visualpractitioner
Heather Martinez, Visual Practitioner
Improving communication and understanding
through engaging visuals that
increase impact and retention
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What does radical self care look like?
Putting your body before anything and everyone else’s.
CONTEXT
In 2011, I was walking down the street in Telluride, Colorado. All of a sudden I felt like I was walking in sand, against the wind. With all my might, I couldn’t walk any faster, no matter how I tried.
Then, for the next 13 years I experienced all kinds of strange symptoms. I have chased many dragons.
Today, I practice radical self care. It’s absolutely necessary if I want to get anything accomplished.
How and when does it start?
My Radical Self-Care List
Without an alarm clock as it’s important not to interrupt an REM sleep cycle otherwise you wake up feeling groggy and you’ve lost up to 45 minutes of good sleep.
Write.
Sip room temperature water with some salt or unsweetened electrolytes.
Prepare morning tea or cacao.
Eat 20+ grams of protein.
Meditate to focus the mind and get in alignment with inner/higher self.
Six-step oral hygiene.
Skin brush.
Shower if needed.
Face the sun with eyes closed and move head around.
Get productive in 22 or 45-minute sprints. Take breaks every 90 minutes when the brain switches to non-dominant hemisphere and back.
Move/walk around.
Eat a hearty and healthy lunch.
Supplements.
Get productive again.
Take a nap.
Go to the studio and create.
For those who use your head a lot, rest by using your hands. If you work with your hands, rest your brain.
Make a savory dinner.
Take a walk.
Do the dishes and prepare for the following day.
Take a magnesium salts bath with essential oils if needed.
Decompress by compressing.
I use a Normatec for 30-60 minutes on my legs. Sometimes I use the hip or arms attachments if I really need it.
Cover up with a weighted blanket. Rest.
Listen to a guided visualization.
Sleep.
I’m a bi-modal sleeper so when I wake at ~4am, I do a few hours of work and go back to sleep.
Pretty radical huh?
What is on your Radical Self-Care List? Is it sustainable? It takes time to build up to a repeatable, sustainable routine.
Here are some tips:
Know your purpose and why. Feel into how important it is and remind yourself frequently.
Find the anchor or cornerstone practice you do everyday and build time around it to add and enhance your self-care.
Be present with the process. Your subconscious knows when you aren’t putting in full effort. By being present, you are training yourself to be more resilient and strengthening your practice.
How long does it take?
Well, it’s taken me 13 years to get to this point. But it was the split-second decisions that changed the trajectory, the depth, and the will to MAKE each change happen. You can choose to begin anytime.
Want to learn more about the skill sets I have developed to help me?
Time-honored processes and the professionals who taught me:
Discover and Implement Your Purpose/Why
Use a methodology and get a coach like the SHIFT-IT Visual process with Christina Merkley (manifestation approach) or
Make It Happen Method with Coach Jennie and Meredyth (inner critic/productivity-based).
Develop Mindsets, Skill sets and Behaviors
The 3T Model from the Learn Lead Lift Framework has been critical in my decision making and determining energy allocation. You can learn more from the book at https://www.learnleadlift.com by Wendy Ryan.
Leverage Visual Thinking
Love a good abecedarian? I talk more about those in an upcoming email. Meanwhile, check out this one by Brandy Agerbeck.
Valuable Link: https://www.loosetooth.com/a-to-z
Building Resilience with Appreciative Inquiry
By Joan McArthur-Blair and Jeanie Cockell
Link to an excerpt of their book: https://cockellmcarthur-blair.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/building-resilience-with-appreciative-inquiry-excerpt-1.pdf
I love to host live group sessions taking creative professionals through the ALIVE process. If you are interested in organizing one for your creative group, guild, book club, etc, please email me for group rates.
May you have the courage and strength to make ever-lasting change.
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Plant-Based Inks & The BigOne Art Marker
Last month, I met with Laurie from Bluebird Gardens to test plant-based dyes that could be used on fabric AND paper using Neuland’s BigOne Art markers.
Success!
Yes, they wrote beautifully on both.
Do you know how long we have to wait for these plants to grow, get harvested, turn into dye, in order to be used? Sometimes just under a year, with some plants, it could take several years. And think of all the love and labor that goes into their nurturing and care.
While I am learning to be in the moment…
It’s quite easy AND necessary when lettering. These plants are teaching me patience. And we all know the value of being patient. :)
Here are a few photos from a workshop in Laurie’s garden last summer.
Laurie offers workshops both at her farm near Mesa Verde and at Durango Sustainable Goods. So if you are near or visiting Southwest Colorado, please check out her offerings at https://www.bluebirddyegardens.com.
Which leads me to…
What does radical self care look like?
Click here to download my Radical Self-Care Checklist.
. . .
If you would like to learn more about the biggest brush nib marker in the world, click here. I've also created a free online course about it too here.
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How is sketchnoting and graphic recording even possible?
Did you know that we…
think faster than we can listen
listen faster than people can talk
talk faster than we can draw or write
That’s why we can sketchnote!
