Creativity Courage and Collaboration

Creativity, courage and collaboration three words that speak loudly to me this year. Allowing yourself to be who you are without fear. That is what International Dot Day is all about. Expressing yourself through the arts is a way to reach the flow state. Learning to let go and not worry about mistakes is part of the process. To be in the moment and to let your creativity flow isn’t always easy and I am working hard at truly letting go this year. That is what I love about Art and the creating of it. It is freeing and helpful for both students and their School Counsellors. It is only in the last three years that I have let go of my fears around creating and openly sharing.

Peter Reynolds is such an inspiration in allowing students to find that special creativity in them and making their mark. He’s also great at encouraging adults.

If you haven’t heard of dot day or his books . Enjoy him reading The Dot below:

What is International Dot Day ? ” A global celebration of creativity,courage and collaboration” They really are three C’s that I like a lot.

So in true collaboration starting with my friends I sent them this message. Please send me a picture that YOU took that YOU love that you don’t mind sharing on the internet for a project I am doing.

I needed to share these in a dot,and I did not know of an app that I could put pictures in a circle, so again I reached out in collaborative style .

A great choice for an app, so helpful thanks for the response Alec. I downloaded the app and love it! It did lead me down memory lane wanting to share some great memories and pics that I have.

So how can you involve a lot of people in a short amount of time? Send them a message and create dots. I love these dots. They are interesting,unique and tell a story. They each speak to my heart because I love these people. Each one of these dots that I have received and connected with I will treasure forever. Those that are still thinking about sending me pics please do I am waiting to create your dot.

Celebrating Dot Day with MaryBeth Mulligan

According to Alain De Botton, ” we are very vulnerable, fragile creatures in desperate need of support and we generally don’t get it. … Art [can be] a source of help with our problems — our innermost problems — the problems of the soul. . . . Art can be a form of self-help and there is nothing demeaning about the concept of self-help — only the way in which some of self-help has been done so far, but there is nothing wrong with it as a concept. . . There is nothing wrong with [art today]. It’s not the art that’s the problem — it’s the frame around the art. We are simply not encouraged to bring ourselves to works of art. . . . The impact of art is often not what it should be because the frame is wrong.”

These fabulous photos above allow my friends to bring themselves into their works of art.

In the last page of his book Living, Loving and Learning Leo Buscaglia one of my all-time favourite authors so beautifully says wonderful things about risk in love and in life.

Thanks to all of you who took risks today by sharing your pic when you really did not know why you were sharing, You did it for me and I adore that you trusted me to share your fabulous pieces of Art on this special International Dot Day. Who knows of the many ways we are connected? Today we are connected by dots and have each made our mark. Thanks for sharing and I Iook forward to finding out the stories behind the pictures and if some of you meet each other your dots will be a way to connect . Such fun!

I asked my Teacher Advisory group to pick a picture that they love from their phone that they took . Some of their fabulous pics are below. Then I asked them to share their pic and tell the story behind it with their classmates. What a fun way to get to know more about each other.

The world is already a better place because you have left your mark my friends! Haven’t shared a pic with me please do  anytime. I look forward to seeing your dot!