On episode 4 of the Butterfly Spot, we have an interview with Monica Brown of Studio314bymb.  Monica is an amazing woman, a mother of three, a surface designer, a teacher, and creative coach.  Monica shares about her experience with parental loss and grief, her healing journey, and her lifelong love of art.


In this episode, you’ll hear about: 

• Four steps for starting a creative habit,
• The importance of showing up for yourself, especially when you are grieving,
• How being creative doesn’t require spending a lot of money, 
• How art involves mindfulness, the need to be present in your body, and embracing the process. Monica mentions ways to encourage your art and creativity by setting up your space for success and utilizing white noise or music.

Trigger Warning:  Like all of our podcast episodes, we discuss grief and loss.  In this episode, Monica briefly mentions her father’s struggle with mental illness, traumatic brain injury, and his death by suicide.  If this topic is triggering for you, please skip ahead to the three minute mark.

My key takeaways:

• You don’t have to be an “artist” (in whatever way you think that means) in order to start a creative habit.
• If you practice, you will improve and you will feel the benefits.  You don’t need fancy materials or a lot of time to create.  Start with what you have.  Enjoy the mindfulness that art requires.
• We need someone to witness our pain and to help us feel safe.  Grief demands a witness.  Art provides an outlet.
• Close family and friends of those grieving often describe a sense of helplessness, a feeling that there is nothing that they can do or say that will make a difference, but this is not true.

Four Steps for Starting a Creative Habit:

Step 1. Setup a space and simple supplies, and keep it clean with: printer paper or sketchbook, pen or pencil, eraser, sharpener. Plan for a time to create where you are mostly uninterrupted.  Put in headphones and listen to music to focus. Rain or water recordings are great for white noise backgrounds. 

Step 2. Use one shape to cover the whole paper you are using. For example, a circle, a leaf, linework, doodles. The concept is that we are mark makers. Make the same mark over and again until the page is full.

For something different, use your non dominant hand, and gently draw whatever comes to mind. You'll be surprised at how much this practice will feel natural after a few tries. Remember it's about showing up. Not performing. 

3. Set a 5 minute timer and paint. Use 1 color and focus on how it feels in your body to make marks. (Use kids paint to begin with, watercolor or tempera, so you're not worried about your product. Get as expressive or quiet with your marks as you like.) If you want to, think ahead and use a photo you like to draw from, or sketch a few ideas to get your thoughts on paper first.

4. When ready, use a nicer art medium. Invest in a new paintbrush, some quality paper, or new paints. Just remember, these tools are not precious. They are yours to use. Don't think too much about it, just go with something that feels playful or inviting. Keep experimenting with your materials to uncover your hidden talents.

Related Resources:

• Check out Studio314.mb on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/studio314.mb 
• Email Monica if you are interested in a complimentary Zoom session: [email protected]
• Butterfly Baskets Flutter Run, Wilson Farm Park, November 6th, https://runsignup.com/Race/PA/Wayne/butterflybasketsorg