It might feel like everything is going so fast as we sketchnote, but actually, our bodies function naturally to support the practice AND it pushes us to do it better and faster each time.
That’s why our minds wander when people talk. That’s okay! Even better when we focus and apply our listening to create sketchnotes. That space between:
Thinking/Listening » Drawing/Writing
» That’s where we are synthesizing, distilling, and deciding where to put things on the page.
Have you ever noticed how some people are "ah-mazed" by what we do and often say they can’t do it? It’s because they haven’t exercised or used that function as frequently as we do!
CONTEXT: In 2009, I suffered a head injury. Shortly after, I found sketchnoting and it helped me build up the neuro pathways in my brain. I went from being super forgetful and anxiety-ridden to having what I thought was a super brain! I truly believe that sketchnoting helped me heal.
NOTE: It’s important to recognize that some people may not be able to sketchnote because of a physical or cognitive limitations. So take care when receiving comments from your audience. Be graceful, thank them, and share information (like Ashton’s community) where they can learn more.
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The first time I took a big leap to change careers, it was scary exciting. The result: I over 10x'd my investment and more than doubled my salary.
I’m not trying to sell you anything here. You have everything you need inside of you. Sometimes it just takes a nudge to help see it.
In all the years I have been in business, I’ve only had one bad coach. It’s because they came at a time in my life that I was so desperate, I believed their program promise. Not only did it not deliver, it put me in a much worse place financially and physically than I had ever been in my life. I was so heavily invested in their ability, that I didn’t trust my own. It was a yearlong process that took me down. Luckily, it was during the Pandemic and no one really noticed.
While I no longer trust that coach, their colleagues, nor the oppressive system they feed into, I haven’t stopped believing and investing in myself.
It took a long time to heal from the place that coach abandoned me. And over the past two years, I went in a completely different direction and found success and happiness for myself.
And that was one, only one, in a long list of dozens of great to spectacular coaches who have helped me along the way. Each with their unique approach I needed at that time.
Why am I sharing this?
Because perhaps you have:
1) Invested in yourself and failed. But was it failure? Or was what you invested in NOT really an investment in YOU? Or
2) You have not invested in yourself because you are afraid.
Regardless, one thing is true. You are here. Picture yourself just a few years from now. It’s likely you have changed and grown. How much depends on how much time and energy you invest in yourself today.
What’s your next best step?
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How the stars aligning inform how I design my offerings
Like most artists, I flutter from idea to idea.
But when it comes to offering classes at Let’s Letter Together! I have a very different approach. I have been planning, setting intentions, harvesting, and sharing the abundance on an annual cyclical basis.
By Winter Solstice of each year, I plant my seeds of intention for the coming year. I let the fertile ground of my intentions help my ideas grow.
By Summer Solstice, my ideas are fully formed and ready to share.
This year I delivered:
• Lettering with Pencils
• Finding Your Signature Style
Then the real fun begins: Lammas/Harvest allows me to see and share with abundance. This year delivered a bumper crop. As I was planning to announce:
Dancing in the Dark with Sharon Zeugin
When The BigOne! Blowout happened:
BigOne Duet with Brandy Agerbeck
Let’s go BIG Together! (a free class on Neuland markers)
BIG Fun! with the BigOne! With Mike Gold
Not to eclipse my efforts with Sharon, these BigOne sessions have come together quite easily—inspired by a retrograding Venus transiting over my natal sun in Leo and the Venus Cazimi. While Dancing in the Dark has been in slow development for over a year—with good purpose.
Starting on the Fall Equinox when the light and dark are equal, we will begin Dancing with the Dark with Roman Capitals on black paper. Together we will dance with Sharon through a series of prompts and end our time together at Samhain, at a time when the veil is the thinnest, and we will be equipped to let go of what no longer serves us in order to step into the selves we need to become next.
From Sharon...
"Let's use this time to emphasize connecting the lettering with personal feeling and one’s own words—a meaningful mantra or something fun to write. This is an opportunity for experimenting with improvisation in terms of writing words and designing as you go.
We’ll start simply and grow from there, always rooted in the knowledge and experience of the forms—and variations on their rhythm, spacing, and proportions."
This launching of ideas and completing them by November 1 aligns perfectly with the Deer Walks I am doing with Cassandra Leoncini (http://www.twoeaglesastrology.com). This is the restart after a 7-year cycle since my first Deer Walks when I lived in DC and needed an integrated Vision Quest in order to leave so I may return to the Southwest.
And it’s after that time that I take all of the ideas I have gathered during this harvest season for 2024 and let them reveal their true selves.
Will I be collaborating more with master calligraphers to give our shared audiences what they need, want, and desire?
Will I both: return to the basics by offering more handwriting classes all WHILE helping visual practitioners Level Up so the important work they are doing is supported?
Will there be another European Lettering Tour? Since 2018 I have taught hundreds of VPs in over 10 different countries in-person. With so many more entering the field, do they need me in-person or will virtual learning continue to grow?
