For the next six months, I have decided to write and publish a series of e-books. Today, I found a great article about publishing e-books on my digital sister and fellow author/blogger, Shonell Bacon’s LinkedIn page. It gave me some great tips for publishing my e-books. Click here to read it.
Do you have any plans to write an e-book? If yes, what resources are you using to write it?
What creative projects are you working on this spring and summer?
April has been a month filled with creativity conversations. Yesterday, I hosted the DC Digital Sisterhood Network’s Breakfast Meet Up at Teaism, a woman-owned tea house (see photo above). Learn what happened at the meet up by clicking here to listen to the podcast I recorded with Valerie Trammel, founder of Trammel Communications. Valerie was the first person who arrived at the meet up. She won a Digital Sisterhood mug filled with Tazo Passion tea bags and chocolates. She also received a complimentary 20 minute creativity coaching session (which we had today). We had a great time chatting about creativity and overcoming challenges with Nia, founder of Karat Cakery, a DC Dessert Food Truck (makes the best carrot cake in the universe!!!!).
Two weeks ago, I hosted a creativity conversation during the Atlanta Digital Sisterhood Meet Up held at Proof and Provision, a bar and restaurant located in the Georgian Terrace Hotel. Click here to listen to the podcast I recorded with the amazing women who attended the event.
If you are in DC on April 30, join me for the DC Digital Sisterhood Meet Up: Sip Tea & Coffee, Eat Dessert & Chat About Creativity from 7:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. at The Mediterranean Spot, 1501 U Street, NW, Washington, DC (located on the corner of 15th and U Streets, two blocks from the U Street/Cardozo Green/Yellow Line Metro). Click here to register for the event on Eventbrite.
Do you know what creativity looks like in your life? Do you need to open your creative heart? Do you know what your creative voice sounds like? Are you able to access it? What is it telling you? Are you ready to give birth to your creativity? Do you need support and tips on how to give birth to your creativity or navigate your creative process?
If you answered YES to one or more of these questions, join me on Thursday, May 15 for the “Giving Birth to Your Creativity” online workshop from 8:30 p.m. EST to 10:00 p.m. EST. The online 90 minute workshop will offer a small group of five participants the following:
Creative Self-Care Practices (breathing exercises, guided meditation, affirmation, and kind and gentle office yoga for your eyes, hands, mouth, and shoulders).
Ice Breaker Exercise and Sharing Circle.
Talk on “Giving Birth to Your Creativity with a Creativity Recipe.”
Journaling Exercises with Sharing Circle and Creativity Coaching Feedback.
Action Planning Steps and Tips for Giving Birth to Your Creativity.
Two creativity coaching email check-ins (one in June and one in July).
A special discount on creativity coaching sessions and packages.
The workshop is based on exercises and information contained in my book, That Which Awakens Me: A Creative Woman’s Poetic Memoir of Self-Discovery (available on Amazon). It will be delivered via conference call. So all you need to participate is your telephone. Once you register and pay $26.26 ($23.95 workshop fee and $2.31 Eventbrite fee) for the workshop, I will email you an agenda with handouts, the special discount on creativity coaching sessions, and the telephone number for the conference call. Click here to register for the workshop.
If you answered YES to one or more of these questions, join me on Thursday, April 24 for the “Giving Birth to Your Creativity” online workshop from 8:30 p.m. EST to 10:00 p.m. EST. The online 90 minute workshop will offer a small group of five participants the following:
Creative Self-Care Practices (breathing exercises, guided meditation, affirmation, and kind and gentle office yoga for your eyes, hands, mouth, and shoulders).
Ice Breaker Exercise and Sharing Circle.
Talk on “Giving Birth to Your Creativity with a Creativity Recipe.”
Journaling Exercises with Sharing Circle and Creativity Coaching Feedback.
Action Planning Steps and Tips for Giving Birth to Your Creativity.
Two free creative coaching email check-ins (one in May and one in June).
A special discount on creativity coaching sessions and packages.
That Which Awakes Me by Ananda Leeke
The workshop is based on exercises and information contained in my book, That Which Awakens Me: A Creative Woman’s Poetic Memoir of Self-Discovery (available on Amazon). It will be delivered via conference call on FreeConferenceCall.com. So all you need to participate is your telephone. Once you register and pay for the workshop, I will email you an agenda with handouts, the special discount on creativity coaching sessions, and the telephone number for the conference call.
Click here to register and pay the workshop fee of $23.95 on Eventbrite.
