Keeping it Short on YouTube
Keeping it Short on YouTube
Plus: Danger Girl returns, An Unusual Gent, Finding Happiness Outside of Routine, and more!
Hello dX creatives!!!
We’re so happy you’re here and a part of what we’re growing - a wholistic collaborative where creatives support creatives.
In this issue:
What’s dX Been Up To? I’ll Keep it Short!
The ContinuingAdventures of Danger Girl (and her trusty sidekick, The Permissive Creative)
Get to Know dX - Meet a Snoopervisor!
An Unusual Gent - Poem by Parz, Illustration by Aleesha
Did you know? - You Can Boost Your Happiness With a Small Break From Routine
The Many Ways to Experience dX!
Subscribe to dX platforms
What’s dX Been Up To? I’ll Keep it Short!
Have you had an opportunity to catch our YouTube Shorts? They’re no longer than a minute and intended to be a quick way to brighten your day. Whether it’s a meditative moment, a Haiku, or one of Parz’s microfictions, we hope they bring a smile to your lips (and perhaps break up a dull day’s routine - more on that below)!
(And if you need a little lift right now, click the button!)
The Continuing Adventures of Danger Girl (and her trusty sidekick, The Permissive Creative)
Today’s episode finds Aleesha S looking at a blank sheet of paper, wondering what to do with it. Should she draw something? If so, what subject? Or perhaps she could do some sort of tangling. But where to start?
Enter Danger Girl with her trademark saying, “Be brave! Be bold! Be dangerous!”
“But I don’t know where to start for something that I don’t know what it’s going to be!”, replies our poor hapless artist.
“Just draw a line across the page. And if the line doesn’t work out, it’s only paper!”
Emboldened, Aleesha draws the requested line. And then another. And another. Soon she’s deep within her creative zone.
Which is not to say this was the only visit Danger Girl had to make with this particular piece - there were several times Aleesha asked “So now what?” and the reply came back the same “Just draw a line! And if it doesn’t work out, it’s only paper!”
From this collaboration came this piece:
Before Danger Girl turns to leave, she looks into the camera. “Let your inner Danger Girl loose and see what you dare to create!”
And if you’d like to learn more about how to be bold using Zentangle, you can watch Aleesha’s playlist on YouTube (click below to start watching now)!
Get to know a Snoopervisor!
Dr. Matt coined a term - snoopervisor - which is an animal that feels the need to insert itself into whatever it is you happen to be doing at the time to make sure you’re doing it right!
Meet Maylay - (oversees Aleesha and Parz)
Of all of Aleesha and Parz’s cats, May-Lay is by far the May-Lay-est. Or perhaps I should say, the most melee-est! She can often be found instigating play-fights with her brothers, especially Bhakti (while it may appear to be romantic play to outsiders, they both adamantly deny any untoward involvement with the other).
May (when pronounced “Meeh”) means Mother in Thai, and she is certainly the most mothering of all the cats. And just like any mother, when her “charges” are down for naps, she’s ready to follow along, as the photos above show (the human “help” deal with the human tasks of keeping the house, preparing food, etc. while mama cats supervise mischief).
May-Lay’s sister, Roarie, has a far wider vocabulary than May-Lay, but May-Lay is by far louder with her trademark “Yalp!”. It carries many meanings, including: I want pets, I’m hungry, I’ve entered the room, Play with me, and Where is Everyone? (there may be more meanings that meow-acologists who specialize in Maine Coons will uncover in the coming decades).
An Unusual Gent
Poem by Parz, Illustration by Aleesha
As I strolled along the walk
‘round the time of the county fair,
I spied an unusual gent
In obscene square underwear
And as I looked closer
To discern what was there
I came to conclude
T’was worn with great care
Consider shape within shape
Oval within square
And I had to suppose
This has to be a dare
And others looking on?
The kids who could only stare
Their parents shielding eyes
And the gent catching glares
So where’s the gentry?
To shame this arse of a mare
They’re deep in their cups
And comment on the gent’s flair.
Did You Know…?
…You Can Boost Your Happiness With a Small Break From Routine
I love my routines. They are dependable ways for me to get everything done in a day. They are solid, scheduled, and above all, trusted.
They’re also the rut I can fall into when I follow them blindly day after day after day.
According to an article in Real Simple, people are designed to seek new experiences (so much so we get a rewarding burst of dopamine when we experience something new).
And these need not be elaborate things! Or expensive! In fact, we can add a bit of the novel into our everyday schedules:
Do you have a trusty route to get to somewhere on a daily basis (like a workplace)? Maybe try that alternate route every so often.
Have a favourite coffee in the morning? Try a different coffee shop, try a different blend, or get it prepared a different way.
Do you have a music station you listen to? Try something different - a different station, a different genre, a new band.
There are numerous ways to add something different into your day - including reading something new, like a poem or short story. If that’s your speed, we’ve got you covered! We’ve got a YouTube playlist with stories, poems, and other creative writing from our own Parz!
The Many Ways to Experience dX!
We at dX believe that Art For All isn’t just a pithy saying - it’s a goal we strive to achieve. In pursuit of that goal, we provide three ways of experiencing the content we produce (all of which are either free or available for as little as $1):
YouTube
We’re expanding our YouTube presence by dropping select videos from our dX Recordings library per week, plus Parz is going live on YouTube every other Wednesday at 9pm Eastern Time. It’s easy to subscribe (click the button below to make it happen) and then you’re set! Come watch! Hang out! Follow along!
dX Recordings
Every week dX Live presents several classes from top instructors! But did you miss a class you wanted to attend? Want to rewatch something you didn’t catch the first time through?
Sign up for dX Recordings and get access to all the recorded content from dX Live from the past three months, plus get early access to videos from Aleesha and Dr. Matt (whose classes are only recorded) and other bonus content.
You only pay what you feel is fair and affordable, even if that is only $1/mo.
Interested? Here’s a link to find out more (and where you can sign up):
dX Live
Like we said above, every week we offer several classes live with top instructors. Do you want to participate in a live class setting? Would you like immediate feedback from instructors and fellow students?
The best part? You only pay what you feel is fair and affordable, even if that is only $1/mo (and if that’s not affordable, please let us know).
Interested? Here’s a link to find out more (and where you can sign up):
Here’s our current schedule:
Subscribe to dX Platforms
Join us at dXing Space (our community), Instagram, and YouTube:
Our newsletter is the place where we let you know about everything that’s happening inside drawingXpressions (or as we call ourselves, dX). Do you know anyone who you think would want to be part of this emerging community? Please hit the button below to share the love (and this newsletter):
Did someone share this newsletter with you? Subscribe to the newsletter! (Once you’ve subscribed, you can join dXing Space, drawingXpressions’ community):
If you have any questions about this dX exPress or anything regarding drawingXpressions at all, please send us an email:
Thank you for joining us on this journey. We look forward to co-creating this space with you!
The drawingXpressions “we”: Aleesha, Carissa, Dr. Matt, and Parz
