Reflecting on an Abundant Summer
What has your summer been like? How do you move forward with your abundant harvest?
It’s been a fun summer for me. But one that I didn’t intend. Which is rare because I usually have things well planned, or at least a clear vision. Still, I am extremely grateful for the opportunity and all that I’ve learned.
Because I am changing up how I approach my programming for the fall,
I’ve been asked to share what it took to pull off my summer musings. I hope you find the following helpful should you decide to do something similar.
What I did
I spent the summer at home in Durango, Colorado. Between the European travels and my upcoming travels from coast to coast and down under, I made a two-fold plan:
Stay firmly rooted in Durango so I can support some community work and hope other local opportunities pop up, and
Work hard to reach a global audience through two series of free virtual offerings: A Summer of Lettering Tips Tuesdays (LTT) and Digital Scribing for Visual Practitioners (DSVP).
I love Durango, Colorado. I have lived here on and off for over 25 years. In that time I have worn many hats and went from knowing just about everyone in town to being a total stranger as it has grown. I have a downtown studio overlooking Main Avenue. And while I love my anonymity, I thought this summer would be different. I offered classes, volunteered my time, had an art show and book signing. I had the support of a few local friends and had my first paying GR/GF gig since I moved back over two years ago. I still don’t feel like I belong and I stopped waiting for my phone to ring. It seems even in this slow, Western town people are still running in all directions. I hope they are all thriving.
So I spent every Tuesday planning, sharing, broadcasting and seeing visual friends from around the world. Together with the help of Joleyne Mayers-Jaekel and her brilliant sketchnotes, we captured 12 lettering sessions covering every type of Neuland Marker nib and the lettering styles and technique that go with them. What a blast!
Pictured above: sketchnotes by Joleyne Mayers-Jaekel
Then, every other week or so I hosted an expert visual practitioner in digital scribing to share an app, process, or technical connection. The Digital Scribing for Visual Practitioners was a hit! So many generous people in our field willing to share valuable content for others to learn and grow.
What it took
I had offered open sessions before. I thought I knew what it took. If you are interested in doing something similar, here is what I discovered:
Organizing: Putting out calls for and organizing six speakers, writing descriptions, finding and setting dates, tech calls, collecting images and branding them, event listings and social media posts (6+ hours per DSVP speaker x 6 +12 for LTT = 48+ hours)
Preparing: prep for each session, outline, emails to speaker and IFVP Social Media Committee (SMC), script (~2 hours each x 6 for DSVP + 12 for LTT = 24+ hours)
Day of Session: tech calls, live session, post-production, compression, uploading, sharing on social media, follow ups (6 + 12 x ~6 = 78+ hours)
That equates to a part-time job every week for the summer. Between I worked to support the strategic efforts of the homeless issue in Durango, offered a few free lettering workshops, and revamped the Unlock Your Neuland Markers video series that you can find here.
What I learned
Everything you want to do takes three times or longer than you think it will. Factor in limited space on the computer when working with large video files and you might as well grab that stress ball or you will lose all your hair.
People are generous. When you are generous, you model the way for others. Every guest expert gave their time and expertise to help others. Half of the experts were experienced trainers, the other half experienced virtual instruction for the first time!
It takes a team. The IFVP SMC was instrumental in spreading the word about the sessions. And Joleyne was a creative trooper with her weekly sketchnotes. And participants were wonderful for spreading their experience with others on social media.
What’s next...
For me, I need to finish what I set out to do early this summer and finish up some online courses I’ve been working on. Then it’s off to teach, learn, learn, present and learn some more for the next few months. Hopefully I will see some of you in Washington, DC and Melbourne, Australia for my in-person workshops.
With that shift, I have concluded the Digital Scribing for Visual Practitioners series and leave it open to anyone who would like to take it on. Now that you know what it takes, it’s no mystery. It was quite fun, very educational and useful, and will help you get your name out there as someone involved in the IFVP. If you want to get involved, feel free to reach out to Phil Bakelaar, board member and IFVP Institute president. Or email me if you have questions about what it entails. I’m happy to provide all of the files I created or watch you recreate the series in your signature style.
And Lettering Tips Tuesdays will look different too! I plan on offering up lettering tips and tricks, but they won’t be hour-long live sessions like I offered this summer. These will be bite-size lettering morsels you can find on Instagram, Facebook and/or Twitter on Tuesdays. Probably not on all platforms every week so pick your platform and please follow along if you want to learn more. I will offer live sessions again someday. Sometimes they are random, sometimes month-long. I don’t know if I will offer a summer series again as next year is already booked for travel. However, the videos and sketch notes from this summer are still available for viewing at bit.ly/levelupprep for a limited time. They will soon be pulled down and repackaged for the Alumni Portal—available to those who take my in-person and virtual Level Up Your Lettering courses.
On a personal note
I’m currently looking to the fall. We are now at the winnow and sift part of the season where we reflect on our abundant harvest and decide what to take with us into the coming year. That’s what I do in September. October is the start of a 6-week integration process and November is about building the 2020 masterplan.
For you, I hope that you will revisit some of these valuable resources we created for you this summer. And I look forward to your feedback on these and some of my other projects. I value you and appreciate the time we’ve spent together this summer.
Someone on social media responded to one of my posts: “I hope to be as generous as you are someday.” Hmmm. I didn’t know one had to wait.
Did I give too much? Maybe. Was it worth it? Absolutely!
