.

Contemplative Creative Manifesto © 2019 Bo Mackison

In community and individually, we explore these themes:

word * vision * place

WORD

This practice focuses on how to connect — to the world, community, and self — using words. We’ll play with words, explore words, and connect nature and place using words. We’ll write poetry – tile poetry, collaborative poetry, and collage poetry using found words and pictures. You don’t need to consider yourself a writer to enjoy these practices, but anyone who has an established writing practice will surely delight in them.

VISION

We’ll create mandalas, individually and collectively.

A Sampling of Tree Mandalas by Summer CCJ Participants © 2020 Bo Mackison

What does a mandala practice look like? It can be:

  • a time-out practice from the often-too-busy world
  • an art practice that is grounding and meditative, satisfies the senses, and soothes the mind and spirit.
  • a practice that can be done easily with minimal financial investment.
  • a journal practice and/or a pocket practice, one that can be tucked into tiny pockets of your day – for calming, creating, and connecting with self
  • less about art and more about meditative or personal discovery (though art sometimes happens!)

We’ll explore the practice of Miksang Contemplative Photography, focusing on color, pattern, and texture. We’ll also explore autumn’s qualities — its passions, moods, style, and symbols — as part of the Miksang practice. (All types of cameras and skill levels are perfect for this practice.)

A Miksang (Contemplative) Photography Mosaic © 2020
created by the participants of CCJ Summer 2020

PLACE:

Throughout the changing days of Autumn, we’ll continue our weekly observational practice of backyard phenology – the study of nature’s calendar. It’s an ever-present, in-the-present survey of the cycles of plants and animals in your natural world that is accessible to all.

A Weekly Snapshot of Autumn’s Progression © 2018 Bo Mackison

Participating in the last few CCJs has given me many things; a regular creative practice that takes multiple forms, a cohort of people sharing their experiences and processes, new ways of seeing, introductions to new artists, experimenting without the pressure of product outcome. ~ Deb Reynolds

MY AUTUMN OFFER:

Together we’ll explore themes and creative practices that inspire and encourage, elicit wonder and awe, uplift your spirit and feed your soul.

This is a practice that:

  • gently weaves itself throughout your day
  • illuminates the extraordinary in the ordinary, celebrates the uncommon in the common
  • offers ways of interacting with “place” that highlight the wonder of and connection with nature, no matter where you live, work, and play.

We begin September 22th, 2020, the first day of Autumn, and we journey together until December 21st, 2020.

New participants are welcome to join CCJ during the Autumn Season. The first weeks of our practice will include introductions to the practice of collaborative poetry writing, how to create a mandala practice, the basics of Miksang (contemplative) photography, and an introduction to the study of phenology (Nature’s calendar).

If you’re searching for sanctuary, a place to recharge so you can show up re-energized for the demands of living in today’s complex world, this might be the workshop community that offers what you most need and desire.

Whether you have a fully equipped art room or a box of simple supplies you store in a closet, you’ll find new ways to create. Hints on how to see or create in new ways will offer you unlimited possibilities for exploration and all practices are easily incorporated into your everyday routine.

What I love about CCJ is that it’s familiar but new, every season. Sometimes I’m all in with the week’s subjects and explorations, sometimes life calls me away and that’s fine. Over the seasons it has grown to live inside me with gentle noticing, relishing, photographing, and doodling the truth of my life and has become a gentle touchstone throughout. ~ Liz Crain, ceramicist

WHEN:

The AUTUMN journey is 13 weeks long. September 22nd through December 21st, 2020.

HOW:

We gather together in a private group on Facebook. All content is shared on this private group page. You’re encouraged to share your discoveries and experiences in the private group, however and whenever you choose.

This guided and easily accessible process allows you to engage in the practice in whatever way is best for you.

PDF booklets of each theme are provided for your personal use.

THE COST:

I offer you my knowledge, my skills, my presence, my enthusiasm, and my ongoing daily contemplative practices. The cost for the Autumn journey and an active sharing community remains at the all-inclusive price of $99.00.

TO RESERVE YOUR SPACE:

Registration is open until September 30, 2020.

