caricature girl

Creativity— Their's, Mine and Our's...

Last Monday evening I gave a "creative journaling workshop/ seminar/ caricature" gig at Ric's Grill in Riverbend for Bishop & McKenzie LLP. What a fantastic night! I prepared 11 journals and some collage sheets in advance so that we wouldn't have to spill paint and toxic chemicals at the restaurant. The event began at 4pm with some wine, some snacks and lots of cutting and pasting. I was so impressed with the enthusiasm that everyone had to just jump right in! Once the guests were all on their way with their journals, I took people one at a time to draw their caricatures and then scanned them in. After a delicious dinner, I grouped all the caricatures together into a group picture and printed them off. You could just FEEL the creative energy released in the room.

This was so unlike the energy in the room I entered the next day at the River Cree Resort where there was a "creativity themed" trade show for accountants going on. As I waited to set up my easel in front of the Cognos Booth, the room reminded me of a scene from Ferris Buellar's Day Off—everyone bored out of their minds, waiting for the "teacher" to finish talking so they could go eat lunch. I felt like maybe these people all just needed some scissors and gluesticks!
I did learn one thing from the lecture that I didn't know- have YOU ever scene the arrow in the Fed Ex logo?

Next I (unknowingly) drove through the outskirts of a tornado to my next gig at the Lux for Telus. I can't even begin to tell you about the many "creative" ideas that passed back and forth and through the marketing firm, the event planner and even my wonderful entertainment agent Margie, all having a part and an opinion about this event and what we should draw the caricatures on for Telus. At the end of the day, the attendees were extremely willing and then grateful for their drawings which makes all the other "stuff" worth while. (They didn't even seem to mind being drawn as plants coming out of a pot.)

Tonight I finished a couple caricatures for twin brothers turning the big 60. These gentlemen don't even look like brothers, twins none the less! Mother nature can be pretty amazingly creative herself!