I read a quote on Instagram the other day that said:
“Set goals so high that they demand an entirely different version of you.”
I know where I want to put my focus in 2024:
Appreciative Inquiry,
Lettering,
Tech hosting and building curriculums to support trauma-informed communities
But will the stars align?
Only time will tell. As will my health and well-being in support of these efforts. Both my willingness to grow and the external forces outside of my control will determine what version of me will come next.
What future self are you currently developing?
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Mashups Help Inspire Good Ideas
What's a mashup?
Simply put, it's two or more ideas combined to inspire something new. One of my favorite games (that I rarely play because I can't find anyone to play with) is Disruptus. It offers up 3 types of cards: illustrations, photos, and flat graphics (icons). There is a sand timer and a die you can roll to determine how you will mash up your ideas.
After hanging out with a fabulous group of art pals who also happen to have a love/hate relationship with their Cricuts, I came up with this idea.
A hand-drawn graphic of a seed sprouting up out of the ground with the words: Plant Seeds of Intention.
Made to hang in a window by a piece of jute string.
Cut from a LaCroix box - way to upcycle!
Presented with a handmade paper backing that is embedded with wildflower seeds.
This idea didn't just come to me. It was inspired by Carol DuBosch's Monkey Bar Caps class, Mike Gold's Letters and Scissors and Paste, Oh My! class, Earth Day, the local Durango Sustainable Goods shop AND Helen Hiebert's A Paper Year class.
I had a great time drawing it on my iPad, learning how to use my Cricut, and resourcing the paper. I'm happy to announce that I found a local handmade paper maker who is willing to create seeded paper for this project. For someone just starting out, Sarah Lemcke makes beautiful paper. Click here to see her work on Instagram.
Helen Hiebert featured my idea in a recent blogpost: https://helenhiebertstudio.com/the-fractured-giant/
And I couldn't be more pleased that Durango Sustainable Goods carries my cards and will continue to carry them at their new location.
What ideas have you mashed up lately?
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Appreciative Resilience
Pairing visual facilitation with Appreciative Resilience is a powerful experience when determining personal and professional needs. If you would like to learn how to use Appreciative Inquiry and visuals in your meetings, you can learn more here.
I’m sharing my story, but if you prefer to skip to the good parts, you can learn about Appreciative Resilience here:
AI vs. AI blogpost
Building Resilience with Appreciative Inquiry: A Leadership Journey of Hope, Despair, and Forgiveness
Come ALIVE and Build Resilience in this free session
When I stepped into Jeanie and Joan’s virtual classroom: Resilience Reset last fall, my goal was to find the strength and gain the tools to forgive a family member so I could move on in my life. I was being by stifled in so many ways by my own hang ups and was having a hard time letting go of past trauma.
A few months later, after taking their Appreciative Resilience Facilitator Training, I met my goal, and was changed forever. I learned how to:
Forgive, even from a point of despair.
Find Hope, through a regular Resilience practice.
Come ALIVE by writing the next chapter of my life.
Further develop my mission: Facilitate the creative express of others through online and in-person Resilience sessions.
And now that I have my certification in Appreciative Resilience, I’m turning my lived experience into a shared experience for others.
Why is it important to build and practice Resilience in your work?
… as an artist?
… as a visual practitioner?
… as a person?
As a human in our current society, we are bombarded everyday with news, images, demands from others, complex circumstances we find ourselves in—often outside of our control. It can be devastating, crippling, of not simply overwhelming. And certainly never-ending. And we all share this.
I have found the ALIVE model to be:
Investigative
Enlightening
Empowering
And I’ve been taking small groups through the model so they may learn from themselves and each other how to build resilience to manage the everyday, AND when life hits us with something new.
I wrote this blog for The Center of Appreciative Inquiry. You can read through the questions. I encourage you to journal about them or share them with a friend or accountability buddy as a way to deepen your own understanding.
Because as we get inundated by the world around us, including the demand of learning about AI and our relationship to it, we need to take as many opportunities to connect with ourselves in deep and meaningful ways so we can:
Focus our time and energy wisely
Make better decisions
Live a fulfilling life
I’m not going to tell you the WHAT (that’s within you), but I am offering some tools on the HOW.
If you want to go deeper, I will be offering a free online session where we can explore this model in community and so you may experience the power of building resilience by parallel processing in a group setting.
Come ALIVE and Build Resilience
Monday, July 10, 10am MDT
>>> Click here to register for free
This interactive session will not be recorded. You will be given a worksheet prior to the call to reflect on or simply show up on time as who you are.
Because when our paths cross, I want to check in and see how I can support you, as a whole person. And I would like to be witnessed as the same.
And leave just a little more resilient than when we stepped into one another’s space.
With great appreciation,
Heather
If you would like to learn more about pairing Appreciative Inquiry with visuals, I offer an AI + Visuals = Meeting Design course through The Center for Appreciative Inquiry.
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Lately I’ve been wondering what it might be like to embrace my quirky handwriting.
