Futuresteading

Brenna Quinlan: Permaculture Creative

April 18, 2020 Jade Miles & Catie Payne Season 1 Episode 4
Futuresteading
Brenna Quinlan: Permaculture Creative
Show Notes

If you’re looking for reasons to be hopeful, this conversation with Brenna Quinlan will provide a lifetime’s worth. 

You probably know her as “that permaculture illustrator” - and boy, can she communicate complex environmental and social ideas with a few deft flicks of her paintbrush!

But did you know that Brenna is also a brilliant thinker, permaculture educator and tiny-hut-dwelling resident of Melliodora?

Yep. Brenna is a breath of fresh air and optimism, with oodles (of positive stuff!) to share about where humanity’s headed - and how we can make the transition altogether more joyful.

Listen in. Smile big. Draw a (hopeful) picture.

SHOW NOTES

  • Brenna’s early love of art and “crashing” adult art classes.
  • Her story of riding across the Americans in her early 20s, learning about farming and community.
  • How she was “the right sized piece of the puzzle” when she fell into illustrating Retrosuburbia... and making creativity her career.
  • Why she didn't stress about "using her uni degrees" and instead let creativity and opportunities germinate where they may.
  • How and why to be part of a greater movement, rather than going it alone. 
  • The importance of surrounding yourself with like-minded people.
  • Her simple daily rituals and joyful pleasures featuring: goats, uphill bike rides, library books.
  • Why cycles of day and night, the seasons and and end-of-day gratitude practice are essential parts of her existence.
  • Why ‘alternative living’ is an opportunity to connect more with others, rather than persisting with unfettered individualism (the death of community?).
  • How her life at Mellidora works: rent for work exchange, living alongside others, zero waste, a permie bubble. 
  • Why taking a leap of faith into a different life = nothing to lose. 
  • How she channels her environmental grief into positive forward motion.
  • How to find what makes you come alive - and go for it!

LINKS YOU'LL LOVE

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