Register here through PayPal. Thank you.

~~~~~~

BO MACKISON is an artist, poet, photographer, certified Kaisen-Muse creativity coach, Nalanda Miksang photography instructor, hands-on workshop presenter, and a woman who has spent her entire adult life surviving/thriving with the help of the creative practices she now shares. She is the founder of Contemplative Creatives Journey, an Online Seasonal Workshop. Bo has been offering creative and contemplative programs for women since 2014. She’s been told her workshops have changed people’s lives for the better; personally she knows this to be true.

Contemplative Creatives Journey – A Summer 2020 Workshop

JOIN ME FOR THE SUMMER SEASON OF THE ONLINE WORKSHOP THAT EXPLORES–AND CELEBRATES–THE EXTRAORDINARY IN THE ORDINARY

WELCOME!

This gently guided journey with Bo has infused my existing practices with renewed energy. Her exquisite leadership is informed by experience, training and soulful instinct. I consider her a modem mystic. ~ Mary Anne Radmacher

If the words contemplative and creative have sweet juiciness for you and you’re interested in a different sort of online workshop, read on:

There is no firm schedule but plenty of opportunities to explore, play, create, muse, share, enjoy. There is no planned curriculum, but lots of surprises and serendipity. There are no expectations or catching up, but infinite possibilities. There are no formal objectives, but an always-available way to engage and interact with your world through art, nature, and the written word.

I combine my roles as curator of life experiences, writer, artist, Certified Kaizen-Muse creativity coach, and Certified Miksang (contemplative) photography instructor to offer you a meaningful and fulfilling online workshop with a well-established active community of fellow journeyers.

Contemplative Creative Manifesto © 2019 Bo Mackison

In community and individually, we explore these themes:

word * vision * place

WORD

This practice focuses on how to connect — to the world, community, and self — using words. We’ll play with words, explore words, and connect nature and place using words. We’ll write poetry – tile poetry, collaborative poetry, and poetry art using found words and pictures. You don’t need to consider yourself a writer to enjoy these practices, but anyone with an established writing practice will surely delight in them.

VISION

We’ll create mandalas, individually and collectively. I find this to be a lovely summer practice as we’ll focus on nature and the many opportunities found in the outdoors. It’s a pocket-practice — the practice requires only a small container of basic supplies that can travel almost anywhere.

Chaos in the Garden © 2020 Bo Mackison

We’ll explore the practice of Miksang Contemplative Photography, focusing on the study of 1) color, pattern, and texture and 2) interactions with your ordinary and personal world. We’ll also explore the summer’s qualities — its passions, moods, style, and symbols — as part of the Miksang practice. (All types of cameras and skill levels are perfect for this practice.)

PLACE:

Throughout the hot days of summer, we’ll continue the weekly observational practice of backyard phenology – the study of nature’s calendar. It’s an ever-present, in-the-present survey of the cycles of plants and animals in your natural world that is accessible to all.

A Weekly Snapshot of Summer’s Progression © 2018 Bo Mackison

Bo Mackison is an insightful, talented and inspirational art, photography and writing creativity coach and teacher. Bo’s wide range of artistic knowledge along with her life experiences makes her the artist and writer’s trusted advisor. I highly recommend Bo as a mentor, teacher, trainer, and speaker. ~ Jeanette Richardson Herring, Author and Artist

MY SUMMER OFFER:

Together we’ll explore themes and creative practices that inspire and encourage, elicit wonder and awe, uplift your spirit and feed your soul.

This is a practice that:

  • gently weaves itself throughout your day
  • illuminates the extraordinary in the ordinary, celebrates the uncommon in the common
  • offers ways of interacting with “place” that highlight the wonder of and connection with nature, no matter where you live, work, and play.

We begin June 20th, 2020, the first day of Summer, and we journey together until September 19th, 2020.

New participants are welcome to join CCJ during the Summer Season. The first weeks of our practice will include introductions to the practices of collaborative poetry writing, how to begin a mandala practice, the basics of Miksang (contemplative) photography, and an introduction to the study of phenology (Nature’s calendar).

If you’re searching for sanctuary, a place to recharge so you can show up bright and energized for the demands of living in today’s noisy world, this might be the workshop community that offers what you most need and desire.

Whether you have a fully equipped art room or a box of simple supplies you store in a closet, you’ll find new ways to create. Hints on how to see or create in new ways will offer you unlimited possibilities for exploration and all practices are easily incorporated into your everyday routine.

Come along and explore the creative and contemplative life with spaciousness and spontaneity.

A Miksang (Contemplative) Photography Mosaic © 2020
created by the participants of CCJ Spring 2020

What I love about CCJ is that it’s familiar but new, every season. Sometimes I’m all in with the week’s subjects and explorations, sometimes life calls me away and that’s fine. Over the seasons it has grown to live inside me with gentle noticing, relishing, photographing and doodling the truth of my life and has become a gentle touchstone throughout. ~ Liz Crain, ceramicist

WHEN:

The SUMMER journey is 13 weeks long. June 20th through September 19th, 2020.

HOW:

We gather together in a private group on Facebook. All content is shared on this private group page. You’re encouraged to share your discoveries and experiences in the private group however and whenever you choose.

This guided and easily accessible process allows you to engage in the practice in whatever way is best for you.

PDF booklets of each theme are provided for your personal use.

THE COST:

I offer you my knowledge, my skills, my presence, my enthusiasm, and my ongoing daily contemplative practices. The cost for this Summer journey and an active sharing community remains at the all-inclusive price of $99.00.

TO RESERVE YOUR SPACE:

Registration is open until June 30, 2020.

Register here through PayPal. Thank you.