And I love a good prompt to get me thinking, creating and writing.
When you look at your handwriting, notice:
❓What do you love ❤️ about how it looks?
❓What do you enjoy 😊 about making it in your own unique way?
❓What attributes would you keep?
❓What would you change to help you feel more confident?
I practice the foundational calligraphy scripts: Roman Hand, Palatino, and Italic to keep it legible and readable.
And I play with Brushlettering, Architect, and Sign Painter because they are fast and satisfying.
But what I really enjoy is making non-traditional letters work for practical applications.
Last week I made a poster that showed Copperplate written with a pencil. I had more people ask me to teach that. I had to laugh. I’ve been studying Copperplate since 2016 and I’m in no position to teach it, nor do I want to. It’s just not my aesthetic or enjoyable to me. But knowing the rules, challenging myself to get the form right, knowing that I can do it is enough for me.
What lettering styles do you practice and enjoy? Are they different or the same?
Image Description: Watercolor painting of a glass of purple drink with 3 ice cubes. The handwritten text in the right reads: “I love to drink grape-flavored electrolytes in a narrow pint glass because it makes me feel RESILIENT.”
Why a narrow pint glass? Because the inverted shape is comfortable to hold with my arthritic hands.
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Great ideas start with a pencil
With touchscreens and keyboards charging the way, pencils still have a place in our everyday lives.
The humble pencil has a rich history that dates back to the 1600’s. But it was March 30, 1858 when Hymen Lipman added the eraser to the modern pencil.
“Many great ideas have started with a pencil in hand.” Having started as a sketchnoter and now a strategic visioning facilitator, I often deliver my work with a pencil in hand, or behind my ear.
Like many people who were not born with technology in their hands, I started my early scribbling life with a pencil and the occasional crayon.
Drawing, doodling, and taking notes by hand is especially important to the developing brain and is a powerful foundation for the life-long learner.*
Remember how the pencil sharpener in grade school was equivalent to the water cooler at the office? Ah, the smell of fresh cut cedar and a smudge of graphite dust on the floor.
From spelling tests to art class, the pencil was always there and at the ready. I can hear the orchestrated “thunk” of the wood and the “ting” of the metal ferrule as we quickly placed our pencils in the grooves in our desks as the bell rings before a classroom full of kids charge out for recess and head the playground.
Later in college, all of my sculptures first started as a drawing, graphite on canvas to layout the painting, notes taken in the darkroom—the pencil is the most loyal creative companion.
Decades later and even after advancing as an online trainer and virtual facilitator, I still use the pencil everyday to capture my ideas, process and refine them. And at the end of the workday, I grab my bag of pencils and head for the studio.
The pencil still has a place on my desk, in my creative process, and in my heart.
Heather Leavitt Martinez has been writing with the iconic Blackwing pencil since it’s reintroduction to the market in 2011 and is an avid pencil collector, lettering designer, and inventor. She has been known to hold pencil sharpening meetups and will be giving away pencils at her in-person, hands-on demo, Thursday, March 30, 3:00–4:00 pm in her studio at The ArtRoom at the Smiley Building.
You can learn more about Blackwing pencils here.
For more information, visit: http://tinyurl.com/pencilday23
*Other interesting reads:
How Writing Improves Your Brain and Helps You Heal
7 Reasons Why Writing Benefits the Brain
5 Reasons Writing By Hand Is Good For The Brain And For Well-Being
Pictured above: pressure and release graphite technique in the round using the Blackwing Audition Pack.
DISCLOSURE
I only recommend products I would use myself and all opinions expressed here are my own. As a Blackwing Ambassador, I share affiliate links that are no additional cost to you and I may earn a small commission.
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AI is at the core of what I do. And in this conversation, it all comes together.
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What are you fanatically focused on?
Have you heard the term “fanatically focused”?
It was last Tuesday when I first heard it. I was about 10 minutes into a 2.5 days graphic recording job when the leader in the room talked about being radically focused on their portfolio.
While they were talking about their brand, I was thinking about artist portfolios. And what fanatically focus means to an artist.
To be fanatically focused is to focus on one’s interest with excessive passion and intense uncritical devotion. It’s “doing,” not just thinking in a way that makes you an undeniable force. And when engaged, it’s as if everything else irrelevant falls away.
Is there anything you’re fanatically focused on?
It’s not a contest, but to me, it’s a powerful feeling that fuels my desire to complete what might otherwise seem like an inconceivable task.
The job itself went well. And at the end I was left with an overwhelming feeling of accomplishment that I didn’t want to end.
So I signed up for a variation on Copperplate class, “Lovestruck” by @DesignKOUS a few days later. I’ve studied copperplate a few times but never really grasped it. Probably because it has no relevance to the work of a visual practitioner. It’s slow to write (comparatively) and isn’t as legible as other lettering styles. But it was relevant to Valentine’s Day and I knew it would pair nicely with the recent Dird class I took from Suzie Beringer the week before.