PS: The “Giving Birth to Your Creativity” online workshop will be offered again on May 15 and June 19 from 8:30 p.m. EST to 10:00 p.m. EST for $23.95. Stay tune for more details on how to register in the coming weeks.
Mine is collage. I can make them all day long. They help me express what’s waiting to burst forth from my creative heart. They also help me visualize my creative making process. I use them when I am writing my books and working on other projects. I also use them in my visualization boards.
Ananda’s books and paintings
What creative dreams are you longing to give birth to?
I long to give birth to more books and paintings. I have a few e-books and a novel inside of me. I also have some big paintings that long to live on the canvas.
May we all use the Spring season to give birth to our creativity!
From now until March 31, I am offering a special discount package on my creativity coaching services. See details below.
My Creativity Coaching Practice: Click here to read more about my approach and background as a creativity coach.
Discount Period: The creativity coaching packages must be purchased via PayPal by March 31, 2014. They must be used by July 31, 2014.
Contact Information: If you are interested in one or more of the packages, please send me an email at kiamshaleeke@yahoo.com to schedule a free 20-minute consultation call (available via telephone, Skype, and Google Hangout).
As a creativity coach, I am always in search of creativity wisdom to share with my clients. Earlier this week while most of Washington, D.C. was shut down due to the snow, I took a field trip to Lettie Gooch, a fabulous boutique located in my U Street neighborhood (15th and U Streets, NW) and discovered an inspirational card that urged me to be the most brilliant color in the box. That color would be pink since it reminds me to open my heart and share my gifts with others. Click here to listen today’s podcast for more information.
Since you are also the most brilliant color in the box, what color are you?
Opening Your Creative Heart Coaching Special Discount:
From now until March 31, I am offering a special discount package on my creativity coaching services. See details below.
My Creativity Coaching Practice: Click here to read more about my approach and background as a creativity coach.
Discount Period: The creativity coaching packages must be purchased via PayPal by March 31, 2014. They must be used by July 31, 2014.
Contact Information: If you are interested in one or more of the packages, please send me an email at kiamshaleeke@yahoo.com to schedule a free 20-minute consultation call (available via telephone, Skype, and Google Hangout).
This morning I woke up and decided to honor Creativity Thursday with a Creative Breakfast that included oatmeal with cranberries and agave in a cup decorated with Egyptian women and art (purchased during my 1995 trip to Egypt), a banana, a glass of decaf green tea, the Inspiration issue of Poets & Writers (January/February) magazine, and three quotes about creativity by African American artists, musicians, and poets that were published in my book, That Which Awakens Me: A Creative Woman’s Poetical Memoir of Self-Discovery. Click here to listen to my podcast about my Creative Breakfast.
I chose to start my day this way because I needed to open my creative heart with some intentional moments of creativity. Why? I’ve been moving at a pretty fast pace over the past ten days with little time left to nurture my creative heart.
After I finished eating breakfast and reading three articles in the magazine, I took a few more moments to look through some of my fashion magazines for images I need for a collage I am planning to make to celebrate the spring season. When I finished collecting images, I realized my Creative Breakfast turned into a mini artist date at home. How cool is that?
Have you ever had a Creative Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner, or Snack?
What did you eat and do to make it creative?
PS: Check out two of my most recent Vine videos that celebrate creative journey.
Video 1 – My creative word mantras I use to write my books
Video 2 – The book that opened my creative heart — Danielle LaPorte’s The Desire Map
Opening Your Creative Heart Coaching Special Discount:
From February 1 to March 31, I am offering a special discount package on my creativity coaching services. See details below.
My Creativity Coaching Practice: Click here to read more about my approach and background as a creativity coach.
Discount Period: The creativity coaching packages must be purchased via PayPal by March 31, 2014. They must be used by July 31, 2014.
Contact Information: If you are interested in one or more of the packages, please send me an email at kiamshaleeke@yahoo.com to schedule a free 20-minute consultation call (available via telephone, Skype, and Google Hangout).
I believe we are all filled with the energy of creativity. It is such a powerful force that allows us to share amazing gifts. Click here to listen to today’s podcast that features a recording of my poem, “Creativity” (published in my book, That Which Awakens Me: A Creative Woman’s Poetic Memoir of Self-Discovery – available on Amazon).
Sometimes my creativity is blocked by fears. When I allow my fears to suffocate my creative courage, my creative heart closes. In 2011, I allowed my fears to close my creative heart. During the first week of 2012, I made a commitment to re-open my heart. My commitment turned into a full-fledge creative heart journey that began with a series of breathing and journaling exercises (it continues today).
