Let’s Doodle

The Flip Doodle Deluxe adventure is just getting started. And everyone’s invited.

This is an overview of an event I was invited to participate in at Phoenix Art Museum on Sunday, June 30, 2024 – Family Funday. These events feature art activities, access to galleries, food trucks and much more.

Flip Doodle Deluxe released to the public on my website on June 25, 2024. It was the culmination of three and a half years of work from 2020–2024. I’ve written about how the project started as a way I could give back to the creative community during difficult times.

Now, Flip Doodle Deluxe is a fully developed product. And it’s not just inspiring creativity. It’s spreading smiles, conversations and a sense of togetherness. Thank you to all who attended, played along and gave me doodles.

Thanks to my creative friend Bobby for helping me demo Flip Doodle Deluxe AND the doodles!

A spider, ant, ladybug, caterpillar and worm live on a leaf. Leaf / Bug.

Maybe Starfish / Island is a great place for a tiny kingdom?

Don’t underestimate (y)our power

So often in our divisive world, empowerment is talked about as something we must gain through conflict. Well, sometimes empowerment is a result of creative play. I’m talking about the power to help heal, comfort and encourage others. All of us have the potential to do this. And I witnessed it at the art museum during the event. Here’s some brief examples:

A rather timid girl and her mom sit down at my table to demo Flip Doodle Deluxe (FDD). The girl immediately connects with the cards and encourages her mom to draw with her. At first, mom doesn’t want to. But as she looks through the prompts she does. They spend the next two hours at my table. We chat and laugh.
A little girl asks what Flip Doodle is all about. I explain. She seems apprehensive and insists “I can’t do it.” Her father kindly compels her to try. She sits at my table for an hour, lost in lines and having a great time. She ends up giving me three drawings.
An experienced photographer gives FDD a try. She draws. We start chatting. Over the next hour and a half we relate about creative pursuits. Doodling all the while. She encourages me to keep believing in myself. Says we need more people who create these moments for others.
A large family sits down with their one grandchild who loves to draw. For almost an hour they’re transfixed by her creations. Some of them didn’t know she could do what she’s doing. Their grand-daughter beams with pride.
At one point, a young boy and his aunt come up. I show them FDD. The boy indicates some embarrassment about drawing in front of others. In the afternoon, he’s back with the courage to draw at a table full of doodlers.
I meet a woman who’s worked as an educator for years. In her eyes I see joy, commitment and patience. She’s very complementary and speaks about the importance of humanity in creativity.

Seahorse / Dragon = worked on this critter thru the day here and there

It’s all happening, now

They say we need to move on from the past few years. That we need do-overs, undos and redos. I can relate. And all of that: the soldiering on, the healing and the forgetting – it’s all happening. But there’s something else. Coping. Some of us are coping with hardships. Day after day. And may always be. But how we cope is a choice.

Do you think art can help? If so, we might as well be friends! From a young age drawing was my imaginative outlet, an escape from bullies, a skill to develop, a source of entertainment and… a potent medicine. An elixir brewed with lines, colors, shapes and stories. Through my creations I discovered my individuality, purpose and meaning.

It’s no different now.

Monsta-attack! (Thanks for scaring me Sydney)

My Snail / Clown + Trout / Chocolatier, heheh

We don’t need roads

Flip Doodle Deluxe is the beginning of a creative voyage. And the most exciting thing is, it’s one we can take together. Through real connection. The kind not found in an app or by suffering through ads. I’ll be talking with new folks. Listening to their stories. Understanding where they’re coming from. With doodling to connect us and guide us.

When I’m drawing, I try to relax. I breathe and get comfortable. Looking down I see a plain white landscape. I imagine the possibilities and start with some lines. I might mess up. Whatever. I might change my mind. It’s ok. And somehow, I get closer to the idea of being here on this planet for a reason. A feeling I’m going somewhere.

Hey, maybe doodling is like flying. We soar across reality from a high place. With complete freedom. Down below our fears reach out, but they can’t catch us.

Ready? Let’s go!

Lily’s solution for drawing butterfly wings gives me an idea for making *hands* easier to draw :D!

I lol’d with this Tree / Robot combo by Autumn!

When a doodle makes us laugh, it’s something more than a doodle

Next stop: Phoenix Design Week – “OASIS”

The crew organizing Phoenix Design Week 2024 has invited me to present a Flip Doodle Deluxe workshop at this year’s event in October! More to come soon!

More about Flip Doodle Deluxe.

–E