|
Hello from Broken Hill, where it’s raining. Rain’s a rare thing out here – Wikipedia tells me that Broken Hill gets an average of 50 rainy days a year. This explains why when the clouds rolled in yesterday, I saw some of the locals look up in surprise at the sky. (“Is it going to rain?,” one of them said, a little irritated). It rained a bit yesterday, and afterwards, I went out for a short walk, and the petrichor was beautifully strong and fragrant. The perfect tonic after a full day’s consultation and strategic planning.
The image above is from Broken Hill’s Living Desert sculpture park, which is well worth a look if you’re visiting and looking for some creative inspiration. This newsletter has a theme of inspiration from unlikely sources: a used tea bag, a spoon, a plastic toy or a poem. I hope something in here will spark creativity for you.
|
|
|
Zero Waste Art
 Ruby Silvious is an artist with a long list of qualifications, exhibitions and awards, but she is frugal when it comes spending on art materials. Her 52 Weeks of Tea is a visual diary of a years’ worth of paintings on tea bags using watercolour and gouache. Used tea bags at that. I was sceptical too, until that well-known miniature artist, Fleur Lee-Sharpe, started practicing this innovative artform from our kitchen table.
Turns out there’s a business in this. Reading through Silvious’s bio, I see that she has business and marketing qualifications as well as graphic art studies in New York and Florence. Silvious developed the business of her art by publishing two books and running courses on Domestika, a platform offering both free and paid online courses covering everything creative from photography and video, writing, and fashion.
Teaching online via Domestika looks like a low-risk opportunity to diversify income streams. There is no upfront cost as Domestika covers the costs of course production and pays royalties too. Architectural sketching teacher David Drazil explains the process of creating an online course with Domestika on his blog.
|
|
|
A story worth listening to
My favourite podcast episode this month was an interview with storytelling expert Matthew Dicks. He’s a prolific author and primary school teacher who now teaches business people how to tell stories that engage their audiences. He starts by saying, “No one wants to hear anything you have to say unless you give them a good reason to listen” and then explains his keys to storytelling: stakes, suspense, surprise, humour.
I had to agree when he warned that no one is really interested in the information and data you have painstakingly prepared for your pitch or presentation, they want to hear a story that engages their emotions. Most of us retell events chronologically and try to describe a scene, but Dicks advises that to engage emotions, story tellers make sure they make the audience laugh in the first 30 seconds and then avoid description in order to let the listener use their imagination. It’s worth listening just to hear the tale of the “Spoon of Power” which illustrates how an effective story is about change over time, a realisation or a transformation. Please listen to this if you have an important pitch or presentation coming up!
|
|
Serious play helps you think with your hands
Take 6 Lego bricks and make the world’s best duck, then tell the story of why it is the best duck in the world to your coworkers. Then take 2 bricks away and refine your duck model with just 4 bricks. Could be the start of a strategic planning session or problem-solving meeting. During a LEGO® SERIOUS PLAY® session, participants are led through a series of questions, probing deeper and deeper into the subject.
Each participant builds his or her own 3D LEGO model in response to the facilitator’s questions using specially selected LEGO elements. These 3D models serve as a basis for group discussion, knowledge sharing, problem solving and decision making. Ditching the whiteboard and covering the table with Lego bricks is said to enhance creativity, communication and engagement and produce better problem-solving by allowing all participants to have hands-on input while breaking down hierarchies. Certified facilitators run the sessions however The LEGO® Group doesn’t run the training or charge for using the methodology. This video gives an extended demonstration of the process with enough clues to get you started on running a session on your own.
|
|
|
Prescribing poetry
When sleeping pills and vitamins aren’t working to lift your mood, you may need an emergency poet. British poets Deb Alma and Jim Sheard have been dispensing poetry since 2011 from the back of a vintage ambulance as the Emergency Poets at festivals, conferences, hospitals and care settings, libraries and schools, with a poetry pharmacy of poems-in-pills. The Poetry Pharmacy shops in London stock a specially curated range of books and other literary artefacts “for the restoration of the self” and also offer consultations to determine exactly the right poem needed to treat your ailment. I love this inspired approach to selling poetry, and hope it continues to boost the income of poets everywhere. In Australia, poets are the lowest-earning category of practising authors, according to this 2022 survey.
|
|
|
Resources
- Eligible non-profit organisations can access up to $10,000 per month in search ads shown on Google. Go to Google Ad Grants—Free Google Ads for Nonprofits to apply, see case studies of organisations that have benefited, and find other Google resources and FAQs. Our client Digital Ninjas can help with the implementation.
- https://www.service.nsw.gov.au/careers-nsw is a free resource for job seekers and employers with practical tips on applications and interview skills and access to personalised career advice as well as data on expected growth and opportunities in a range of creative industries. You can volunteer as a Careers NSW industry expert by completing the form to register your interest
- The Support Act Wellbeing Helpline is a free, confidential, 24/7 counselling service for anyone working in Australian music or the arts. It offers expertise in mental health, loneliness, relationship breakdown, financial worries, illness, and workplace conflict. The Helpline offers 12 free counselling sessions per person and is also available to Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) who do not have access to an Employee Assistance Program (EAP).
- Creative Australia is running a major research project on the economic impact of the music industry in Australia. If you’re a muso and want to contribute, jump on board here.
- The Baseline Happiness Project is offering a five-day Creator’s Retreat that teaches meditation techniques that can help creatives tap into the flow state and overcome creative blocks. I loved their bold and colourful website design, too.
|
|
|
Things to do this month
- Take another look at your cred deck, website and socials – what is the story you are telling about your business?
- Search engines love video and videos are very “sticky”, that is they get visitors to spend more time on your page. Are you using video to your best advantage?
- Throw some LEGO bricks on the table at your next team meeting and see what happens.
|
|
|
