Earthquake yesterday. Big reminder of time and how we spend it. A day of thanks and counting blessings.
Grateful that people stayed safe and there wasn’t too much damage. We do experience earthquakes often here and little by little get used to the small ones. But for those here in 2011, bigger shakes bring back many things.
We were up talking late into the night, my love and I.
When we got together, one of the first things we talked about was: What makes a good life? How can we make one together?
Without hesitation he replied: “It means being happy to die. Being so happy with a life well lived, that when it’s time and hopefully when we’re old and wrinkly, we’re happy to go.”
Since then, we’ve been building a creative life together. Not to get somewhere in the distant future, but to make every day life so delicious, we don’t need a holiday.
That to us means a slower pace with time in nature, time together, time with our favourite people, time spent learning and creating and work that we love.
Work we love so much we’d do it for free.
One of the things I’m most grateful for, is that we do love our work THAT much.
I’ve been blessed this year with many opportunities to share my work with drawing with different people of different ages: from students to adults.
This workshop with TEDxYouth was one such opportunity. The theme: UTOPIA. What is it? How do we find it? What stands in the way?
I opened my workshop with this quote: “The worst enemy to creativity is self-doubt.” – Sylvia Plath
We took turns sharing our doubts with each other. Then we went from table to wall, drawing our way from doubt to done. Later, we sat down and looked at it with wonder.
The doubts don’t go away. Especially the ones around the question of happiness, utopia and what makes a good life. But there is something we can all do with them.
And that’s where the magic is.
Hi I’m Divya and I help people draw again. Been a while? Believe you can’t?
The biggest renewable resource available to us, is one that doesn’t get given enough attention at school.
From using doubts to find solutions, idea sparking to stress relief, team building to highlighting important issues, discovering purpose, motivation and daily joy – creativity is the one thing that no one can take from you and the one thing that only increases the more the you use it.
Pick up a pencil. Start and see. I’ll show you how. Registration open for classes & workshops 2017. Email: info@divyamariekato.com to book a creativity workshop.
Wanna dip your toe in? Click for my beginners guide here
Wanna join us for classes or retreats? Head here You’re invited! Having our 2016 class exhibition on 11/30! If you’re interested in classes come meet the students and see the work!
Can’t find what you’re after? Get in touch with me right here: info@divyamariekato.com
Gallery & Lead Up Pictures
TEDxYouth Tokyo 2016. Utopia.
BIG love and thanks to you, to Shibuya Smart News for an awesome venue, to all inspiring speakers, workshop leaders and audience who joined us – fantastic being with you for a day exploring our theme and congratulations on a hugely successful event. Thank you for bringing both joyful human expression through performance as well as attention to tough issues to the stage.
If there is a path towards Utopia, I think we all left with some awesome sparks to light the way. Collapsing in a happy heap of gratitude for a good day. Ever draws, DMK x
The lead up….
3: Informing performing. Behind all that happens on stage, is all that happens off stage. Fun meeting the TEDxYouth Tokyo team – all there after school prepping and planning at this year’s venue: Shibuya Smart News.
All the time and effort, that goes into putting on events like this, can sometimes be missed on the big day, so please give them a big thank you hug or handshake when you get here!
Behind all that happens on the canvas, is all that happens leading up to holding that pen, pencil or brush in your hands. Investing time and heart in planning and preparing the ideas for our drawing workshop. Delighted to be invited and after seeing the fantastic venue even more so – my drawing workshop’s going off the page… and onto the walls!!
The unmistakeable Jane Best, from Refugees International Japan, will also be there to inform us of developments and how we can help. 11 speakers, 5 performances, 3 workshops. November 20th. More coming soon, for now here’s a salute to the offstage off page experience and energy.
2: Madness & Mascots – pretty much sums up yesterday!! They said we could draw on the walls, so…we did!
Japanese mascots, like this little dude, Chikyukun – a character of the earth and for the earth – are HUGELY popular here.
Chikyukun was created by Smart News, the host for this year’s TEDxYouth Tokyo event and so we had a little fun with him!
1: Roses from Afrika Rose are chillin’ and looking forward to doing a drawing workshop today – especially so as at our cool venue, Shibuya Smart News, the walls aren’t off limits and we’ve stocked up on Idea Paint markers! The team were working hard at rehearsal day yesterday.
Jane, from Refugees International Japan, and I watched in admiration- couldn’t believe how they’ve managed to pull all this together – they’ve still got to go to school!!!
Gallery
Hi I’m Divya and I help people draw again. Been a while? Believe you can’t? The biggest renewable resource available to us, is one that doesn’t get given enough attention at school. From using doubts to find solutions, idea sparking to stress relief, team building to highlighting important issues, discovering purpose, motivation and daily joy – creativity is the one thing that no one can take from you and the one thing that only increases the more the you use it.
Pick up a pencil. Start and see. I’ll show you how. Registration open for classes & workshops 2017. Email: info@divyamariekato.com to book a creativity workshop.
Wanna dip your toe in? Click for my beginners guide here
Wanna join us for classes or retreats? Head here You’re invited! Having our 2016 class exhibition on 11/30! If you’re interested in classes come meet the students and see the work!
Can’t find what you’re after? Get in touch with me right here: info@divyamariekato.com
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