~~~~~~

BO MACKISON is an artist, poet, photographer, certified Kaisen-Muse creativity coach, Nalanda Miksang photography instructor, hands-on workshop presenter, and a woman who has spent her entire adult life surviving/thriving with the help of the creative practices she now shares. She is the founder of Contemplative Creatives Journey, an Online Seasonal Workshop. Bo has been offering creative and contemplative programs for women since 2014. She’s been told her workshops have changed people’s lives for the better; personally she knows this to be true.

Contemplative Creatives Journey – Autumn 2019

ANNOUNCING THE AUTUMN SEASON OF THE CREATIVITY WORKSHOP THAT EXPLORES  – AND CELEBRATES – THE EXTRAORDINARY IN THE ORDINARY

This gently guided journey with Bo has infused my existing practices with renewed energy. Her exquisite leadership is informed by experience, training and soulful instinct. I consider her a modem mystic. ~ Mary Anne em Radmacher

If the words contemplative and creative have a sweet juiciness for you and you’re interested in a different sort of online workshop, read on.

  • Instead of schedules, I offer serendipity.
  • Instead of a planned curriculum, I offer surprises.
  • Instead of expectations, I offer possibilities.
  • Instead of formal objectives, I offer an always-available way to engage and interact with your world through art, nature and the written word in the company of a kind and supportive online community.
Contemplative Creative Practices – A Mandala ©2017 Bo Mackison

I combine my roles as curator of life experience, writer, artist, Certified Kaizen-Muse Creativity Coach, and Certified Miksang (Contemplative) Photography instructor to offer you a meaningful and fulfilling workshop.

In community and individually, we explore:

word * vision * place

WORD

We’ll play with words, explore words, and connect with nature and place using words. We’ll write poetry – tile poetry, collaborative poetry, and poetry art using found words and pictures. You don’t need to consider yourself a writer to enjoy these practices, but anyone with an established writing practice will surely delight in them.

VISION

Mandala making will include the practice of using colored pencils on black paper while exploring Autumn’s deeper palette of colors.

The photography component will focus on Miksang (contemplative) photography practices. This season’s practice will focus on our interactions with the ordinary and personal world. We’ll also explore Autumn’s unique qualities — its passions, moods, styles, symbols — as part of our Miksang practice. (All types of cameras and skill levels are appropriate.)

Example of Miksang Photography Collage ©2018 Bo Mackison

PLACE:

As AUTUMN approaches and the days shorten in the northern hemisphere, we’ll enjoy the practice of backyard phenology – the study of nature’s calendar, an ever-present, in-the-present survey of the cycles of plants and animals in your natural world.

