About

Creativity Matters

The Vision
Our new Creativity Matters group helps members engage the monthly themes and explore spiritual growth through creative expression. It's all about allowing our intuition and imagination to guide us, not just our logic and reflective minds. Think of it as making room for your right brain to dance with your left brain.

Participants
This group is designed for everyone - no experience or artistic skill required. Just bring a playful and adventurous attitude. 😊

During this pilot year, we're hoping two kinds of participants will join us. In addition to those who just want a more creative way to engage our themes, we are also structuring the group for those who are thinking about eventually leading a Creativity Matters group in their home congregation. So it's both a participant group and a training group for future facilitators. No need to decide ahead of time which type you are.

Our Facilitator
Elizabeth McKoy has been a Theatre and Visual Teaching Artist, Creativity Coach, Arts Curriculum Trainer, Professional Theatre Director and non-profit Arts leader for over 25 years. Elizabeth also founded Soulster.org - a new creativity non-profit focused on growing and celebrating creativity. Elizabeth has been a UU for many years and is also a passionate acrylic painter who loves sketching, writing, singing, dancing, cooking, creating digital stories, directing musical theatre and hanging with her kooky family of 5 kids, socialist NYC mother, supportive husband and her 17 year + old goldendoodle dog.

Packets
Participants get a packet each month that contains a creative exercise to work on ahead of the group. The packet also contains inspirational material and reflection questions related to that exercise.

Meetings

Groups meet once a month for 5 months. Each month there is an additional and optional studio lab:

Reflection Meeting: The main group meeting is when participants gather to share their experience with that month's creative exercise and discuss spiritual discernment questions related to that experience. These “show and share” moments help us tap into the personal meanings that arise from the act of creation.

Studio Lab: This is an optional meeting where participants can gather to work on the exercise together. Creativity Matters facilitator, Elizabeth McKoy, is on hand to model, guide and teach mini-tutorials (when needed) on the monthly project. It's also an informal time to practice, laugh, share and learn together. Perfect for those who like to create in community or need help setting aside time to work on the project. For many of us, the sharing that naturally arises as we create together is a spiritual experience in and of itself.

Creative Journal
To help us integrate and see connections between our monthly projects, we will work regularly with a journal/scrapbook in which we capture stories, images, ideas and feelings that come up for us. It's a beautiful way to document the whole of our adventure together.

Types of Creative Activities
The diverse, fun and engaging monthly projects will include such things as: collage, storytelling, scrapbooking, sketching, photography, creative writing, watercolor painting, fabric arts, sculpture, movement, music, and more. Again, all of these projects will be designed for everyone - no experience or artistic skill required-just bring a playful and open attitude.

Elizabeth will provide a list of suggested materials which participants can buy on Amazon or at an art store to supplement things they already own. The only required items are a blank (no lines) sketchbook or scrapbook, permanent markers/Sharpies, glue and scissors.

Welcome Video

Click HERE for a video welcome and overview from Creativity Matters facilitator, Elizabeth McKoy

Groups & Meeting Dates

New Creativity Matters groups will begin again in fall 2021.
Check this page in August to sign up!
You can also email Susan , our Membership Director, to get on the waiting list.

In the meantime, check out our spring Video Storytelling Workshop by clicking HERE!

Video Storytelling Journey (April 17-24, 2021)
Join this one week (8-day) journey in which you will learn the skills of video storytelling and then use them to create and complete your own video.
Click HERE to learn more!