Learning the craft

One of the first things I did when I realized I was really interested in getting into this field was to look for a workshop I could take. There seem to be a lot of things going on in California, but not much in this neck of the woods - so I was delighted to learn that there was a pro closer to home who was willing to share her knowledge. And so it was that on a lovely day in early June, I found myself in Christina Merkley's workshop at Royal Roads University, scribbling madly away on big sheets of paper and having a whale of a time. It was really exhilarating, and seeing my drawings up on the wall gave me a big boost of confidence. I thought, "I can do this stuff!"

Christina is offering another intro workshop in October, and she's talking about a Graphic Recording Boot Camp in 2007 for those who want to take their skills to the next level. Sounds like too much fun to resist!

The photo above was taken at the NCDD conference. Yep, that's me, showing off one of the pages from my sketchbook. (You can see that page and a few others in a larger size in the post just below...)

Conference sketches

One of the highlights of this past month was attending the NCDD (National Coalition for Dialogue & Deliberation) conference in San Francisco. It was a brilliant conference – well-organized, exciting, thought-provoking, inspiring – chock-full of excellent workshops and presentations, amazing people, and of course, great conversation from dawn to dusk! I'd be hard pressed to pinpoint what I liked best, since I felt like a kid in a candy shop the whole time. But some highlights were: a day-long training in Compassionate Listening, a soulful and moving workshop on "Story" as an entry to sustained dialogue, and a D&D Methods Showcase featuring, among other things, a session on Graphic Capture by two of the stars in the field, Nancy Margulies and Christine Valenza.

I was thrilled to meet Nancy and Christine because I've admired their work for a long time. I wondered what they would think of my efforts – so I decided to ask them. You see, instead of bringing a notebook to the conference, I decided I'd take visual notes, as though I were doing graphic recording for a meeting. So I sketched madly away whenever I could, and thought my drawings were not too bad. But would they measure up in the eyes of the masters?

I spotted Christine and Nancy in the foyer during a quiet moment and asked them if they would look at – and comment on – my sketchbook. They graciously agreed, and after their session was over I presented myself with my sketchbook and waited for their response. Much to my delight, their response was great! They were most encouraging of my efforts, and told me I was well on my way and could declare myself as a practitioner in the field without hesitation.

So without further delay, I, Avril Orloff, officially declare myself as a graphic facilitator/graphic recorder – no longer "I want to be", but "I am"! Here are a few pages from my sketchbook.

Mapping innovations

One of my favourite people to work with is John Talbot. John is one of the gurus of the community development field, and a great mentor to me and many others. I met John last January when he approached me about doing some graphic recording at a meeting he was facilitating. I didn't think I was quite ready for prime time at that point. But John encouraged me to develop my skills — and even more: he invited me to try my hand at a workshop on community development a few weeks later! This speaks volumes for John's qualities as a mentor, since neither he nor I had any idea what I'd be able to do. But he trusted that I'd produce, and apparently I did, since we've continued to team up on various projects.

Unfortunately I don't have any photos of that session — but here are a couple of shots from the next meeting John and I worked together on for the Innovations Network at Community Living BC (CLBC). As is always the case when working with John, it was highly collaborative, lots of fun, and a great learning experience. Thanks, JT!

Starting out on a new PATH...

This was my first graphic job – creating a PATH for the 5-year strategic plan for BACI (Burnaby Association for Community Inclusion).

The folks at BACI decided that instead of doing a standard, linear strategic plan, they wanted something that was more 'organic' this time around. As Tanya Sather, BACI's Executive Director, explained, "We wanted something that was a lot more creative, free-flowing and inclusive, even in the way it looked. We wanted something that was beautiful to look at – something inspiring that would take us to the next level as an organization." They thought the PATH was a good fit with the organization, because they've often used it to help people with their personal planning – so why not use the same tool to plan for the organization?

We didn't have big enough paper for the PATH, so we just taped together a whole bunch of 18x24" pages. But the good folks at BACI reproduced the whole thing onto a big canvas, which they then framed and hung in their big meeting room. They liked the process so much that they hired me to graphically record a series of "hopes & dreams" visioning sessions with their staff and the folks they serve. This is one of them.

I had great fun doing this job for BACI and look forward to refining my PATH-making skills. This was my first taste of graphic recording, and it gave me the impetus to take things further...

What's a nice girl like me doing in a place like this?

Well, [ahem], actually, I'm using this site to show off my stuff. I've recently moved into the field of graphic facilitation and wanted a place where I could post my work without the expense of creating a full website. One day when I've polished up my profile, fleshed out my portfolio and come up with wise-sounding things to say about my work, I'll put it all on a well-designed website and proudly invite you to visit it. Meanwhile, this blog gives me a nice central place to store and showcase my work, post my musings about art and communication, and feel pleasantly 'official'.

As an aside, it's amazing how being published – even self-published – instantly makes you feel like you've arrived! What do you suppose it is? The simple fact of seeing your name in print? Or is it the transition from the private and personal to the public – declaring "Here I am" and having others acknowledge that, yes, here you are indeed?

Well, whatever – here I unquestionably am. And here's some of what I've done so far in this new (to me) and fascinating pursuit...