COVID is no fun, but while I was in bed during the worst of it last week, I was able to make this card for my husband’s birthday, so that was a win. ?​ There’s something especially delightful about making art in bed. I first got into the habit back in 2015/2016, when I realized […] The post Making Art In *Bed*..?! appeared first on Living A Creative Life with Melissa Dinwiddie ..read more

​Here’s the pattern I’ve been wrangling with lately — tell me if you relate: ​I have an idea for something I’d like to share / try / do.​ For example:​ • Write this newsletter every single week.​ • Write to my music mailing list every single week.​ • Start up a weekly / daily / […] The post The Latest Pattern I’ve Been Wrangling appeared first on Living A Creative Life with Melissa Dinwiddie ..read more

It’s a discussion topic you can’t miss these days: gifts from the pandemic. Silver linings from this disaster that’s befallen us. Like weekly Zoom calls with my nephew, who lives in London (and has my hair!). Those never happened before COVID. Some people are learning to bake bread. Others are getting more time in their […] The post The strangest gift I’ve received from the pandemic appeared first on Living A Creative Life with Melissa Dinwiddie ..read more

Back in May, I got a gift subscription to the Calm app — a little perk of being a Kaiser-Permanente member. For about five weeks I used it (almost) every day to do a 10-minute meditation. I “discovered” meditation years ago, thanks to Susan Piver’s Open Heart Project. I’ve fallen off the wagon, and gotten […] The post My experiment with NOT meditating appeared first on Living A Creative Life with Melissa Dinwiddie ..read more

I’ve been doing something lately that stirs up my discomfort in a big way. I’ve been being a beginner again. Figure drawing. There are some great websites, like Line of Action and Quickposes, where you can set up timed practice sessions. 60-second poses of nude figures, for example. I took figure drawing classes way back […] The post Let me introduce you to Griselda appeared first on Living A Creative Life with Melissa Dinwiddie ..read more

View this post on Instagram This doodle appears to be some sort of bipedal vehicle. Or perhaps a critter with elaborate acoutrement? What’s very clear is that a cup holder is involved. And a teeny-tiny banner (presumably to alert cars if one’s presence), along with a larger banner-thingy, waving/pointing forward. ? One never knows what […] The post Snapshot from My Studio: April 26, 2020 at 11:59AM appeared first on Living A Creative Life with Melissa Dinwiddie ..read more

View this post on Instagram Abstract surreal doodle. Just because. ? Seriously, doodling is so therapeutic. I let my inner 4-year-old inhabit the tip of the pen and give her free rein to go wherever she wants. Weird shapes and characters often emerge, like this bizarre creature here, who seems to be one-foot hopping toward […] The post Snapshot from My Studio: April 23, 2020 at 08:25AM appeared first on Living A Creative Life with Melissa Dinwiddie ..read more

How do you deal with fear of the blank page? Simple: Make it un-blank! In other words, just make a mark! Do ANYTHING! ✏️ Creative Sandbox Way™ guidepost number 5: “Just start. Anywhere.” ✏️ Once you’ve made a mark, you can no longer have fear of the blank page, because it isn’t blank anymore! ? […] The post Snapshot from My Studio: January 27, 2020 at 09:00AM appeared first on Living A Creative Life with Melissa Dinwiddie ..read more

Watch footage and feedback from a strategic vision workshop that Creative Sandbox Solutions™ did for Next Door Solutions to Domestic Violence in July 2019. Carefree Melody by Twin Musicom http://www.twinmusicom.org Creative Commons — Attribution 3.0 — CC BY 3.0 Free Download / Stream: https://bit.ly/carefree-melody Music promoted by Audio Library https://youtu.be/F6_0KqMRM6U For help unleashing creativity at […] The post Creative Sandbox Solutions™ – Team Development Case Study with Next Door Solutions appeared first on Living A Creative Life with Melissa Dinwiddie ..read more

Watch footage and feedback of a strategic vision workshop that Creative Sandbox Solutions™ did for Ecumenical Hunger Program in April 2019. Carefree Melody by Twin Musicom http://www.twinmusicom.org Creative Commons — Attribution 3.0 — CC BY 3.0 Free Download / Stream: https://bit.ly/carefree-melody Music promoted by Audio Library https://youtu.be/F6_0KqMRM6U For help unleashing creativity at your organization to […] The post Creative Sandbox Solutions™ – Team Development Case Study with Ecumenical Hunger Program appeared first on Living A Creative Life with Melissa Dinwiddie ..read more