Calling all creatives and sensitive souls attempting to navigate in this strange, new, unpredictable world. Could you use a guiding map to help you engage more consciously and courageously through all this change? The world can seem darker, depressing, and beyond our control when we forget we’re creatively powerful individuals. You can learn new ways to create from your most authentic place and more confidently express your heart’s true purpose and passion. When we remember we are the world’s contributors and collaborators, we can move towards remaking it, better, more inclusive, saner, and more hope-filled— even if it is just our little corner of it. A drop in the ocean, sure…but imagine the ripple effects one drop can make.
Kissing the Muse is a transformative practice that can help you experience your full creative potential and power. In my TLA Network course, we’ll embark on a 6-week Messy, Magical, Art-Making Adventure together designed to deepen your connection with your inner muse—your ultimate, infinite creative power. You will meet and “kiss” six different muse archetypes, each representing a particular aspect of the mythic journey (the same pattern found in stories, movies, and fairy tales around the world). This cyclical pattern also serves as a map for navigating your personal life, your artistic process, or the narrative arc of a memoir, novel, or story.
This course also offers three opportunities for live interaction—two group ZOOM sessions, on October 17 and November 21, and a personal, 1/2-hour, one-to-one coaching session with the instructor the week of November 4-11.
Original artwork by Robbyn Layne McGill
Ultimately, the purpose of this course is to help you engage in a creative practice that provides emotional clarity, conscious connection, hope, and encouragement.
So grab a gluestick and pucker up. Let’s go on a messy, magical, art-making adventure to change the world for the better.
Robbyn Layne McGill is a writer, film-maker and painter who lives in Amsterdam, and runs workshops and trainings around the globe. Robbyn has an MFA in New Practices, an MA in Transpersonal Psychology, and a BA in Journalism—but the story of how she came to live in Amsterdam (with a man she truly loves, and a cat named Leonard Cohen), and host collage-making “Muse Dates” is far, far more interesting. www.kissingthemuse.com.
I bought a house, on a one-way dead-end road. I don’t know how I got there. ~ Stephen Wright
Have you heard this joke of Stephen’s? I’ve listened to Stephen Wright many times, and each time I hear this witticism, I laugh. Listen to almost any comedian, and you will often hear them repeat their best jokes, or riff off of the old to create new jokes. Artists in other genres refine their art by riffing on patterns of reuse. Claude Monet devoted some thirty paintings to the haystacks in a field near his house at Giverny. Poet Audre Lorde revisits themes of racism, sexuality and nature.
I’ve spent a lifetime starting fresh with writing pieces, and as many of us know, the blank page can be daunting. I ask you, are you using one of the best sources for art – art you’ve previously created – as a source for more art? I ask myself, can I find inspiration in what I have already created? As humans, we love patterns. As an artist, I find that revisions can serve as both a work in process and as new milestones.
Monday is an awful way to spend 1/7th of your life. ~ Stephen Wright
Revisiting Mondays may be an awful way to spend your time, but revisiting your art – and the memory of people who inspire it – that can be a real pleasure. Here’s an example. Recently, I made a presentation to the Unitarian Universalist congregation which I serve as Office Manager. Designed to be more inspiring talk than annual report, many of my words were intended to honor the congregants. After my intro, I shared:
Over these last ten years, I’ve had the opportunity to see what phenomenal looks like. Phenomenal is the face of you. When children lose their toys on our roof, you say “I’ll get it down.” When we need to move prairie dogs off of our property, you say “Let’s do it in a way that respects them.” When we put up a Black Lives Matter banner, which we did a few years back, and it gets stolen – twice – you say “Let’s put up another.” It was a proud moment when a person of color stopped into the office, and thanked us for the banner. I replied on behalf of the congregation “You are very welcome.”
I went on to speak about specific projects, and concluded, “What does phenomenal look like? It looks like you.”
Let’s apply this philosophy of revisioning art to honor another group of people. Let’s see if I can make new art based on the old.
I would like to take this moment to speak in honor of African American people. Over the decades of my working career, of becoming more woke – which I will work on for the rest of my life – I have seen what phenomenal looks like. Phenomenal is the face of you. When a young scared white girl is lost on a Chicago commuter train, you pull out a Chicago transit map and help her find her way. When you are given a technical assignment to upgrade agent computers on a “you have one chance to do this right or thousands of agent computers will crash around the country,” you work it, and every single computer receives the upgrade and applies it successfully. When a disturbed white man shoots and kills, you forgive. When a cop murders your unarmed son, you, his beloved family and friends, ask for justice. What does phenomenal look like? It looks like you.
