It seems like an unlikely conundrum for a lover of words. When I am working for a long time with language on a specific problem, I find myself most able to gain insights when I step away from language and work from a non-language approach.

I have been working on re-branding my creative life coach and soul growth business and I bumped into a language barrier. I moved to mixed media and the layers – and images – and vintage book pages – and layers – and images – and colors – started to do their magic and speak to me differently than if I had just sat at my desk and attempted to “figure it all out”.

Mixed media works differently.

Mistakes lead to the choice to add more colors or layers of paint or paper or ink.

Found language lifts words which speak to the language blocks differently. It isn’t a collision of words or ideas, it is a periscope or a tunnel into a breakthrough that wasn’t previously there.

This helped me immeasurably. I have moved forward in ways I never could have without taking the time away from the written word and language and into the beyond language space.

Have you tried mixed media?

If you haven’t, why not try something new?

This June and July I will be participating in the Daisy Yellow Index Card a day art challenge. I encourage you to consider it.

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Julie Jordan Scott inspires people to experience artistic rebirth via her programs, playshops, books, performances and simply being herself out in the world. She is a writer, creative life coach, speaker, performance poet, Mommy-extraordinaire and mixed-media artist whose Writing Camps and Writing Playgrounds permanently transform people’s creative lives. Watch for the announcement of new programs coming in Spring, 2015 and beyond.

To contact Julie to schedule a Writing or Creative Life Coaching Session, call or text her at 661.444.2735.

Check out the links below to follow her on a bunch of different social media channels, especially if you find the idea of a Word-Love Party bus particularly enticing.

Please stay in touch: Follow me on Twitter: @JulieJordanScot

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Writing at Gertrude Stein’s House

King Arthur’s knights quested after the Holy Grail. I, however, perpetually quest for ways to make writing fun. I even posted a request for “writing fun suggestions” at the Writing Camp with JJS Facebook page recently.

In a few spare moments on a Saturday night I decided to visit twitter’s #amwriting feed. I came upon a post with a headline very hype-y but obviously it made me click.Hyperbole is much alive in this title “This Fun Creative Writing Exercise Will Change Your Life”.

Seriously? One writing exercise will change my life?

I can’t support that wildly reaching proclamation but the article did, help me give birth to a poem draft. I haven’t written as much poetry lately and it made me sad. Writing a quick draft – badly on purpose – felt exceptional.

Does this change my life?

Maybe.

This creative writing exercise is most of all enjoyable and yes, it does get one’s pencil moving. Here is what I quickly wrote, attempting to write poorly as my theme:

Bad Poem: Take First

Sisyphus expels fiction

Portable headstones rumbling nowhere

Fused opinions laugh at sweat

Mangle Josephine and Scarlet and Rastafarian hats

(Not even sure if that is a word, I continue)

Rain doesn’t come here

Snow doesn’t come here

Pacifists don’t come here

Snaggletooth and mulberries are frowned upon

over there though their new wall and

attempt at visibility works

Voo doo doll paves the way

So this is how this works?

First shots. Not a dunk or lay up

Hula hoop falls down the hips

Too many EL Fudge cookies

leave her belly trapezoidal

Try again

later

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Your turn!