Today we’d like to introduce you to Lisa Shaw McKenzie.
Hi Lisa, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
I’ve always been a multi-passionate person, with so much I want to do and not enough time to do all of it. Taking time to switch gears and focus on different interests connects all of them, in a way.
Just starting out, I was a photo editor, a consultant for magazine design and layout, a photojournalist and journalist for “Maui Weekly”. I was a gallery manager and assisted with exhibitions at The Hui No’eau Visual Arts Center in Maui, and also taught different mediums there.
I’ve been honored as an exhibiting artist in various different shows across the U.S. For 17 years, I’ve owned my own photography business in Michigan. Lately, I have given more time to writing and other areas of art, like pottery and drawing. Creative people need variety, and it helps keep burnout at bay. Different times call for different measures. There were hard times when I needed the pottery wheel to literally get “centered,”and I needed the community as well.
With multi-passionate people, my husband uses the analogy of a farmer rotating crops, because planting the same thing over and over can deplete the soil. If you don’t rotate, the quality of that one crop goes down over time. When the soil in this certain spot is depleted things need to be uprooted and brought to a new space. Letting the soil replenish itself. It doesn’t mean you can’t venture back to that focus later. If other things are calling, there is a reason. This usually brings new perspectives and insight to that focus later.
He also agrees that different interests connect. An answer to a mathematical or coding situation could come when playing an instrument because it sparks different neurons and pathways in the brain. It’s pretty cool we are wired like that. Forcing us to keep learning, keep an open mind, keep the wonder.
I do feel my purpose has changed with time, even though my work is still connected. More information and experience develops personally and that changes my direction in all aspects. Bringing my art and writing into play going forward, I plan to help families with different neurotypes, by sharing what I have learned through 12-step programs and my own experiences. As a society, we are still learning and always evolving when people actively participate in the process.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
There have been many personal and professional bumps, struggles, twists and turns, along the way. All of them were, of course, for a reason and higher purpose. Personally, courage is a struggle for me. It is brave to speak up and have a voice, and at times it is brave to stay quiet. Listening to your own inner voice takes courage. Getting comfortable being uncomfortable. We are always changing, and it is essential to love ourselves whatever phase we are in. We can change our minds, change ourselves… Nothing is constant. Nothing is static. It can be really liberating. New chapters are still coming…
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
What do I do? It depends on the day. Sometimes I am a photographer, a retoucher, a website designer, a marketer, a business person. Other times I am a teacher, a writer, an editor, a ceramicist, an artist, a digital creator. I am also a landlord and in that sense I do a lot of different things as well. Always learning. I travel and love nature. Traveling and truly connecting with others outside of our bubble is such an important part of broadening our perspectives. I bring all of that into everything I do.
I am proud of the work I do in my personal life, in 12 step programs- unlearning and relearning new ways of thinking, coping, and sharing experience, strength, hope, and support for others. Healing and striving for emotionally healthy connections, and also a strong spiritual connection. Helping people on a mental, emotional, and spiritual level is what I am most proud of. The emotional connection. Which is also why I love art so much.
In this new chapter, I am trying to spread out to include many interests. I am now writing to help families consisting of different neurotypes, using principles and tools from programs that aren’t available anywhere else. I hope to plan community wellness workshops in the future as well, and collaborate with others in this purpose.
My work specialties have changed with time. My aim is to bring the healing teachings of Maui, when I was in my twenties, and the programs I have been in since, all together in connection to my art and writing and other pursuits moving forward. Personal experiences affect my pottery and drawings. Everything is kind of intertwined, because it’s on the mind and heart, and it gets expressed through my work. I haven’t shared much of this side of my art yet. It’s time.
I face a fear every year. Lately, courage has been needed left and right in my life. Maybe by stating this out loud in an interview, it will hold me accountable… ?
Are there any apps, books, podcasts, blogs or other resources you think our readers should check out?
Programs:
My favorite daily readers are “Courage to Change” and “Hope For Today”.
Daily Serenity.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.lookatthebiggerpicture.com
- Instagram: @cheshire.moon.works
- Other: https://substack.com/@cheshiremoonworks
