Collaborative Meaning-Making
An Experiment in Collective Creativity
In a time when everything feels like it's either falling apart or being born, I found myself wondering what would happen if we made meaning together instead of alone? While some things seem to be disintegrating from the core, new things are also brewing in the imagination, leaving us in a tangled up blend of grief, loss, creativity, longing, fear, anxiety, hope. The stories, emotions, and needs of this season feel layered and complex for the collective "us."
One morning a few weeks ago, I experienced a stir toward opening a door for collective meaning-making. A simple idea formed in my imagination: A group of people participate in a gathering of inspirational imagery and thoughts around a deep-level theme, collaborating toward what would be called The Living Mood Board.
This mood board would hold layers of perspective and emotional insights, creating a multi-faceted launch point that I would then form further into painting concepts, a collection of creative work from this collaborative story.
The beta version of The Living Mood Board launched in early July, two weeks of journeying with a small group through daily prompts, as each participant snapped images intuitively from their day-to-day coming and going. Images and reflections were tacked to the mood board, building around a theme on "Hidden Pain" (go big or go home, right?).
We slowed down each day to listen a bit more closely to what was stirring internally and externally on concepts like perfection, masks, resilience, repair, shadows, and sanctuaries. It was a beautiful gift to see a steady flow of thoughtful images, unique insights, and vulnerable presence flowing into my inbox each day.
Over the coming weeks, I will be fulfilling my part in this project--forming paintings from this collaborative space.
Here on Substack, I will share my creative process and reflections around the story of Hidden Pain that The Living Mood Board has begun to uncover together.
May it be a space for us all to draw closer to one another in our collective need to be known, embraced, and healed.
If you’re interested in participating in a future Living Mood Board, send me a DM to be on the wait list for this project in the future.