“There is the work that you physically make, but there’s also the journey that happens on the inside.”

– Leonardo Drew

What if by exploring and reflecting on your own experiences you saw yourself in a different light? What if something you created offered hope to another who was feeling alone in their anxieties and doubts? What if by sharing your story it shifted the perspective of others in how they view those of us who are quieter or feeling socially anxious and increased compassion and empathy within the wider community?

We all have a story to tell, and there is power in those stories that connects to the hearts of those around us. It whispers softly “I get it, I have felt that way too.”; that each and every one of us needs to hear at times.

Wouldn’t you love to be involved in a project that offers all of that?

‘I was, I am, I will be…’

‘I was, I am, I will be…’ is our first community project, to be showcased as an exhibition in May 2019, at the museum in Helston (Cornwall); in partnership with Portheden, We Are Stories, and the Museum of Cornish Life.

We’re speaking the unspoken by creatively sharing the feelings and experiences of those, like you, within our quiet community, through stories and art.

How can you get involved?

Getting involved is simple! Express your story in any creative way you want, and we’ll display it as part of the exhibition, and in our online gallery.

Start speaking your unspoken story using ‘I was, I am, I will be…’ as the theme. Begin exploring your personal experiences around what you were/are/will be thinking, feeling, and believing about yourself, particularly around social situations and having a ‘quieter’ nature. You might want to represent growing your self-compassion and acceptance of your quieter nature; learning how to manage anxious feelings; overcoming challenges and achieving things you never thought possible; or letting go of the labels you used to conform to that held you back.

Download our ‘How To’ guide for exploring your story…

This project is open to anyone within our quiet community (if you’re here reading this, then you are in our community, hi!). Participation is welcome through attending one of our Community Connections groups, or at home (why not join our closed Facebook group to meet other like-minded people?).

Full submission details are at the end.

What can you make?

Once you have started exploring your story, consider how you would like to share it and what you want to create. This project is intentionally open for you to express yourself in any way you feel best; after all, you are your best expression.

Here are some ideas you may wish to consider to get started:

• Writing: share your experiences as a blog-style piece of writing, a short story, or through poetry – why not try using the theme or answering the questions above to form some structure. Or check out our Haiku Poetry exercise.
• Audio or Video: instead of writing, you might also like to try recording your story using the voice recorder on your phone, adding voiceover to an artistic video, or creating a vlog. Audio recordings may be used for an interactive crochet piece.
• Textiles: you could try knitting or weaving for using texture and colour for self-expression, or how about creating a textiles based sculpture?
• Painting, Collage or Mixed Media: grab a canvas and chuck some paint on it, illustrate your thoughts, or use imagery to create a collage of your emotions.

Some people within our community groups have already begun exploring their ‘shadow sides’ through collage, embracing the raging waters and calm sea within through painting, and interpreting feelings and emotions through colour. Whilst others are expressing themselves through textiles and poems.

What support is available?

If you would like help getting started exploring your story, or developing your ideas around what to make and how, or perhaps this is a comfort zone stretch for you and a friendly voice of encouragement and celebration would go a mile, feel free to drop Stacie an email at Stacie@quietconnections.co.uk, pop along to your local Community Connections group, or join our supportive community over on Facebook.

If you’re experiencing some ‘blocks’ or ‘barriers’ and want to explore deeper; then perhaps some 1:1 coaching would be beneficial. Please get in touch to find out more.

How to submit

The ‘I was, I am, I will be…’ exhibition runs from 1st May – 1st June 2019.

We would love and appreciate for all submissions of self-expressions to be with us before or by April 21st 2019.

There are 3 ways you can submit, depending on what you create:

• We can arrange drop-off/collection if local to us in Cornwall
• You can post it to us (please contact Stacie for postal details)
• Attach as an email to Stacie at Stacie@quietconnections.co.uk

We would love to hear about what it is you have created and a little about yourself along with your submission, however, this is optional. Please state whether you would like your name shared with your work or be kept anonymous.

So, how will you express yourself?

We can’t wait to see!