Articles by Bo Mackison

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.

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.