Sharing cathARTic explorer project at https://catharticexplorer.wordpress.com also found under the “Course” tab above. This therapeutic arts project will be a work in progress. I am starting to move examples into the site. I have also added an extensive “My Story” page outlining my own path and why/how this project came about. Eventually I will have learning modules both free and paid along with real-time therapeutic art services.
Examples of different marketing formats for print and digital media using the theme of medicinal mushrooms as based on my recent training from Pacific Rim College.
Calendars
Trifolds
Greeting Cards
Postcards
Business Cards
Book Cover & Poster
Instagram posts
Logos
Meme
I created my personal story about Luna / L98 / Tsux’iit the killer whale (solitary orca who lived in Nootka Sound) in the format of cards. This talks about a series of dreams I had that coincided with Luna and how I found some of it to intercept mythology. The original story is over 200 pages including raw journal entries but I recently decided to shorten it and produce a more interactive version such as this. This has been in the works since I first met Luna back in 2003. For this format, I used Canva to produce and design my content and then printed the cards at Moo. The results are beautiful. This story isn’t published however I feel it’s still important to do as a form of catharsis, as I find it helps to resolve my trauma. I chose cards because I personally absorb information differently and prefer smaller chunks so I cut the slack and got right to the point. This is my first step in sharing my own unique perspective of Luna, and in a way is a form of exposure therapy as it has caused me a lot of anxiety. If you are interested in producing your own story cards and would like some creative guidance then please contact me, I would love to hear about your project. All the artwork and writing is my own except where I reference out to external literary sources.
Why I made these cards
My own cultural people are responsible for the forest decimation in Nootka Sound (Denmark), and harmful fish farms on our coast (Norway) in conjunction with the Canadian government – Canada is a country, rather company built on the exploitation of land and resources. Interestingly, Luna brought my attention to this – he led me into the lions den. So, Vikings and their descendants continue their legacy to this day. As a descendent of these people, I feel I was given the challenge to recognize this first hand in my lifetime, where I was born and reside far from the Nordic homelands. I waited a long time to make the associations but it meant reconnecting with my culture first. This whole thing has been an intimidating mental load to carry and that sits on top of the Luna tragedy.
I understand why the Indigenous peoples saw Luna as prophetic, I found the connection also in Nordic mythology. I see it too. It’s tied to environmental change or collapse. Since meeting Luna 20 years ago, I have been living in what feels like the beginning of Ragnarök, with the devastating wildfires in BC. Luna is a kind of mythical conduit for me. I feel this is why Luna came into my life, into my dreams, to show me this connection and it led me on a journey back to my own cultural heritage. As a second generation Danish Canadian, I would like other Nordic people to be aware of this story.
What haunts me the most: Link to the company brochure PDF of Nootka Sound – there is an aerial view of where the Indigenous peoples once lived (Yuquot / Friendly Cove – one of the most beautiful places on earth) and where they were forcibly relocated, next to a polluting mill. Photo taken from inside the reserve at the time it was inhabited (since relocated).
Learn more about the Indigenous peoples of Nootka Sound and how they were negatively impacted by the invasive industrialization in their territories. NFB: The Washing of Tears
Simple yet eye catching moving and still images can be produced in Canva. There, you can select a variety of sizes and formats for your different social media platforms. Here I have created two versions of two images: one as a motion gif (since my WordPress plan doesn’t support video) and the other as a static jpeg. These are produced to be shared on LinkedIn and Instagram, as they support square formats. Along with various graphical formats, Canva also provides a link to the external file that can be viewed by anyone such as this one. Reach out to me if you would like to learn how to harness the power of Canva for your project needs or would like content produced for your company or eLearning project. I work with the professional paid version and have access to 10’s of thousands of images and graphics. I also produce my own original images and video as seen below. Please wait a moment for the page to load.
Put aside 1 hour for this but there is no time limit. This activity is meant to keep us in the “being” mode where we can give our mind a break (parasympathetic nervous system) from the stress of always “doing”.
Here is a digital collage I created using Canva. For this exercise, I didn’t have anything in mind, I just placed random images and text onto my canvas. Once complete, I spent time looking at the themes that emerged such as travel, animals, and the colour yellow. While doing this, my mind is present while observing, turning this into a mindful seeing practice. If my mind wanders, I am aware of it and guide my mind back to the image.
Combined in this activity are three practices:
There are two ways you can approach this exercise:
How to produce a digital collage:
Alternatively you can also make a paper collage by cutting and pasting clippings to a sheet of paper or scrapbook. I use the digital format because I don’t have access to clippings to work with.
Be sure to come back to your collage whenever you want to do a seeing practice. You can print it out, move it to your device or place as your computer wallpaper.
There is much more you can do with Canva than I have outlined here but this will get you started and exploring the ecosystem. Have fun and feel free to share your finished collage!