An Example of a Phenology Practice ©2017 Bo Mackison

Bo has created a safe and sacred space for creativity to flourish, respite to abide, and healing to occur – no matter what is happening in our internal or external worlds. The vulnerable and honest sharing of her own creative practices has invited me more deeply into my own. I cannot recommend this offering or her heart on others’ behalf highly enough. ~ Ronna Detrick

MY AUTUMN OFFER:

Together we will explore themes and creative practices that inspire and encourage, elicit wonder and awe, uplift your spirit and feed your soul. This is not a practice that requires you to set aside a certain amount of time each day (unless that is your desire.) Instead, it is:

  • a set of practices that gently weaves itself throughout your day
  • practices that illuminate the extraordinary in the ordinary, celebrate the uncommon in the common
  • ways of interacting with “place” that highlight the wonders of and your connection with nature, no matter where you live, work and play

We begin September 15th, 2019 as autumn approaches and we’ll journey together until December 15th, 2019.

Together we will walk on a journey of increased awareness of the miracles and beauty of the ordinary, and a renewed awareness of the cycles of autumn as we move from the light of summer towards winter’s darkness. During this time we will explore dozens of creative and contemplative practices that will enhance your every day.

There is a strong community and collaborative aspect in the group, but it is always an invitation and opportunity, never a requirement.

Flight of the Autumn Leaves © 2017 Bo Mackison

Bo Mackison is an insightful, talented and inspirational art, photography and writing creativity coach and teacher. Bo’s wide range of artistic knowledge along with her life experiences makes her the artist and writer’s trusted advisor. I highly recommend Bo as a mentor, teacher, trainer and speaker. ~ Jeanette Richardson Herring, Author and Artist

QUESTIONS TO HELP YOU CLARIFY:  

Are you searching for a place of sanctuary, a place to recharge your inner battery so you can show up bright and energized for the demands of living in today’s world?

Would you benefit from a creative practice that can be done in free moments? What if instead of checking social media whenever a spare moment arises, you chose to check in with yourself instead?  Would you benefit from a contemplative practice that focuses on a stronger connection with yourself and with the present?

Do you thrive with to do lists? Do you do your best, most creative work on a schedule while meeting deadlines? If your answer is yes, then this workshop will likely be a different sort of experience. Are you ready for this kind of change? Then come along and explore the creative and contemplative life with spaciousness and spontaneity.

Do you have the right kind of supplies? You create with the simplest of supplies, things you likely already own or can obtain at minimal cost.

  • Paper of any sort, i.e. sketchbooks, a journal, ephemera. Black paper will be used for mandala making.
  • Any sort of mark-making media you already have, i.e. pens, pencils, markers, pastels, paints.
  • A camera of your choice (Cell phone camera is fine.)
  • Mixed media supplies such as old magazines, household ephemera, a glue stick.

Whether you have a fully equipped art room or a box of simple supplies you store in a closet, you’ll find new ways to create. Surprises and nudges will get your creative juices flowing. Hints on how to see or create in new ways will offer you unlimited possibilities for exploration and are easily incorporated into your everyday routine.

WHEN:

The Autumn journey is 14 weeks long.  September 15, 2019 through December 15, 2019.

HOW:

Private community on Facebook. Everything is delivered to a closed Facebook group page and may show up anytime. Surprise and serendipity! You are encouraged to share your discoveries and experiences in the private group however and whenever you choose.

This guided and easily accessible process allows you to engage in the practice wherever and whenever you choose.

THE COST:

I offer you my knowledge, my skills, my presence and my enthusiasm. The cost for the 14 week journey and an active sharing community is $99.00.

TO RESERVE YOUR SPACE:

Registration is now CLOSED. The winter session will begin December 15th, 2019.