I think opening your creative heart is a journey worth taking in 2014. It begins with an intention to come into the present moment. When you breathe intentionally and deeply, you invite yourself into the present moment. You also create space to discover and witness what’s happening in your creative heart. So let’s get started.
Breathing and Journaling Exercises:
Join me in taking 10 deep breaths. Get ready to inhale through your nose and exhale through your mouth. Feel free to make sounds like “hah” as you exhale. You can get loud too!
Take a deep breath and inhale self-love. Exhale anything that gets in the way of you experiencing it.
Inhale self-care. Exhale anything that gets in the way of you experiencing it.
Inhale self-expression. Exhale anything that gets in the way of you experiencing it.
Inhale self-discovery. Exhale anything that gets in the way of you experiencing it.
Inhale vulnerability. Exhale anything that gets in the way of you tapping into it.
Inhale intuition. Exhale anything that gets in the way of you tapping into it.
Inhale imagination. Exhale anything that gets in the way of you tapping into it.
Inhale inspiration. Exhale anything that gets in the way of you tapping into it.
Inhale creativity. Exhale anything that gets in the way of you tapping into it.
Inhale gratitude. Exhale anything that gets in the way of you expressing it.
In this sacred place, find a pen, a piece of paper, or a journal to write your responses to the questions below. If you prefer your digital devices, use your smartphone, tablet, laptop, or desktop computer to answer the questions.
What does your creative heart look like?
How does it feel?
Is it open to new opportunities for growth? What are they?
Does your creative heart energy need to be recharged or renewed? How so?
Share one to three things you can do in February to open and nurture your creative heart.
Contact Information: If you are interested in one or more of the packages, please send me an email at kiamshaleeke@yahoo.com to schedule a free 20-minute consultation call (available via telephone, Skype, and Google Hangout).
Photo Credit: “Kreative Grooviness: That Which Awakens Me ” by Ananda Leeke
Happy Creativity Thursday!
Have you ever dreamed of making something with your hands and then allowed your fears or lack of training to stop you?
It happened to me several years ago when I started dreaming of painting. I was afraid to try it because I had never attended art school. My perspective changed after I started working with a master artist during my tenure as an artist-in-residence for Smith Center for Healing and the Arts at Howard University Hospital. The master artist happened to be a patient I was assigned to work with on creative projects that would help him express his feelings. He transformed our sessions into art workshops where he taught me to trust my intuition and natural creative gifts. He pushed me to paint and gave me numerous painting assignments. This experience helped me create a series of paintings that I used to illustrate two book covers (see paintings above and below). The master artist breathed life into my creative dreams.
Photo Credit: “Be Love. Love Light. Live As the Spirit of Life.” by Ananda Leeke
Has anyone breathed life into your creative dreams?
How did the person breathe life into your creative dreams?
What creative actions were you inspired to take?
Visit Amazon.com to learn more about my creative journey and book, That Which Awakens Me: A Creative Woman’s Poetical Memoir of Self-Discovery (2009). My book is available as a Kindle download and a paperback book.
Today, I spent the afternoon with one of my first creativity coaching clients, Sharon Malachi, owner of DC Dog Grooming, LLC, at Teaism, a tea cafe located in the Dupont Circle neighborhood in Washington, DC. I started working with Sharon on her creative plans and goals to promote her business in 2010. Through our work together, she developed creative storytelling skills that she used with her blog, social media sites, and television interviews. Helping her grow as a creative business woman has been exciting, personally fulfilling, and inspiring. That’s why I decided to use my 2014 Creativity Thursday blog posts as a platform for sharing my creativity coaching expertise. So get ready!
Last weekend, I hosted the Digital Sisterhood Month field trip to see artist Kesha Bruce’s “The Guardians” exhibition at Morton Fine Art in Washington, DC. Kesha’s work is rooted in her personal mythology. The paintings in “The Guardians” series evoke ancestral energy. They make me think of the many women and men who came before me. The people who sacrificed so that I would be able to enjoy my life. They remind me to show gratitude to my ancestors. They also inspire me to create some ancestral art work in 2014. So get ready for some surprises!
Kesha was recently named 2013 Digital Sister of the Year – Creativista. While I was at the exhibition, I reconnected with Adrienne Fikes, 2013 Digital Sister of the Year – Enchantista. We had a great time chatting about Kesha’s work. What a great day I had!
Have you attended any gallery shows or museum exhibitions this holiday season?
Ananda Leeke 