Articles by Bo Mackison

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.

An Afternoon in Trinidad, Cuba

Street of Trinidad ©2019 Bo Mackison

Walking along old cobblestone streets and alleyways in Trinidad, past the tile-roofed and pastel-colored buildings. A UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Museo de Historia Municipal.

Trinidad’s main museum, this once grand mansion is only steps from Plaza Mayor. It belonged to the Borrell family from 1827 to 1830 and then was owned by to a German sugar baron named Kanter. Though in poor condition, it gives a glimpse of the once highly decorated style.

Fountain ©2019 Bo Mackison
Corner Protector ©2019 Bo Mackison

Large posts are set at the corners of many of the buildings as protection from passing vehicles. A bit of graffiti on the post; hand created tablecloths blowing in the background.

Street in Trinidad ©2019 Bo Mackison
Once Governor’s Home, On the Square ©2019 Bo Mackison
Iglesia Parroquial de la Santísima Trinidad amidst Palm Trees ©2019 Bo Mackison

Iglesia Parroquial de la Santísima Trinidad ©2019 Bo Mackison

This church on the northeastern side of Plaza Mayor is a popular stop, but it was closed when we visited on a Sunday afternoon. Rebuilt in 1892 on the site of a church destroyed in a storm, it houses artifacts dating to the 18th century,

Museo de Arquitectura ©2019 Bo Mackison

This architecture museum showcases the upper-class domestic architecture of the 18th and 19th centuries. Housed in buildings erected in 1738 and 1785, the two homes were connected in 1819. Once the residence of the wealthy Iznaga family, it has displays of some family heirlooms.

Palm ©2019 Bo Mackison
Ironwork in the Plaza ©2019 Bo Mackison
Streets of Trinidad III ©2019 Bo Mackison
Artist of Trinidad ©2019 Bo Mackison

This woodcarver is featured in the 19th-century Palacio Ortiz house on the southeastern side of Plaza Mayor. He carves full-sized portraits from vintage doors he scavenges on the island. Incredible work.

On the Way to Trinidad – Cienfuegos and The Valley of Sugar Mills

Cienfuegos is considered one of Cuba’s more well-preserved cities. Cienfuegos (meaning “100 Fires”) was settled in 1819 by the French. A grid of straight streets, squares and fountains, and symmetrical colonnades carry hints of Bordeaux and New Orleans.

The original church building was opened in 1833, with additions and improvements completed in the 1850-1860s. The church was declared a cathedral in 1903. UNESCO Heritage Site, 2005.

View of side street in Cienfuegos, Cuba
Transportation in Cienfuegos © 2019 Bo Mackison

More than 300 buildings from the latter half of the 19th century remain in the downtown area and it is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, but the living conditions are in various states of disrepair and services are basic.

After we left Cienfuegos, we passed through the Valley of the Sugar Mills, once home to more than 50 mills during its colonial heyday, and made our first stop at the estate and grounds of former sugar magnate Manacas Iznaga.

The Cuban sugar empire lasted from the late 18th to the late 19th century. At its peak, 50 sugar mills were concurrently in operation, producing 140,000 sugar cane arrobas per 32 acres. Valley of the Sugar Mills has been named a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Today, there are few signs of the once bustling production. The former plantation and factory remain, and they have been converted into guest facilities — a restaurant and bar, a small gift shop, and a street bazaar.

Tower

One of the most striking features of this property is the tall tower that bears the former sugar baron’s name. According to Cuban legend, Iznaga built the tower so he could overlook his lands and keep watch of the many slaves who worked his fields.

The people depend on the sales of their handiwork. A large tablecloth, hand-created, costs about $30-50 — a bargain. But to add perspective, the average Cuban in a government sponsored job — perhaps high school teacher or psychologist or common laborer — makes about $25 a month.

Now that the Cuban citizens are allowed to make money in the tourist sector, their chances to make enough money for above-substenance living have improved.

Sailing through Cienfuegos Bay

Cayo Carenas, Cuba

We set sail from Miami on Thursday, February 21 about 6 p.m. and arrived at the mouth of the harbor midday on Saturday February 23.

Winding Our Way through the Channel ©2019 Bo Mackison

We are heading for our first stop, Cienfuegos, a city of about 150,000 people, situated on the southern coast of Cuba.

Jagua, Cuba as Seen from the Viking Star ©2019 Bo Mackison

Miami Departure – On the Viking Star

Leaving Miami © 2019 Bo Mackison

We departed Miami on February 21 on a week long cruise heading to Cuba.

Welcome Aboard ©2019 Bo Mackison

The weather fully cooperated for our 6 pm departure and the day was sunny and warm. 93˚ felt planty warm. When we returned from our afternoon excursion to the nearby art museum, the pool deck was busy.

Infinity Pool and Miami Background ©2019 Bo Mackison
Sun Setting as We Begin Our Voyage to Cuba ©2019 Bo Mackison

A Thursday evening departure, a full day at sea tomorrow, and an early afternoon arrival in Cienfuegas, Cuba on Saturday.