Scribing/Graphic Recording
Scribing is a visual practice rooted in deep listening. Scribes collect, synthesize, and place information into visual relationship through illustrations. Scribing allows for meaning to surface in more expansive ways, often using visual metaphors to put ideas in conversation with one another. Scribing also illustrates which voices are being centered, what are the values grounding the conversation, and what is not being said.
I provide both digital and physical scribing services, creating illustrations on Procreate or with markers and paper. I also offer live scribing, illustrating as events occur, and asynchronous scribing, creating images from recordings, notes, or other materials. I am available to scribe in English and Spanish.
Some of my previous clients include WITNESS, UN Women, Magnum Foundation, Health Policy Research Scholars, and Healing By Choice!
Physical Scribing
For physical projects, I create scribing pieces with traditional pen and paper as well as experiment with a range of mixed mediums.
I also combine physical and digital scribing methods, starting with a physical drawing and then layering on digital elements.
Video of Queering Archives scribing piece featuring paper collage
Digital Scribing
Weaving in the metaphor
Weaving in the metaphor
One of the main components of my scribing practice is using visual metaphor to weave together content, values, and deeper meaning. Here are some examples:
Radical Hospitality
This scribing piece illustrates a meeting about self and community care rooted in radical hospitality. The phrase at the bottom “How we host ourselves and each other” sets up the gathering/dinner party that serves as the central metaphor
Pando Chandelier
The facilitators used imagery of pando tree roots to reference our interconnectedness. I illustrated the roots as a chandelier, shedding light on the value of community below
Self Care Dishes
Each participant on the call contributed their own personal self care practices. I added them into the dining table as dishes that nourish and sustain the community
Elandria Williams Tablecloth
The facilitators included an Elandria Williams poem entitled “We Are Worthy” to affirm the group’s commitment to themselves and to the community. I incorporated these words into the tablecloth as a way to “set the table” and ground the ritual of self care
Values Utensils
The utensils around the table are engraved with the values of the group. These are the tools we use to prepare ourselves for the meal, preparing ourselves to take care of each other
Interdependence & Leadership
This piece was created for a leadership training session focusing on interdependence, equity, and power. The central metaphor grounding this illustration is an elder tree, passing on wisdom to the saplings and other members of the ecosystem and in turn receiving nutrients and nourishment. As one quote describes “Leadership is a feast feeding both ways.”
Disability Justice Tree Trunk
The facilitators placed disability justice at the center of all health equity work. As the trunk of the tree, disability justice is the structure that holds together all community work and is the pathway that all the nutrients travel within
Mycelium Principles
The mycelium principles weaving between the roots facilitates communication and ensures the health and safety of the elder tree. These principles also illustrate the symbiosis necessary to sustain life.
Rooted Affirmations
Written on the roots of the tree are affirmations contributed by participants. These phrases ground and strengthen the community in the face of challenges.
Composting Soil
The soil that surrounds the tree contains fertile and infertile aspects of the health equity field. The fertile pieces can help the ecosystem thrive whereas the infertile pieces can be composted by worms into more generative practices