Finding Peace Practicing Your ABCs

AS MILLIONS OF AMERICANS SELF-QUARANTINE AND STAY HOME TO SLOW THE SPREAD OF COVID-19, THEY’RE FINDING NEW WAYS TO CONNECT AND FIND COMMUNITY ONLINE. ONE DURANGO WOMAN IS USING HER SKILL AS A GRAPHIC RECORDER TO HOST VIRTUAL MEDITATION SESSIONS WHILE LETTERING AND DOODLING. YOU’RE WATCHING THE LOCAL NEWS NETWORK, BROUGHT TO YOU BY THE PAYROLL DEPARTMENT. I’M WENDY GRAHAM SETTLE. HEATHER MARTINEZ CALLS HERSELF A CORPORATE GRAFFITI  ARTIST WHO CREATES GRAPHIC ART, IMAGES AND DIFFERENT LETTERING STYLES TO RECORD LARGE-FORMAT NOTES FOR FACILITATED MEETINGS. THE SKILL HELPS ORGANIZATIONS BETTER COMMUNICATE, ORGANIZE AND UNDERSTAND THE OUTCOMES FROM THOSE BRAINSTORMING SESSIONS. SHE ALSO TEACHES VISUAL RECORDING WORKSHOPS, BOTH IN PERSON AND VIRTUALLY THROUGH VIDEOCONFERENCING, AND THAT’S HOW SHE CAME UP WITH THE VIRTUAL LETTERING MEDITATION SESSIONS.THE REASON WHY I’M REALLY DOING LETTERING, AND WHY IT IS IMPORTANT AT THIS TIME, IS BECAUSE LETTERING PUTS YOU IN THE NOW. LETTERING CAN HELP YOU MEDITATE, IT CAN HELP YOU FOCUS. AND IF YOU, IF ANYBODY’S INTERESTED IN GETTING INTO THE FLOW STATE OF MIND, WHERE YOU’RE IN THAT CROSS SECTION OF CHALLENGE AND SKILL LEVEL, BUT ALSO BEING IN THE MOMENT, NOT WORRYING ABOUT THE PAST OR ANTICIPATING THE FUTURE, THIS IS A WONDERFUL PRACTICE. AND SO I FOUND THAT IT WAS BOTH SELF HEALING AND VERY PRAGMATIC FOR MY CLIENTS AND MY STUDENTS. SHE OFFERS THE FREE SESSIONS FROM 2:22 TO 3:06 P.M. TUESDAYS, WEDNESDAYS AND THURSDAYS. SHE DOESN’T TEACH. ALL SHE DOES IS LETTER SILENTLY, AND IT’S A BEAUTIFUL PROCESS TO WATCH AS SHE TURNS THE SIMPLE ACT OF WRITING OUT THE ALPHABET INTO A BALLET OF STROKES AND FLOURISHES.YOU SIMPLY DIAL IN. I HAVE A ZOOM LINK THAT I CAN SHARE WITH YOU AND FOR 44 MINUTES YOU DIAL IN, YOU MUTE YOUR LINE AND YOU JUST LETTER. THERE’S NO INSTRUCTION HERE. YOU CAN FOLLOW ME IF YOU WANT OR YOU CAN DO YOUR OWN THING, WORK ON YOUR OWN PROJECT, BUT JUST FOCUS ON WRITING. YOU COULD WRITE A LETTER TO SOMEONE OR YOU COULD JUST DOODLE IF YOU WANTED TO. BUT THE IDEA IS THAT IF FOR 44 MINUTES, YOU ARE TAKING YOURSELF OUT OF YOUR CURRENT ENVIRONMENT AND SITUATION. YOU’RE JUST FOCUSING ON ONE THING.MARTINEZ, IN PARTNERSHIP WITH ANGELIQUE McALPINE, ANOTHER PROFESSIONAL VISUAL RECORDER ALSO RECENTLY LAUNCHED A WORLDWIDE EFFORT TO RECORD AN EMERGING SERIES OF VIRTUAL WORKSHOPS AND CONFERENCES THAT WILL IDENTIFY PATHS FORWARD AFTER THE DISRUPTION OF THE PANDEMIC. IT’S CALLED SCRIBE FORWARD, AND THE ONLINE COMMUNITY ALSO OFFERS A GALLERY OF ARTWORK AND MESSAGES TO INSPIRE HOPE AMONG ITS VIEWERS.
WE’RE GOING TO BE THERE WHILE WE GRAPHIC-RECORD THE PANDEMIC, BECAUSE WE’RE REALLY HERE TO REFLECT WHAT’S HAPPENING IN HUMANITY RIGHT NOW. AND IT’S NOT ALL PRETTY, BUT IT CAN HAVE MORE POSITIVE EMOTIONAL STORIES. WE CAN HELP SPREAD THOSE MORE THAN NEGATIVE ONES.FOR A POSITIVE BOOST TO YOUR DAY, VISIT THE GALLERY ONLINE AT SCRIBE FORWARD DOT COM. TO PARTICIPATE IN THE LETTERING MEDITATION SESSIONS, VISIT FACEBOOK DOT COM AND SEARCH FOR HEATHER MARTINEZ LETTERING TOGETHER MEDITATION. THANKS FOR WATCHING THIS EDITION OF THE LOCAL NEWS NETWORK. VISIT OUR WEB SITE AND SIGN UP FOR OUR NEWSLETTERS TO RECEIVE NEWS UPDATES IN YOUR EMAIL. YOU’LL ALSO FIND PAST STORIES AND OTHER INFORMATION. IN THE MEANTIME, PLEASE DO YOUR PART TO STOP THE SPREAD OF COVID-19 AND STAY HOME. PRACTICE SOCIAL DISTANCING WHEN YOU’RE OUT AND ABOUT, AND SEND US YOUR POSITIVE MESSSAGE FOR THE FRONT-LINE WORKERS WHO ARE FIGHTING THE PANDEMIC. WE’LL SHARE THEM ON THE AIR, ON OUR WEB SITE AND OUR FACEBOOK PAGE. I’M WENDY GRAHAM SETTLE. THANKS FOR WATCHING.