My Vision - Graphic Facilitator Jennifer Shepherd helped me with my vision Feb 5, 2013

This past year, I was at a Transitions Ottawa event and there was a board for people to write things they have to offer or need, using the principles of community barter. I connected with a few people on different things. One person I connected with was Jennifer Shepherd, a professional graphic facilitator. This means she helps facilitate and plan meanings so that people can share and clarify ideas on all sorts of issues and choose what they want to do next. She uses visual thinking methods to help people think better together so they can literally see what they mean and put their ideas to work. This was great for me, because I have all sorts of dreams, but difficulty in seeing what I really want, and how to get there.

me and my vision

Jennifer offered her services in exchanges for some garden/ permaculture work, which is an area I'm trying to get into more. Her husband dug up their back yard when installing solar hot water heating for their house, and he could use some help filling it back in before the weather got too cold and the dirt would be so frozen it couldn't be shovelled. So I helped with that back in November, and on February 5th Jennifer worked with me to draw a picture of my personal vision. The topic was the kind of community and living situation I wanted to create for myself, and the kind of livelihood that felt right for me.

We started with the kind of community I envisioned, then focused on what kind of things I wanted to spend my time doing in my life in terms of livelihood, leaving some time to fill in the blanks at the end, and for Jennifer to put some artistic flair finishing touches on the graphic she created for me. It's now posted on a room divider facing my bed in my bachelor apartment, so I can see it everyday and be reminded of my vision.

It's a beautiful work, well worth the exchange! Thanks Jennifer!

(it looks like this was Jennifer facilitating a talk about non-violent communication! cool!)

If you would like to have graphic facilitation for your projects or meetings, Jennifer Shepherd can be contacted via www.livingtapestries.ca - her email is jennifer AT livingtapestries DOT ca . She also has a youtube channel where you can see her in action doing her work, here: http://www.youtube.com/livingtapestries

Jennifer is also a member of Hub Ottawa, a social innovation network. It's a great place for people to imagine and connect with others with the different skills and knowledge that can make the magic happen for your next project. You can find Hub Ottawa's website here: http://hubottawa.org/

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maikeru333 (Michael G)
Ottawa
Member since November 2012

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Hi! I'm a blogger and activist in Ottawa. Some issues which are important to me are community building, human rights and justice, and permaculture design and systems thinking.