I’m so excited to announce this further collaboration with Christine Organ…something you can get involved in too! You might recall we’ve been collaborating on this Photo Inspiration Challenge over the last few years, basically I provide a photo, she writes a post or story.
We’ve created this online writing workshop and whether you’re a writer or not this is a great way to fuel your creativity and open your mind to new creative possibilities.
I’m certainly no writer but at some point, as a photographer, there is bound to be some form of writing involved…blog posts, artist statements, project statements, titling your photos, simply coming up with words to describe your work whether in written or spoken form. This writing workshop can only help with getting in the habit and mindset of thinking in word form…something I think we photographers often struggle with.
People often ask me why I write and my answer is always the same: I write to understand and to connect. Writing gives me a space to work through feelings and emotions that I can’t quite makes sense of until I try to create something out of those feelings and emotions. Writing also provides a way to connect with myself, readers, and the world around me…
What I have found, however, is that the benefits of writing are amplified when my work is shared, whether it is with one person or a million people. There is connection created when we allow ourselves to be vulnerable and then share that vulnerability with another person. We become more human, more relatable, more real…
Working with Angie on this project has been an absolute treat, a gift. Even beyond the end result – the blog posts and pages in a book – there is a joy and a transformation, an awakening of the soul if you will, that comes from working together in a creative effort. It isn’t just about the writing, either. It’s about the accountability generated, the vulnerabilities embraced, the encouragement received, and the connections created by working as a part of a team.
Put another way, the whole becomes something greater than the sum total of the parts.
Which is why I am so excited about our latest collaboration. As an extension of the Photo Inspiration Challenge, I am pleased to announce our first writing workshop. In the Mind’s Eye is a three-week online writing group for anyone and everyone looking to bring a little creativity and writing into their daily lives. Participants will receive daily prompts (either a word or photo) designed to inspire creativity, along with a few suggestions to encourage the regular practice of writing.
Our mantra is simple: Show up. Practice. Be brave. Be gentle.
You do not have to be good. You do not have to be a writer. The only thing you need the willingness to practice and support. You can share your work, or not. You can follow the prompts and suggestions, or not. The time commitment will be minimal (15-20 minutes a day), and the group will be small in order to foster camaraderie and connection. The activities will be flexible, the support will be empowering, and the writing will be healing.
“Ring the bells that still can ring
Forget your perfect offering
There is a crack in everything
That’s how the light gets in.”
— Leonard Cohen