These two classes weren’t even on my radar a month ago when I had my 2023 creative strategy all planned out. So why take the time and energy away from other projects to fanatically focus on this?
I’m building resilience.
Last fall I took an Appreciative Resilience class at The Center for Appreciatively Inquiry. It was the best thing I learned all year, this decade, and likely in my life as it relates to my wellbeing. You can learn more about it here. Joan and Jeanie also offer Resilience Reset sessions to give you a taste of the work.
What does having resilience have to do with being fanatically focused? Well it seems to go hand in hand. With burnout being so prevalent these days, if you are going to go all out on something, it’s best to have a way to recover from the energy spent.
Two short, 3-hour classes along with a goal of making some Valentines did three things for me:
1. I learned a few new lettering skills and art techniques that I can add to my creative toolbox.
2. I accomplished what I previously believed to be an insurmountable task—learning Copperplate again and having an application for it.
3. Built resilience and applied fanatical focus in a short, but powerful way.
Not to mention I have some beautiful Valentines to send.
And now I am left feeling stronger, wiser, and inspired to keep going.
I switch a lot between teaching, making, and performing at my work as a visual practitioner. But having fanatical focus for the task right in front of me makes it easier, more productive, and it’s highly satisfying.
So what are you passionate about that you can devote a bit more energy to? How will you build that fanatical focus muscle?
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How gratitude can get you there
Let’s start this day out with a simple thank you…to ourselves. In this video, I walk you step-by-step how to make yourself a simple thank you card—because gratitude isn’t just about having appreciation for what we have. It’s also about loving who we are.
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Here in the US, many are gathering with family and friends this week to celebrate Thanksgiving. Some observe the holiday tradition, but to others, the holiday is a only a reminder of oppression experienced by Native Americans.
One thing is for sure, we can choose to have gratitude for what we have and the friends and family we share our lives with, in this moment. How will you be observing this holiday?
Today, 11/22/2022 marks a special day.
If you have followed me for a few years, I usually share some of the resources I use to plan for the coming year. My process starts back on August 1, for Lammas, the cross quarter day between the Summer Solstice and the Fall Equinox. It’s observed as the first harvest day when the sun and earth come together to ripen the crops. That’s the day I begin taking stock of all that I have learned in the year, reflect on all the goodness and observe what died on the vine. What will I winnow and sift? What will I store as nourishment through the winter? And what seeds can I take with me into my dreams for the winter solstice—the solar new year?
Sure I help organizations with their year-end-reviews and strategic planning. I even support artists in 1:1s for vision setting and creating decision models so they can live successful art lives.
But I also do the deep inner work it takes to be successful and have the resilience to keep going even when I fail.
I’ve spent this year being of service to others and building bridges between 3 areas of my work/career.
Here are the tools I’m using to help get me there:
Appreciative Resilience
SHIFT-IT Visual Process
Camp Draw More
My secret? Making these a priority and carving out the time!
Building Resilience with Appreciative Inquiry
A Leadership Journey through Hope, Despair, and Forgiveness
Joan McArthur-Blair and Jeanie Cockell
Please consider purchasing it through your favorite local bookstore. It’s also available in audio. Click here for the excerpt.
I had the pleasure of taking the Appreciative Resilience Facilitation Training at the Center for Appreciative Inquiry from Joan and Jeanie earlier this fall and it was life-changing for me. I went in hoping to find a way to forgive a family member and came out not only being successful there, but found how to embody and maintain equanimity in all areas of my life. I’m also bringing visuals into the mix. If you take any of my live, online courses, you will be experiencing a visual, customized version of the ALIVE model this month and next as part of my way of saying thank you and as part of my practicum for certification.
SHIFT-IT™ Visual Coaching Process
Earlier this year I took Christina Merkley’s SHIFT-IT Retreat as a repeater—a benefit from having taken it before and being a certified coach. Shortly after I participated in both the free Satsangs and her paid course. Both were deeply impactful.
Then this fall I participated in the retreat again with my husband, Ray. The process never gets old for me, but it does change—it deepens.
I remember the first time I went through the SHIFT-IT process. I wrote things down, then found one of the maps 6 months later and found that everything I wrote down, happened! Then I did it again, and again. SHIFT-IT has been a big part of every career change, big move, setting career aspirations like: 2 European Lettering Tours and a World Tour, building online platforms from which to teach, a yearlong, cross-country road trip, and more. But more importantly, it has helped me with deep shifts in my thinking, being, and personal development. The past few years for me have been about becoming okay with my physical limitations and feeling into my life’s purpose and understanding.
As a certified SHIFT-IT coach, I help others by using visual maps to help them see where they are and where they want to go. You can download the FOCUS on ME map here. If you are interested in additional support, we can set up a free 25-minute Crossroads call to determine your best next steps: a mini-retreat, customized journey, or full 17-map experience.
Camp Draw More
While Lettering and Tech Hosting are key pieces in my body of work, I’ve carved those paths and continue to pave the way for others who want to learn these critical skills.