The philosophy of being inspired by my own art could be used to honor one marginalized group after another: single mothers, retirees, trans folx, Native Americans, folx who roll on wheelchairs and many more. In our culture, there are many opportunities to pay respect that is long overdue.
For the moment, I will pause and leave this revision stand for awhile, and take time to reflect upon people of color I have known or have learned about, who are, indeed, phenomenal.
@2020 Carol Pranschke with gratitude to Diane Glass and Rev. Ruth Rinehart for early feedback
A long-time creative since she was little, Carol’s first true love was story. Stories saved her life (along with meditation, long talks with sisters, and blowing big bubbles). She sees a storyteller in you, and would like to dialogue about transformative language. See more at Carol’s website, or contact her at carolpranschke@gmail.com.
We all take, save and inherit photographs of the people, places and things that bring meaning, mystery, hope and connection into our lives. In my upcoming webinar for the TLA Network, “How Pictures Heal,” these treasured personal archives will be the bridge to writing as a means of restoring meaning, purpose, hope and resilience during and after loss. (Learn more about the class here.)
The first thing I invite participants to do is to choose a photo of yourself to write from. Any photo, from any time in your life. It’s best to trust your instincts, and choose a photo that arrests your attention and seems to be whispering – it has a deeper story to tell.
Here’s what happened for Grace, a recent participant in one of my workshops, when I invited her to step into the three-dimensional world of her photo – in her own words:
When I was asked to find a picture to write about, I went to the one that I felt more sorrow, the picture that I look at, and wished I could go back to and stop time. There were so many questions, I just saw three cute kids, kind of looking like triplets, the way we looked so much alike.
I chose it not knowing how much the writing would come to life, I went back to that five-year-old who was plucked from her tropical safety net in Costa Rica, to come to America, where the cold hit me from my nose to the bottom of my terracotta soles. I am answering the questions that kept me in that time-warp of sadness. Today, opening up my mind and remembering things I thought were lost in a bottomless pit, the phoenix is rising, and the void of my past and memories of light not darkness are helping me stop, smell, and feel the sunshine that disappeared the night the plane landed in Logan Airport.
Grace’s 1965 passport photo, Costa Rica (Grace is on the far left).
Grace initially wrote what I call the “raw material,” from her photo, by answering question prompts I offer. Then, she continued developing the memory and her writing, and eventually composed a short personal memory piece, “Passport to Snow (1965).” Below are some excerpts from her photo-inspired memoir vignette (shared with permission of the author):
Grace – Always know, that if you keep both feet on the ground everything is going to be all right. ~ Tia Flori
In Costa Rica, where I was born, we run without shoes. We run around in the dirt, but we are always clean. Jabon. Soap. Smell of clean. A nice, shiny black soap with a scent I cannot get out of my system. Sweet, the smell of my grandmother.
I love to wiggle under my grandmother’s porch to eat the chalky dirt. I crave the gritty taste. Light brown to a red, like a spoonful of cinnamon. Me and my sister, Iris, are under the porch, eating dirt. The dirt is moist, like moss.
I am always in trouble…
At five, I feel my feet suddenly stepping into the unknown. I am being led by the hand, by my cousin Gloria, and my grandmother, to stand on a blank, white, piece of paper. What am I putting my feet on this paper for? The cobbler is drawing my feet with his pencil. First the paper was blank. Now I see the imprint of both my feet, left and right.
A few weeks pass, and a beautiful pair of ankle high shoes arrive. First, I smell the fresh paper they are wrapped in. Then I inhale the aroma of new leather. The white patent leather shines bright like the Costa Rican sun. The shoes are sturdy and strong: white with laces, with a terra cotta sole.
I have never had shoes as special as these made for me before. My mother and father are in a place called Sudbury in a state called Massachusetts, in the United States. They tell my grandmother, make sure the children get some shoes, because it’s winter here.
Who Should take this class? How Pictures Heal: Expressive Writing from Personal Photos, with Kelly DuMar TLA practitioners at all levels of experience Anyone interested in personal and artistic development Professionals and para-professionals who work with memory challenged seniors Family members of those suffering from dementia and Alzheimer’s, and caretakers of those with memory challenges, will find dynamic creative outlets for personal and professional development Writers and artists with an interest in exploring the healing aspects of personal photos.
We’ll create a safe and supportive environment, offering respectful support that inspires the development of every writer’s voice. I look forward to working with you!
