This week I took a class called the Art of Showing up by Amy Walsh.
I was drawn to Amy’s work because of her awareness of the power of visual strategy in terms of how we change the culture of our businesses and also of larger society. So basically, like most things to capture my attention, what drew me to Amy’s course was her level of awareness…
Click above to hear the rest or scroll down to see the part that’s not in the audio.
More Day 2 thoughts (not in the audio version) – I was full of bull
I started this course with a hang-up about my hair. I cut it myself and it’s lopsided in a way that I don’t prefer. I call it my accidental mullet. I scare myself thinking people will see it and judge me. It’s too big, too short, too long, too kinky, whatevs. These selfies showed me that my hair looks different ways depending on many variables. Sometimes it DOES look as crazy as I fear and that’s not always bad. And it never really looked like the full-on mullet I imagined so I can let that go. The hang-up about my hair is bull.
Also, I believed I can earn the right to use certain cultural symbols in my art because of my willingness to learn about, support, and engage in practices of those cultures. After giving it thought, I now think this is bull. I may never earn the right. I think that’s ok. I think it was worth it to meet the little oppressor in me that feels entitled to other people’s symbols and say “there, there, you’ll be fine without using those symbols.” It was a hard lesson.
This course sounds really interesting. Showing up and being seen is something I struggle with too & there’s a lot to think about here. I took a selfie a few weeks/months back, on a really difficult day, wearing an old baggy t-shirt with unbrushed hair & feeling… not great… and it was a powerful thing, not hiding.
The lighting is something I read about when Moonlight came out. Photography has been problematically white for too long and it’s so good to see change happening around this, these last few years especially. I’m guilty of preferring over-exposed photos because they hide my freckles, which don’t photograph well.
Anyway, I love the honesty & authenticity you bring to what you do – that spirit of exploration, unafraid to be curious and notice things and question them, is inspiring. I really enjoyed this. Thanks for sharing it!
“feeling… not great… and it was a powerful thing, not hiding.” THIS
Thank you for the feedback! I half wondered if this kind of musing was interesting to folks. It’s interesting how photography reveals what we believe about our appearance and sometimes also our bravery. Maybe selfies are casual for a lot of people, not to me though. Now each time I take one, and I’ve kept experimenting with taking more of them, I to say to myself “you did it! this is what you look like! this is OK!” The Selfie course files are publicly available at The Tactical Imagination club on Facebook if you curious to go through the prompts and I will be doing it again next year.