I got my first career break by incorporating visuals into my work. And an early role model of mine was Brandy Agerbeck of www.Loosetooth.com. Her Brandyfesto is what first inspired my integration work I do in November.
I went on to read both of her books:
The Graphic Facilitator’s Handbook
The Idea Shapers
I even gathered a bunch of my colleagues and together we took the 90-day Agerbeck Method.
Now I am returning back full-circle by participating in Camp Draw More this year. So far I have deepened my drawing skills, am reminded of all of areas that need to be balanced as a visual thinker, and am working on my “every man” while graphic recording.
With AI at the core of everything I do, I have a repeatable, scalable approach to my work.
What resources have you found valuable this year to support your growth and keep you on track?
What are you appreciative of and grateful for? I’d love to know!
Appreciatively,
Heather
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3 Ways to Build Your Lettering library
Image is a slide from Make It Your Lettering Year
Here are 3 ways to collect and organize your letters:
Carol DuBosch shared her approach of using an address book when she taught us Jubilee in March.
We are inspired by Brandy Agerbeck’s “Stack Magic” approach to collecting information on index cards.
And the sketchbook, or better yet: travel sketchbook makes for a great way to capture your lettering inspirations.
Once you find a letter you love, you can also:
Identify the attributes of that letter.
Create an alphabet based on the attributes.
Scale the letter up and down.
Need more inspiration?
We’ve had an inspiring year at Let’s Letter Together. From guest master calligraphers to community building.
Here are just a few of the courses you can still get access to:
Illuminating the Dark
With Sharon Zeugin
Letters and Scissors and Paste, Oh My!
With Mike Gold
Make It Your Lettering Year
With Heather Martinez and guest calligraphers including Carol DuBosch, Elizabeth Walsh, Nancy Hays Hills, Margaret Beech, Tamer Ghoneim, Julie Wildman and more!
And unlimited access of some of top favorites from the archives. These courses feature even more experts from the field.
For the Love of Lettering
Lettering with the Masters
Listen, Letter, Draw Together
With so much inspiration, how will you choose? Share your lettering goals with me and I will point you in the right direction.
Until then, happy lettering!
Heather
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How Lettering Can Help You
It’s sounds a bit melodramatic when I say lettering saved my life. But I do give it a lot of credit for making it better.
After giving up my dream as a fine art, alternative process photographer (due to the symptoms related to the chemicals I was using), I deeply grieved my loss and threw myself into a career of becoming a visual practitioner.
While being a visual practitioner didn’t give me the creative freedom I had as an artist, what I loved about it was the way writing down ideas manifested quickly into reality. Me writing down other people’s visions became true for them. Strategic visualization, coupled with Appreciative Inquiry became a very powerful tool I used in my work as a Visioneer and Visual Coach.
But it didn’t become meaningful for me until I focused on my lettering. I didn’t start out with especially good handwriting, and I didn’t understand the letterforms beyond what I was taught in the 3rd grade.
I want to share 3 things I did to improve my lettering and my life that you can do too:
Make Your Own Exemplars
After learning a new lettering style, the practice of making your own exemplar will not only help you master the lettering style, but also help you make it your own.
Mimicking someone’s handwriting can be dangerous on a psychological level. So first learn the attributes, how to hold the marker or pen (angle), stroke order and letterform. Then write some words and a pangram, and dive into making your own exemplar to use as reference.
It will increase your ability and your confidence.
After being asked to be a Neuland Ambassador, I created a series of exemplars that other visual practitioners could use in their work and published a free online course called: Unlock Your Neuland Markers. Guido also translated my exemplars in German. You can find them here.
Practice Like You are Performing
Avoid practicing a page full of the same letter and write words as soon as possible. Practicing rote can help but only if you are are perfecting a form at a slow speed. For visual practitioners, it’s important to see the letter and transform it into a form that you can easily write with consistency at the speed you work. Yes, start at tabletop and go slow to get the letterform into your hand. When it’s time to take it to the wall, be sure to start out slow, stay grounded in your body, and speed up until you find your natural rhythm. Each marker has a speed, each lettering style has a speed, and you have a speed. Working to find that rhythm will help you when you get in front of your client.
Shortly after the Pandemic started, I offered lettering meditations sessions. No audio, we just lettered together. These were slow meditative sessions. By working slow, I am able to build a strong foundation so I can go fast. You can learn more here: https://youtu.be/fCKQ9xopjEE
Letter With Others
That means take lettering classes and workshops and letter with family, co-workers and friends. Just like letters: they are meaningless until they live in relationship with other letters. The same goes for us too. We all have lettering in common, or we did at some point. Bring it back to life and bring life to your letters by allowing yourself to learn and be influenced by others.
I highly recommend taking classes that align with your lettering goals. I offer a variety of classes for visual practitioners and calligraphers at www.LetsLetterTogether.com and one of my mentors, Carol DuBosch (www.CarolDuBosch.com) offers several lettering classes and she is an excellent teacher.
