(copy) Gratitude 100 Challenge

Hi, I'm Mandi Lynn and I am your creative sherpa through the Aotearoa Creativity Awards. And I can't wait to get to know you. I will be handing you tools and showing you how some work but it will be you who will be climbing the creative mountain with me and over 100 other young creative Kiwis this summer.

I am a past winner of New Zealand's Creative Photographer of the Year and also a holistic health nurse. For the past 15 years I have supported my family from my work as an artist but I never forgot my holistic nursing roots. My passion is around helping people develop creative wellbeing. These awards are not only to help you develop a strong creative practice but also to help you develop skills that will keep you from burning out and enjoying the adventure of bringing your gifts to the world. There are positive psychology tools embedded in these challenges that are designed to give you a toolbox that will increase joy and equanimity (the ability to stay call and collected when it feels like things are getting messy).

I am an open book and will share with you what I have learned is needed to thrive as a working creative. So welcome. Lets get started.

PS. The font used in here is Open Dyslexic so that those with Dyslexia will find it easier to follow. I have also recorded my voice reading the text if that is easier for your brain to process. I personally have ADD and find that I process things much better if I hear versus read them so boom...there you go.

The 1st Challenge

-100 Images / video clips of Gratitude.
-You have until the 9th of January to finish
-Bonus - Scavenger Hunt for image styles within the 100

Creative benefits from completing the challenge-
Builds a Creative practice muscle
Increases an attitude of Gratitude which is so important for helping to see the important details and weather creative challenges.

THE CHALLENGE
You have 1 week to get 100 images of things that you are grateful for. Place one image/video clip per page in your Gratitude 100 Challenge book.
It can be 100 different images of one thing you are grateful for or 100 different things you are grateful for, or any number in between. Just end up with 100 images. Although this is primarily a mobile photography / video workshop if you prefer you are welcome to do the challenge in your favorite medium But it could be a bit of challenge to get in all 100.

We will primarily be teaching the basics of photography but we will also be exploring composition and storytelling which can be used in multiple mediums. So the choice is yours and you can mix it up if you like, some video, some drawing, some clay, some photography. Just explore , celebrate, and luxuriate in the concept of gratitude with art. But the tutoring we will give you is in photography.

These buttons mean that I have read the text and if you like you can click on it and hear me read it to you.

It is important to play. To be goofy. To regress back to when you were younger, more innocent and full of wonder. Look at things afresh. Look deeper. Look at the details of things. Celebrate the details. Celebrate people and if you put them in your book let them know you have and let them know why.

On the 9th of January you will be able to give and get feedback on your 10 favourite images. And any of the images that you took that meet the requirement of the scavenger hunt.

So have fun, make some delicious mistakes and messes (just clean up when you are done). Jump in puddles if you feel it. Climb trees. Be silly. Be deep and thoughtful. Be you. Show us what delights you. Create your own happy.

The Creative Scavenger Hunt List
Try to include some of the following in your 100 images.
-a Birds Eye view (taken from above something)
-a Bugs eye view. Taken from below looking up.
-horizontal panorama shot. (Side to side)
-vertical panorama (bottom to top)
- a cinematic image that looks like it could be in a movie.
- a photograph of something yummy.
- a detail shot find an interesting part of your subject to focus on.
- an abstract shot where it is hard for us to guess the subject.
- a photo of an animal
- a still life
- a photo of a landscape.
- street photography of your community seen with fresh eyes.

Kiwi Scavenger Hunt List

-"kiwiana" - something uniquely New Zealand
-a photo that shows the perfect kiwi summer moment.
-a photo that celebrates your region of NZ
- photographs of the separate earth elements in NZ
—earth
—wind
—fire
—water
—space

- Your Pepeha
-- your maunga/mountain
-- your awa / stream-river-water
--your whanau/family
--Your marae or worship house or gathering place of your people if you have one in your family.

A wee video about the researched benefits of developing an attitude of Gratitude in your life. I've sprinkled the Gratitude 100 challenge workbook with videos that help you think deeper about Gratitude. Some are TED talks some are cartoons, some youtube content. Watch as you like. But know that there is hardly anything on the planet that will have a greater impact on your level of life long happiness and wealth than adopting an attitude of gratitude. There are billionaires that are impoverished because they lack it and those who live simple lives with little material goods that are wealthy beyond measure because they have the gift of an attitude of gratitude.