Meet Monica The Creative Beast
Multi-passionate artist. Deeply connected to my Creative Instincts. Loves trees, dogs & popcorn, in equal measure. A book reader, binder and eventually writer.
Community + Creativity + Connection =
Cure for Uncertainty and Isolation
Uncertainty
Uncertainty is such a challenging thing to cope with.
Itâs definitely unhelpful with feeling groovy!
Many years ago, I experienced a period of great uncertainty in my life, and it was not fun, I can tell you.
I was frustrated, I was angry, I was upset.
My frustration, anger and upset became compounded when I would express my feelings to others, only to be met with people telling me I should âbe grateful for my circumstancesâ.
That kind of response is dismissive, it is patronizing, it is unhelpful.
Itâs definitely unhelpful with feeling groovy!
You see, the situation I was dealing with was a horrible office job, and I was unable to find a better opportunity because the economy had tanked (this was around 2008/2009) so there were few jobs available that were close to home, that fit my values, that offered better pay, which is why some people thought it was okay to dismiss my feelings of upset at my circumstances with the order to âbe grateful I have a jobâ.
I was carrying a huge workload that eventually gave me burnout and a nervous breakdown, compounded with a pay cut under the disguise of âstate budget issuesâ.
Yep, overworked and underpaid.
Definitely NOT conducive to feeling groovy!
To add insult to injury, our office was moved to a location that put me in ISOLATION and my misery was multiplied.
Uncertainty + Isolation = MISERY to the Nth degree.
NOT a good formula for feeling groovy!
Iâm not sure how I was supposed to be grateful about ANY of that. How should I be grateful for a pay cut, grateful for being burned out, grateful for being isolated? So I learned to keep my feelings to myself, which was not a great idea, as it built up a lot of anger and resentment.
The uncertainty of when I would be able to remove myself from this situation was a large part of my troubles, and being isolated from others, all day, nearly every day, was more than I could take.
Iâll be honest â there were days I was literally screaming at this work situationâŠI may even have done a little damage to my vocal cords with my screaming in frustration, but Iâm not a professional singer, so Iâll live with that. đ
I KNOW itâs not easy to keep up oneâs spirits when facing a challenging situation that is beyond your control with no firm end date in sight. Facing the uncertainty of when my horrible job would be over, multiplied with the isolation I endured nearly every day, was one of the most challenging things I have ever dealt with, and it went on for two years.
Creativity
But this is where my Creativity came into play, to help me work through my frustration, my anger, my upset, in the form of an art book.
While I continued searching for a new job, I began to create an art book that I refer to as my âOffice Art Book.â I created it as a way to turn my cubicle inspiration board into something portable, should I happen to find a new job. I could just grab the book and GO!
But how did I cope with the ISOLATION?
I began a blog, and an online creative community was forgedâŠ
I connected with artful creatives from places as far as England and Australia. I occasionally shared about my office woes and got support and camaraderie and sympathy in return.
Though many bloggers I connected with were located far away, their connection and energy was real, the sympathy was helpful and the support lifted my spirits.
Then one fine day, I got the news the program I worked for was going to be permanently closedâŠwhich meant I would no longer be working under the horrible circumstancesâŠand there would be unemployment if I was unable to find another job before the last day of work.
There were only four months between me and FREEDOM!
I Can See Clearly Now
I had an end date! The uncertainty was OVER!
I hinted at the good news on my blog by sharing the song âI Can See Clearly Nowâ by Johnny Nash since I couldnât share the final end date publicly until the actual announcement was madeâŠand I had a hand in writing up that announcement, oh the irony!
Through the last months of employment, elements of the isolation continued but I now had an online support network of creative bloggers, which helped.
But I began to wonder how I would cope with the last weeks and days of work. I sensed I would get agitated waiting for that final day, and I needed a way to keep my spirits up during those final weeks.
I hit upon a creative ideaâŠ
I would put out a call to my online blog community and ask for some MAIL ART to be sent to the office address, with a firm deadline, to ensure I would receive every single piece of mail before my final day of employment.
It worked!
As the last weeks and days of my employment unfolded, I received wonderful postcards, and little gifts, much of it I still have to this day.