Kelly DuMar, M.Ed. is a poet, playwright, and engaging workshop leader who generates enlivening writing experiences for new and experienced writers. Her photo-inspired creative writing method elicits profound personal awakenings, deepens connection with others, and fosters beautifully crafted writing in poetry and prose. Author of three poetry collections, girl in tree bark, Tree of the Apple, and All These Cures, Kelly is also author of Before You Forget— The Wisdom of Writing Diaries for Your Children. Kelly’s award winning plays have been produced around the US and Canada, and are published by dramatic publishers. Kelly is a certified psychodramatist, former psychotherapist, and Fellow in the American Society for Group Psychotherapy and Psychodrama. She founded Let’s Talk TLA, a bi-monthly tele-conference and poetry open mic for members of the Transformative Language Arts Association. Currently, Kelly serves on the board & faculty of The International Women’s Writing Guild. Kelly inspires readers of #NewThisDay – her daily photo-inspired blog – with her mindful reflections on a writing life. You can learn more about Kelly at www.kellydumar.com
During these times – as our nation faces profound threats to our democracy, institutional racism is being exposed and challenged on every front, and as we grapple with the impact of a devastating pandemic in the face of a global climate crisis – we continue to promote the transformative language arts as a means for effecting powerful and important social change.
Whether you use your voice as a writer, a poet, a storyteller, a performer, an artist, a community leader, a change-maker, or in any kind of way – your voice matters. The work you do in the world matters. Our job here at the TLA Network is to offer support, share resources, hold out hope that change is possible, and to help keep our community moving forward while staying connected.
To that end, we are pleased to offer an incredible slate of upcoming fall online classes: How Pictures Heal: Expressive Writing from Personal Photos // with Kelly DuMar (Sept 23 – Nov 3, 2020) Kissing the Muse: A Messy, Magical, Art-Making Adventure // with Robbyn Layne McGill (Oct 14 – Dec 1, 2020) The Art of Facilitation: Roots and Blossoms of Facilitation // with Caryn Mirriam-Goldberg & Joy Roulier Sawyer (Oct 28 – Dec 15, 2020) Fantastic Folktales & Visionary Angles to Transform Our Stories // with Lyn Ford (Jan 20, 2020 – Feb 23, 2021
Additionally, we invite you to join us in Santa Fe, New Mexico next fall, on the other side of this pandemic, at our 18th Power of Words conference. Join us October 29-31, 2021, as we gather with other like-minded transformative language artists dedicated to making the world a better place. We are delighted to welcome four spectacular keynotes: U.S. Poet Laureate Joy Harjo, spoken word poet and musician Lyla June Johnston, poet and artist Caits Meissner, and poet Javier Zamora.
Both the conference and all the classes are on sale right now – so make sure you take advantage of the moment, and let’s set our sites on being in community together again, and soon.
In the midst of our shifting daily realities, I believe this one experience remains a constant: we all take and treasure photographs of the people, places and things that bring meaning and beauty into our lives. If we have access to a cell phone or a camera, we are snapping images that inspire, comfort, stimulate mystify and delight us. We are snapping images to capture moments of emotional nourishment.
Look at your own photo stream now. Scroll through the last few pictures you took. Now pick one out that’s grabbing your attention. Give it a title.
Here’s one of mine from my daily walk I’ll title: “Found Feather on Bed of Seaweed.”
Found Feather on Bed of Seaweed, by Kelly DuMar
During these times when our daily habits and familiar counted on experiences shift us into periods of disruption, unknown outcomes, and deprivations, we need, more than ever, to give ourselves permission to renew our spirit and generate calm and comfort. Our personal photos, whether recent or past, hold secret satisfactions that we can immediately summon through writing and reflection. We can take a few moments, somewhere in our day, to focus on something that captures our curiosity, is deeply comforting, or profoundly mysterious.
So, find your photo, and title it.
Now, I invite you to write a three-sentence story about your photo. Only three sentences––you can find the time for this, can’t you? So, I want you to think about what is meaningful to you about this photo; you sense it, because the photo is calling on your emotions and senses. Let’s tease the meaning out a bit by playfully and imaginatively filling in these sentence prompts:
This photo seizes my attention because. . .
If I could step inside this photo and move around in it, I would. . .
As I return from my experience in this photo, I carry with me. . .
Okay, as an example, I offer you a first draft of my own:
Found Feather in Bed of Seaweed
This photo seizes my attention because of how the wings of sky meet the underworld plant life of sea.