What else is new?
Well I haven’t been active lately as I caught the Coronavirus. You can read about that adventure here.
I had to cancel my in-person classes for the month but will be starting up again in July. You can learn more and sign up on AirBnB Experiences here.
Since Covid took me down and I'm working to automate a few of my classes, there is still time to get in on the introductory offer at Tech Host Academy before I automate my marketing plan.
I'd love to hear what's new with you. Having Covid changed how I look at the world and my place in it. I'm looking forward to feeling better and getting back into the studio to letter.
Hope to letter with you soon!
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Moving week! Check out our new studio...
We did it! Let’s Letter Together is officially in-person as well as online.
This week we moved into a new studio space. And this is not your average brick and mortar.
Ray and I designed and built a mini classroom in studio #11 in The ArtRoom at the Smiley Building in Durango Colorado.
What does this mean? Small, intimate in-person classes! Check out this gorgeous work table Ray’s brother, Paul made!
What makes the location and the space so special?
It’s not just a studio/classroom. It’s part of a collective of artists working in an open-air studio that is open to the public daily.
The ArtRoom Collective is a treasure trove of creative talent. Housed at the Smiley Building, at 1309 East Third Avenue in Durango, Colorado, the remodeled space is a diverse, working studio gallery where artists create, collaborate, and share their passion with the community. There are 20 studio spaces where visual artists working in a variety of mediums create and exhibit their work.
Owners and building stewards, Charles and Lisa Shaw have a knack for creating a continuously, unfolding dynamic community space. While the pandemic rendered the theatre at the Smiley building useless, that didn’t stop the Shaw’s vision of maintaining a space for arts and education. While Charles loves architecture, it was painful for him to dismantle the theatre. He named the remodeled space The ArtRoom for its connection to the school. Becca Whitehead, longtime tenant of the Smiley, inspired the windows separating each studio—paying tribute to the historical features of the building and allowingnatural light to flow through the space. You can read more about the space here.
As the artists filed into their spaces last fall, many did not know one another and had no idea what the space or The ArtRoom Collective would look like or become. It is organized by studio members, including a newly formed Outreach committee for its involvement with the community and collaborative efforts with other organizations.
Last fall when we learned of the space, we quickly grabbed a studio and Ray set up a portrait studio or headshots and more. After a few months of helping facilitate the monthly meetups for the group, I got on the waitlist should a space come up. There hasn’t been any attrition. I’m the first newcomer to the established group. They have been warm and welcoming. And although I have only been in the space for less than a week, I already have interest in my lettering classes and friends are beginning to stop by and see what I’m up to.
Many of you know I have RA and several autoimmune issues so this was a big, scary step. But the building went vaccine-required during the pandemic and while it’s still very iffy how I will manage my chemical sensitivities, so far moving my studio out of my home has been a great decision.
In addition to the awesome artists and space, the building is a renovation dream come true. Check out this video telling the story how it became what it is today.
This is my third shared studio space at the Smiley building. I have been creating on and off at the Smiley since 1999 when Kit Frost offered a public darkroom. I’ve taken dance, yoga, printmaking, basket weaving, pottery, and Kanji calligraphy classes at the Smiley building from local and visting artists. And I’m so excited to be part of the living history of the learning community here again.
My Offerings
In addition to my mini store where I will be selling one-of-a-kind handmade books and collages, I will also have my book, zines, washi tapes, cards and more.
Every participant in my class will receive Neuland markers they can use and take with them, handouts, personal instruction and access to online lettering classes at www.LetsLetterTogether.com so the learning fun can continue.
It’s a big step, into a little space, in a special place. I’m excited to be part of the community again. I hope you will stop by!
Durango is a small mountain town in Southwest Colorado on the Indigenous lands of the Ute, Pueblo and Anasazi Elders past, present and future. It’s a year-round destination for those who enjoy outdoor activities like hiking, mountain biking, white water rafting and kayaking, skiing, snowboarding, and much more. If you choose to visit this magical place, please let me know. I’m happy to connect you with the best places to stay, eat, and be entertained.
Lettering Excursions & VIP Days
If you are planning your summer travels and want to put Durango on your list, come visit me for a 1-3 day private lettering or coaching experience.
Can’t make it in-person? No worries! Email me for details on co-designing your own VIP day. Whether in-person or virtual, we can work half-day (starting at $750) or design full-day excursions.
Why go on a lettering excursion or book a VIP day? Travel towards your goal(s) further and faster. I help you envision, design, plan, and execute a plan to meet your creative and/or professional needs.
The BigOne Art continues to make waves
Calligraphers and visual practitioners around the world are diving into the deep end with the BigOne Art and finding new possibilities in drawing and lettering with the world’s largest brush nib.
I interviewed Carrie Imai and learned how she plans to make the marker dance in her work.You can watch the interview by clicking the image below and on YouTube here.
youtube
Stay tuned, I will be interviewing, featuring and collaborating with many others using the BigOne Art in their work. Be sure to check out my YouTube channel and Instagram page for the latest creations and to catch lives from my new studio.
