A clearing
in the forest
an online writing course for cultivating artistry and self-growth through the creative process.
Heart
Details
Host
Go to the
next level
in your
creative journey
We all need a clearing in the forest
Someone asked the question, ‘Is it possible you can live your whole life and never really meet the person who is living this life?’. And we would all have to answer, Yes! It is absolutely possible. We see it again and again in our rushed lives, busy lives, parenting lives, study lives, too often and too much. We lose ourselves and we lose our creativity in all that our lives are forced to become.
What if things could be different?
The heart of this module is a desire for you to slow down enough that you might meet yourself once again. Amongst the chaos and the busyness and all that crowds in upon you, this is a space for you to simply be, to slow down. That you would intentionally choose to step into a clearing, that you would open to the next page and there, greet yourself, know yourself, befriend yourself, embrace yourself. That in this space you would begin to then create out of the truth of who you are.
The goal of this module is for you to engage in a creative process that will both enhance your writing and creative skills and help you to do some intentional self-work. To do so, Joel McKerrow will be guiding you through the framework of his own creative process, that it would pave a way forward for what you desire to bring into the world.
This is a creative process Module.
It is a module that will focus in on writing and how the words that flow from your inner life may change both yourself and those around you. The teaching will be from a writing/poetry perspective and the creative assignments will also be shaped around written work. It is a course for the occasional blogger and the journal scribbler, for the professional author and the amateur Instagrammer, for the poet and the screen-writer, for the passionate and prolific creative and for the stuck and frustrated creative. Wherever you are at in your writing craft, it is a course for the lover of words...
BUT
It is not just a module for writers. The creative process we will be going through translates into many of the different story-telling art forms like film-making, photography, painting, choreography, performance, design, etc. Whatever your creative outlet this writing process will expand your own creative writing skills and show you how writing can absolutely enhance your creative work and its impact in the world.
BUT
It is not just a module for Creatives. It is a course for anyone wanting to set aside some time to do intentional self-reflection through a creative writing process. It is for those who don't even dare to believe they are creative. It is for the busy, the weary, the broken and the hopeful. It is for mothers trying to breathe and innovators seeking inspiration.
It is a writing course for EVERYONE.
Course Details
What will you learn?
This module is all about creating a space in your life where creative process meets self-reflection. It is a course that will call you into the uncomfortable and the un-resolved inside and also in our world. It will inspire you and challenge you and, should you let it, may even change your way of being in the world.
At the same time you will absolutely be learning and developing your writing and poetic skills. Whether you just want to engage people more on instagram by writing meaningful words, whether you need a way to process through your life experience, whether you are wanting to write a book or stand up and perform your work. This course will teach you the intentional actions it takes to move your craft into a flourishing creative expression. The framework will show you how to begin from a place of having ‘nothing’ and move you all the way through to having a finished something to bring into the world.The framework is split up into four different major areas of creative cultivation:
Inspiration | The enrichment of the soil and finding the seed. ie. Developing habits of creative inspiration in your life.
Creation | The planting, the germinating and the growing of the seed. ie. Moving from a blank page to something unique and beautifully true to the self.
Construction | The pruning and the development of a fruitful tree. ie. The work of taking your initial draft concept and constructively developing it through editing, pushing through cliche, etc.
Invitation | The inviting of others to partake of the fruit of your creativity. ie. How to bring your words out into the world in a way that moves and inspires others.
During this module, you will:
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Be given a writing process framework that you can use to fully develop and bring to the world your own creative projects.
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Be gently led into looking at the deeper realities of the self so as to live more out of freedom than fear.
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Be shown how to deliberately cultivate creative-space as a consistency in your life.
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Be given the tools to push through creative blocks and see what has held you back be turned around and transformed.
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Be given the writing skills it requires to open yourself up to live a more inspired and creative life.
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Be shown how to take initial ideas and develop them through editing and construction to be the best they can.
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Be invited into the bravery it takes to invite others into your work.
What People are Saying
"It was as if he'd taken our hand & walked with us right into all the dark, pointing out beauty & redemption in unexpected places." - Emily K.
How Does it Work?
This module is part of THE SCHOOL OF CREATIVE DEVELOPMENT. It is running in June 2024.
The course is 5 weeks of 5 sessions.
Each session of the course you will receive
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A 15-20min video lesson from Joel McKerrow: These are the main teaching components of the course where Joel will teach you directly from his wealth of knowledge and experience as a writer and performer.
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Creative Homework: This will be your chance to take each days teaching and make it a reality through different writing and creative assignments that Joel will be assigning you each day. This is where the rubber hits the road.
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A Reflective Workbook: A workbook with fill-in forms to help you better reflect, plan your work and organise your creative life.
As with any course, if you do the activities and the workbook you will maximise your experience, but of course your level of engagement is up to you. The session by session time to take the course is about 20-30 minutes (note: this is not taking into account the workbook and your level of engagement with the Learning Community).
The module may be done with the Learning Community of the school. This is a group of passionate creatives for you to learn with. You do not do this journey alone, though you may choose to. There will be a space within the learning environment where you will be able to connect with others, share your creativity, provide feedback and support each other through this course.
There is a forum within the online platform which is where you will be able to upload your daily assignment and engage with each others work. It will also be a space for you to discuss more with each other what is coming up for you through the daily lessons.
Your Creativity Guide
Joel McKerrow comes to you with over a decade experience in both the education and creative arts sectors. Within colleges, schools, conferences, festivals and organisations throughout the world he has taught about creativity and the creative process to over 50,000 people. His teaching focuses on the intersection of creativity and self-understanding as well as spirituality, worldview and identity formation.
Joel doesn't just teach though, he is constantly pushing his own creativity further. As a performance poet he has toured extensively across Australia, USA, UK and New Zealand with some of the giants of the performance poetry genre. Through this he is recognised as one of Australia’s most successful, internationally touring, performance poets. He has numerous literary publications as well as spoken word albums and is Co-host of the successful podcast The Deep Place: On Creativity and Spirituality.
Formally Joel has a Bachelor Arts (Psych), a Bachelor of Theology, a Master of Arts (Vocational Practice) and Certificate IV in Training and Assessment. These qualifications, alongside years of teaching experience ensure you'll gain access to the insights of not only a creative professional, but a lifetime educator.
Go to the next level in your creative journey.
See Joel McKerrow's FULL bio HERE.