November's Theme is RHYTHM
Our global theme for November is RHYTHM. It was chosen by our Basel chapter and illustrated by Patrizia Stalder.
What rhythms set your pace? A celestial rhythm is pulsing all around us. The earth spins. The sun rises and sets. The moon pulls and releases the tides twice every day. The seasons loop each year. Natural, constant patterns of back-and-forth. But we also live amidst the unnatural rhythms of flickering fluorescent lights, pinging notifications, and vehicles idling at traffic signals. Rhythm can light you up or burn you out.
Rhythm is the heartbeat of creativity. It provides the structure we crave; a framework for ideas to take shape. By recognizing patterns and breaking them, we can find our unique voice.
Rhythm serves as a catalyst for the power of a dancer’s movement. The pacing of a poet’s sentences. The cadence of an actor’s voice. The timing of a comedian’s punchline. The strokes of a painter’s brush. The meter of a musician’s notes. All that creativity just keeps going and flowing. Rat-a-tat-tat. Tap into your own rhythm and follow wherever it takes you.
How do you keep your own beat? Listen to your breath. Listen to your heart.
INSPIRATION FROM OUR COMMUNITY:
Each month, we ask the readers of our Weekly Highlights newsletter to submit creative work inspired by our global theme.
Here are November’s featured submissions.
Stop Motion Wiggle GIF by Julie Schneider, Brooklyn, New York
“I think of this GIF as a paperclip dance party.”
See more of Julie’s GIF creations here.
Pluma Afilada by Carolina Segura-Ruiz, Bogotá, Colombia
“..facing a blank page everyday; reading poems to sharpen my responsiveness/awareness and to feed my vocabulary consciously; working out to sweat my emotions so I don’t unload myself against my loved ones; observing myself with compassion and without judging what I see inside me to lighten my wings. When I achieve a certain cadence, certain rhythm with these activities, I start to feel I can let myself be me. I feel free on my own terms.”
Read the rest (and the English translation) on Carolina’s substack.
Rhythms of the Heart by Mariah Friend, Chattanooga, Tennessee
“I write a newsletter call Heartbeats and wrote a letter about honoring the natural rhythm of our lives by looking at the peaks and valleys of our heart rhythm from the perspective of a former I.C.U. nurse!”
Read the rest on Mariah’s substack.
Borderline Juice by Dennis Krull, Moorhead, Minnesota
“A recent Encaustic piece that I created that included diodes that I found at an estate sale. I loved the rhythm and tranquility that was created with these multi color powerhouse diodes that help control the flow of electricity.”