What does this mean for online learning?
Will the digital classes go away?
Yes and no.
At www.LetsLetterTogether.com, we offer dozens of online classes. In May, we are having the last Level Up Your Letter Virtual class in this format. I don’t plan on teaching it in-person again. Future workshops will likely be retreats in Europe and specialty classes held at Neuland HQ in Germany.
Make It Your Lettering Year is open for enrollment anytime. We are in year two and year three is in the planning stages. I highly recommend this class for all experience levels. The live monthly sessions bring us together and inspire.
Only a handful of online classes are being planned. And new evergreen classes are being recorded and will be available soon.
Be on the lookout for these live online opportunities to letter together:
#letslettertogether#makeityourletteringyear#letteringjourney#sign painter#sign Writer#neuland#bigone#lettering#letteringclass#letteringworkshop#brushlettering
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Sprichst du nur Deutsch?
[Do you only speak and read German?]
Dieses Buch ist für Sie!
[This book is for you!]
Dank unserer guten Freunde bei Neuland ist mein preisgekröntes Buch Geh aid Lettering Reise jetzt auf Deutsch und Englisch erhältlich, damit Sie wählen können!
[Thanks to our good friends over at Neuland, my award-winning book Lettering Journey is now available in German and English so you can choose!]
Es enthält dieselben Inhalte, einschließlich Briefe in voller Größe, die mit Neuland-Markern, begleitendem Ductus und Vollfarbbildern von Beispielschriften von visuellen Praktikern auf der ganzen Welt geschrieben wurden.
[It includes the same content including full-size letters written with Neuland markers, accompanying ductus, and full-color images of example lettering from visual practitioners working all over the world.]
Wenn Sie es noch nicht getan haben, können Sie Ihr Kopie hier erhalten:
• Deutsch
• Englisch
Genießen!
[If you haven’t already, you can get your copy here:
• German
• English
Enjoy!]
There is also an accompanying online course complete with how-to videos. You can sign up here: https://learning.neuland.com/s/neuland-learning/lettering-journey-express/payment
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Three Ways to Level Up Your Lettering
Whether you are a visual practitioner, emerging lettering artist or master calligrapher, there is always room to improve your lettering.
Here are 3 general ways to level up your lettering followed by 3 specific steps…
Be mindful about your lettering and make it a priority and habit.
Continue to seek out teachers on your journey as a lifelong learner.
Get feedback on your work.
Get specific!
Know what you want to achieve with your lettering and invest your time, money and energy wisely. Do the inner work. Hire a coach if you need to. Watch the video for a quick tutorial.
Find a teacher whose work you like and that fits with your lettering goals. Look at aesthetics, practicality, and their values. Before you sign up, ask others if they are a great teacher.
Ditch the idea that a friend, colleague, or your social media following will give you the feedback you need. Find a mentor or make a short list of people who’s work you admire and make them a part of your inner/growth circle.
How following these ways have helped me shape my lettering journey
Teaching has helped me learn. Taking what I’ve learned has helped me grow. Going live with tips and tricks is my way of reaching out to others and learning what’s important to them. Teaching online classes has helped me connect with those who are committed and shaped how I deliver exercises and build a methodology and body of work.
I’ve learned from the best and worst. I have had some incredible teachers and some really bad ones too. Some have put pens in my hand that changed my life forever. They guided me on how to make the most of what I had and that influenced how I used the tool to match my intention: expression vs. communication. Other teachers had such bad pedagogy and presence that it helped me discern what kind of teacher I wanted to be.
I surround myself with professional, mentors, and those I admire based on my values. I invest in coaches, learn from masters and value curiosity, authenticity and humor when seeking them out. They are not only my teachers, they have become my friends.
At The Crossroads
In the SHIFT-IT™ Visual Coaching System, we use “At The Crossroads” as a starting point. And here I am, at a new crossroad. I am living out the actions between my current and future state and finding myself in an exciting place with regards to my lettering, health, and career.
In May, I am splitting my energy into two areas of my lettering life in order to meet the future aspirations I mapped out in earlier years.
This will be the last time I offer Level Up Your Lettering Virtual in its current format. We have an incredible cohort of talent with important needs. I’m adding some new tools and tricks to deepen their their lettering understanding. The class will then be restructured to be evergreen. There is no guarantee that this will be an in-person workshop again. I am planning my next European lettering tour, but this curriculum is not part of the plan. For those who missed outlet on the last two tours, this is your chance. This will be the foundation of what comes next and will be a pre-requisite along with a portfolio for future in-person study with me.
I’m moving into a new studio space with two main goals: to teach small, in-person classes and have a space to do my most creative work to date. The furniture and layout has been designed and I’m implementing the move. I’ll be spending more time offline and my lettering presence will be focused on building deeper connections here in Durango. I’m leaning into my lettering life and being very careful about my energy and where I spend it.
Please let me know how I can support you in Your Lettering Journey!
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