Click here to register through PayPal 

~~~~~

BO MACKISON is an artist, poet, photographer, Certified Kaisen-Muse Creativity Coach, Nalanda Miksang Photography Instructor, hands-on workshop presenter, and a woman who has spent her entire adult life surviving/thriving with the help of the creative practices she now shares with others. Bo has been offering creative and contemplative programs for women since 2014. She’s been told her workshops have changed people’s lives for the better. She believes this to be true.

CONTEMPLATIVE CREATIVES JOURNEY – SPRING 2018: an online workshop

ANNOUNCING THE SPRING SEASON OF THE WOMEN’S WORKSHOP THAT EXPLORES – AND CELEBRATES – THE EXTRAORDINARY IN THE ORDINARY

This gently guided journey with Bo has infused my existing practices with renewed energy. Her exquisite leadership is informed by experience, training and soulful instinct. I consider her a modern mystic. ~Mary Anne Radmacher, author and artist

CONTEMPLATIVE CREATIVES JOURNEY came into being on December 1, 2016 when I officially launched the first WINTER season. Since the initial offer, I have been leading amazing groups of women in creative and contemplative seasonal explorations.

Spring is right around the corner and it’s time to plan for CONTEMPLATIVE CREATIVES JOURNEY – SPRING 2018.

If the words contemplative and creative have a sweet juiciness and you’re interested in a different sort of online workshop, read on.

  • Instead of schedules, I offer serendipity.
  • Instead of a planned curriculum, I offer surprises.
  • Instead of expectations, I offer possibilities.
  • Instead of learned objectives, I offer an always-available way to engage and interact with the world through art, nature and the written word.

I share my practices as they show up in real time. There is a flow – we write, we create art, we observe nature. But there is no plan beyond the present. I choose a theme, often only a day or two before I dive in. Then we explore the theme in depth with writing prompts, contemplative photography, collaborative poetry, and in-your-yard nature observations.

MY SPRING OFFER:

YOU WILL RECEIVE REGULAR AND RANDOM PROMPTS, QUESTIONS, AND EXPLORATIONS.

TOGETHER WE WILL:

  • CREATE ART.
  • WRITE POETRY.
  • LEARN MIKSANG (CONTEMPLATIVE) PHOTOGRAPHY PRACTICES.
  • OBSERVE AND SHARE IN-YOUR-OWN-BACKYARD NATURE.

Together we will explore themes and creative practices that inspire and encourage, elicit wonder and awe, uplift your spirit and feed your soul.

This is not a practice that requires you set aside a certain amount of time each day (unless that is your desire) or complete a lot of projects. You choose whatever amount of engagement feels right for you.

THIS PRACTICE:

  • gently weaves itself throughout your day
  • illuminates the extraordinary in the ordinary, celebrates the uncommon in the common
  • offers ways of interacting with place, highlighting connection with nature, no matter where you live, work and play.
  • is deeply infused with kindness and respect.

A LOOK AT PRIOR SEASONAL OFFERINGS:

Over the course of a season, we typically explore 5 to 8 themes. Each theme may last a week or two and includes reflections, writing prompts, collaborative and shared poetry, mandala and other experential art, and Miksang Contemplative Photography instruction.

We have explored themes such as Silence and Solitude, Ritual and Routine, The Journey, Bounty, Pause – Living the Hours, The Ordinary Everyday, Simplicity, and Wonderment. We have studied and enjoyed artists and poets such as Frida Kahlo, Emily Carr, Marge Piercy, Nikki Giovanni, and Naomi Shihab Nye. We have written collaborative poetry on subjects such as the sacred in the ordinary, our ancestors, and iconic moments from our childhoods.

Here is a sampling from one of the themes offered last Winter:

SIMPLICITY

  • Favorite Quotes
  • The Zen Aesthetic, A Miksang Level Two Practice
  • Sharing Other Women’s Poetry – Contemporary And Traditional Haiku
  • Invitation To Write Haiku
  • Let’s Create Contemporary Haiga
  • Writing The Simplest Poems – Two Word Poetry Prompt
  • Sharing Our Collaborative Poetry – A Day In Our Lives (In Haiku)
  • Sharing Our Photography – Zen Aesthetic Mosaic
  • Creating Mandala Art with Heart

As each theme is completed, it is made available in a PDF for your personal use. A beautifully designed ebook of the complete season’s material is offered to you at the end of the program in a single downloadable file. A copy for you to enjoy and use.

We begin MARCH 15th, 2018.

There is a strong community and collaborative aspect in the group, but it is always invitation and opportunity, never a requirement.

