A Creative Vessel

This Workshop Fills the Sails of Your Story

You find yourself secluded in thought. The idea is there but how to free it from this lonely island. A raw thought can be difficult to describe. To share with others. Freeing an idea is the art of expressing creativity. You try to find the words to communicate it outwards, but resources can be limited on this isolated isle of the mind.

All of a sudden – there on the horizon – you see someone paddling along the crystal blue waves of clarity towards you. Sure, he may look like he’s been out to sea longer than you have, but there is a welcoming glint in the eye and steadiness in the tireless rhythm of the oars. Plus the Jolly Roger he’s hoisted into the sky is really well done… like, really well done. Who painted that? He tells you his name is Dave Zaboski. He comes ashore, seems trustworthy enough to steer you in the right direction. Or at least to share some grog over a warming fire of ideas. 

Look past Dave’s waves of silver hair curling around his relaxed visage, traipse beyond the warm, babbling brook of his voice and you will discover the lively spring of creativity. This seasoned explorer of the mind comes to your rescue on Saturday, May 9^th, from 10 am to 4 pm, for the workshop: The Art and Power of Storytelling. Not a writer? That’s fine… that’s not really what this is about. We tell stories in many ways…

Now – while this adventurer/castaway metaphor about Dave is fun… it may be worth mentioning he actually was the expedition artist in search of a lost temple in the Andes. Yes, the mountain range. Painting for the Dalai Lama? Been there. Collaborating with Dr. Deepak Chopra on a children’s book? Crossed that creative boundary. Yep. As an animator, his hand was both metaphorically and literally a part of the Disney magic that graced the screens during that ‘90s golden sunset of iconic, hand-drawn Disney films: Beauty and the Beast, The Lion King, Pocahontas, Aladdin, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Hercules, Fantasia 2000, and “more.” Although his palette still swims with paint, Dave has also been a speaker on Creativity itself for the likes of Google, NASA JPL, the Esalen Institute – places known for hosting throngs of the boundlessly imaginative. Dave? He’s the guy they bring in to help those teeming, unbridled minds navigate the shoals. 

So the Stranded Island Savior idea is not too far off. The launch of his newest expedition is Creatively Speaking, a series of presentations and workshops, which you, reader, will have the opportunity to experience at SBCAST (513 Garden St.) this Saturday, May 9. Titled, “The Technology of Imagination: How belief, story and care shape the reality we create,” the workshop is set up in three acts and draws from his new book, Grimoire: A Storyteller’s Book of Spells; a work set during his time as a Disney animator and themed around the story of his apprenticeship with a master storyteller in the catacombs of Paris. Yes, sometimes the classroom is inseparable from the lesson.

In Act 1: Discovery, attendees will explore the world of storytelling, spanning everything from Australian Aboriginal songlines used in navigation to kaula, the knotted rope mythology of Hawaii. Act 2 focuses on “Discipline” – establishing the rules, boundaries, and conditions of your story, but also creating the environment so people can hear it. I’ll let Dave describe Act 3: Devotion, “How to make it your art, so that you use your stories to craft the life that you’re worthy of.”

Want a storied life? Have an idea to share with the world? Know you are not alone. Dave is sailing towards you in his vessel of creativity with the tools and technology to free your mind.  

Visit https://luma.com/vavbpqe9 for more information