I was so happy with each piece of mail art that arrived, happy to know that people in my blog community were rallying behind me to pass the âfinish lineâ of that last day at the horrible workplace.
I began to feel groovy again! It wasnât so hard to go to the office knowing there just might be a surprise waiting for me. There usually was.
I continued to add to my Office Art Book, which also became a record of the awful days of employment. I still have it though itâs been over 10 years since those events occurred.
Here are some things Iâve learned since that awful office job:
- Iâve learned that COMMUNITY can be created anywhere, at any time, even online!
- Iâve learned that CREATIVITY can go a long way toward lifting the spirits, whether YOU are the one being creative or by watching the creativity of others.
- Iâve learned there is always a way to be CONNECTED, whether itâs being connected to a community of kindred spirits or to your own Creative Instincts.
Let me leave you with a favorite quote from one of my favorite characters in the film The Matrix:
The Oracle, played by Gloria Foster:
âWeâre all here to do what weâre all here to do. Iâm interested in one thing, Neo, the future. And believe me, I know: the only way to get there is together.â
If youâd like to watch a flip-through video of my Office Art Book, you can view it below and many others on my YouTube channel
This video is longer than most of my usual flip through videos, just under 50 minutes (!) I begin with some explanation of the work circumstances that lead to the burnout, to the isolation, the uncertainty, and the original purpose of the art book along with a few details about the work environment I was dealing with. Then I go through the book with details about nearly every page, and how they related to my whole work situationâŠincluding how I was the one to write up the announcement letter informing our department our program was getting shut down!!! đ±đđ ahh, good times!
More about Monica
I am a mixed media, multi-passionate artist who is deeply connected to my Creative Instinct. It is my mission to help adults reconnect and rebuild their creative instincts so they can access more Joy in their lives.
My Creativity ranges from drawing, to knitting, to sewing, to dancing, to painting, to writing and so much more in-between. I love allowing my Creative Instincts room for play in whatever field moves me.
From childhood I have been deeply connected to two things: my Creative Instincts and Story. My connection to Story began with reading at an early age, then expanded as I grew to see Story in many forms such as Dance, Theatre, Music, Song and Performance Art. However, books have a special place in my heart, so it was inevitable that I would one day learn to create books of all kinds, from art books to art journals to altered books.
In my creative world, Art and Story are very real beings, as are Magic and especially Creativity. Every single one of us is born with the Creative Instinct and I help adults reconnect to their Creative Instincts through workshops and creative play.
I love nature, dogs, reading books, making books, altering books, and I love buttered popcorn, not necessarily in that order!
Follow Monica
Grace is the 2nd child of a solo parenting Mum. She and her 4 siblings grew up putting on  skit-like shows for the neighborhood parents each summer. But, despite this regular foray in front of people, she chose for most of her young years and adult life to remain hidden in the shadows.That is until she found her voice and realized she could use that voice for good.
During this dark time, I started searching for answers on my own. I read self-help books and books on spirituality. I found a spiritual belief that is a blending of Eastern philosophy, nature, and science. It filled part of the hole.
A few of my truthsâŠ
In retrospect, I wish Iâd known how to respond to snide remarks from classmates or be proud of my upbringing, but even the negative experiences helped shape who I am today. As an escape I loved doing anything on the computer, whether it be just typing up my own fictional stories or playing Space Cadet. This would later come in handy when I chose my major for college â I didnât know exactly which industry I wanted to work in, but I knew the skillset of programming would come in handy.Soon enough, I was able to not only pursue a major I was really enjoying, but I started to join extracurricular activities that embraced my upbringing rather than shame it. As a part of College Democrats I was able to debate others with different political stances in productive environments, pursue my own version of building civic tech with the creation of a tool that helped people learn about different issues without shame, and share my cultural food and experiences with friends & vice versa.
I was grateful to be so privileged and to have the ability to work and make a great living as a first-generation college graduate and supporting my family that it was easy to forget about the dreams I had for a post-graduate life. It was nearly a year and a half later during December 2019 that I made the decision that it was time to pursue my own venture, not knowing how things would end up.