 In community and individually, we explore these themes:

word * vision * place

WORD:

This practice focuses on how to connect — to the world, community, and self — using words. We’ll play with words, explore words, and connect with nature and place using words. We’ll write and share poetry – though you need not consider yourself a poet or a writer to enjoy this practice, as they are all collaborative invitations. We will play with words – tile poetry, chain poetry, and poetry art using found words and pictures.

VISION:

We will explore creating all kinds of mandalas – on paper, in collage, in nature. The photography component of the workshop will focus on Miksang contemplative photography practices. (All types of cameras and skill levels are fine.)

PLACE:

We’ll continue the practice of backyard phenology – the study of nature’s calendar, an ever-present, in-the-present survey of the cycles of plants and animals in your natural world.

Bo Mackison is an insightful, talented and inspirational art, photography and writing creativity coach/teacher. Bo’s wide range of artistic knowledge along with her life experiences makes her the artist and writer’s trusted advisor. I highly recommend Bo as a mentor, teacher, trainer and speaker. ~Jeanette Richardson Herring, Author, Artist, TV and Radio host and producer

QUESTIONS TO HELP YOU CLARIFY:

Are you searching for a place of sanctuary, a place to recharge your inner battery so you can show up bright and energized for the demands of living and thriving in today’s world?

Would you benefit from a creative practice that can be done in free moments? Would you benefit from a contemplative practice that focuses on stronger connections with yourself in the present moment?

WHAT YOU NEED:

You create with the simplest of supplies, things you likely already own/have available.

  • Paper of any sort, i.e. sketchbooks, a journal, ephemera.
  • Any sort of mark-making media you enjoy, i.e. pens, pencils, markers, pastels, paints.
  • Any kind of camera. (Cell phone camera is fine.)
  • Mixed media supplies such as old magazines, household ephemera, a glue stick.
  • A view from a convenient window.
  • Access to Facebook, all content is delivered via a private group.

Whether you have a fully equipped art room or a box of simple supplies you store in a closet, you’ll find new ways to create. Surprises and nudges will get your creative juices flowing. Hints on how to see or create in new ways will offer you unlimited possibilities for exploration and are easily incorporated into your everyday routine. Creativity coaching is a gentle and integral part of the process. “Kindness and respect” is our language of preference.

WHEN:

The SPRING journey is 13 weeks long.  MARCH 15th, 2018 through JUNE 14th, 2018.

HOW:

Private community on Facebook. Everything is delivered to a private Facebook group page and may show up anytime. Surprise and serendipity! You are encouraged to share your discoveries and experiences in the private group however and whenever you choose.

Creative Practices – A Calligraphy Mandala © Bo Mackison

Bo has created a safe and sacred space for creativity to flourish, respite to abide, and healing to occur – no matter what is happening in our internal or external worlds. The vulnerable and honest sharing of her own creative practices has invited me more deeply into my own. I cannot recommend this offering or her heart on others’ behalf highly enough. ~Ronna Detrick, M.Div., speaker and sacred conversationalist

THE COST:

I offer you my knowledge, my skills, my presence and my enthusiasm. The cost for the 13-week journey and an active sharing community is $99.00.

TO RESERVE YOUR SPACE:

Registration is now open.

Link to PayPal Invoice. 

If you would prefer to pay via check, please email me at bo@bomackison.com for details.

I do hope you will join me.

BO MACKISON is an artist, a poet, a photographer, a certified Kaisen Muse creativity coach, a Miksang Photography Instructor, hands-on workshop presenter, and a woman who has spent her entire adult life surviving and thriving using the creative practices she shares. She is the founder of Contemplative Creatives Journey, an Online Workshop. Bo has been offering creative and contemplative programs for women since 2014. She has been told her offerings have changed many people’s lives for the better. She believes this to be true.

Walking the Earth – A Miksang (Contemplative) Photography Collaboration

walk the earth – a collaborative practice © 2017 Bo Mackison

A Miksang Photography collaborative practice. We create together in the Contemplative Creatives Journey workshops. We begin again December 15th, 2017. Here’s the offer.