If I could step inside this photo and move around. . . I string the wet seaweed in my hair and borrow the bird feather and flap my arm/wings and fly freely over the Sound and have my bird’s view––how large and deep and hidden but full of life the ocean is.
As I return from my experience in the photo, I carry with me the ability to believe in the vitality of so much that is around me that I cannot see.
I hope you will find a recent or past personal photo––with or without people––any personal image that is grabbing your attention. You don’t have to know why. I want you to let yours emerge in all the wonderfully unique ways your photo will emerge in your sentences.
Consider sending me your photo and three-sentence story. I hope you will consider writing from many more of your photos with me in my upcoming course for the Transformative Language Arts Network. We will generate new drafts of your writing in any genre you choose, you will develop, revise and craft your writing, and you will learn many skills and approaches for working professionally in facilitating expressive writing from photos.
Kelly DuMar, M.Ed. is a poet, playwright, and engaging workshop leader who generates enlivening writing experiences for new and experienced writers. Her photo-inspired creative writing method elicits profound personal awakenings, deepens connection with others, and fosters beautifully crafted writing in poetry and prose. Author of three poetry collections, girl in tree bark, Tree of the Apple, and All These Cures, Kelly is also author of Before You Forget— The Wisdom of Writing Diaries for Your Children. Kelly’s award winning plays have been produced around the US and Canada, and are published by dramatic publishers. Kelly is a certified psychodramatist, former psychotherapist, and Fellow in the American Society for Group Psychotherapy and Psychodrama. She founded Let’s Talk TLA, a bi-monthly tele-conference and poetry open mic for members of the Transformative Language Arts Association. Currently, Kelly serves on the board & faculty of The International Women’s Writing Guild. Kelly inspires readers of #NewThisDay – her daily photo-inspired blog – with her mindful reflections on a writing life. You can learn more about Kelly at www.kellydumar.com
Kelly is a long-time member and workshop facilitator for the TLA Network, and she has presented workshops at the Power of Words Conference every year since 2015, when she also joined the organizations governing body, the TLA Network Council. Kelly created SPARKS, a quarterly online open-mic and featured presenter series for TLAN. In her upcoming TLAN class, “How Pictures Heal: Expressive Writing from Personal Photos,” Kelly demonstrates how we can use our imaginations to heal ourselves and inspire our readers and listeners with empathy, comfort, and hope. Kelly is a member of the TLA Network because, she says, together, we are a gathering of empathic and imaginative people who care about helping each other heal by “telling-out” the large and small wounds we call encounters. Essential practices matter, now more than ever.
Kelly believes wholeheartedly in the creative and spiritual renewal of a daily writing practice. In August, she celebrated four years of #NewThisDay, her daily photo-inspired creative writing blog. “Every day,” Kelly writes, “I walk in nature, which very often is along the Charles River in the suburbs of Boston where I live. I take pictures of nature just as I find it, in all seasons and cycles and weather. Something in the landscape, what I call my writing habitat, grabs my attention, and I snap a photo. At the end of every day, I put my photos in my blog, and appreciate once again the beauty, aesthetic delight, mystery, and imagination of the photo. Then I write, spontaneously, into the images, focusing only on the present moment. This is my daily practice of not suffering about yesterday or worrying about tomorrow. I discipline myself to be here now, and to notice and fully experience the beauty of the present tense. Many of my poems eventually spring from the seeds of this daily writing.”
Kelly continues about the impact of expressive writing throughout her life. “As a thirteen-year-old, writing in my first diary about the death of my first love, I had no idea this impulse to tell-out my sorrow and troubles between the lines of blank white paper would seed a practice of a lifetime. As a psychotherapist, a psychodramatist, a playwright, a poet, writing workshop facilitator, and mother––all of the roles I have played in my life have been shaped by, and rooted in, expressive writing.”
Essential practices matter, now more than ever. – Kelly DuMar
About a decade ago, Kelly found a photo of her Aunt Marion who had died of cancer. “This photo had arrested my attention in such a mysterious, powerful way. I knew I needed to unpack all the deeper meaning and wisdom, truth and beauty it held. As I wrote my first photo inspired poem, ‘Monadnock,’ the process helped me grieve in ways I had yet to for her loss.”
From this first photo-inspired poem, Kelly developed a method of writing from personal photos that can help us grow personally, artistically, and emotionally.
“Whether we are singing or telling our stories, or crafting our wounds into poems, we need to tell-out our own, and listen to each other’s stories. In our TLA network gatherings, we open our ears and eyes and hearts to each other. We find beauty in truth in community.”
Transformative Language Arts Network Blog 