Practitioner Process Talk with Reilly Dow - Self as Center

Practitioner Process Talks are an ongoing NOVA Scribes series that slow things down and go inside the work. Rather than teaching techniques or presenting polished frameworks, these conversations trace the lived, moment-to-moment thinking of experienced practitioners as they move through real work.

In this session, Reilly Dow invites us inside her process with a deceptively simple premise: the self is not something to remove from the work, but the place where the work begins.

About the session
When you look at Reilly’s work, you notice a sense of coherence. A through-line. A feeling that the chart was composed, not merely captured. This talk explores what makes that possible.

Together, we will explore how listening, design, and self-awareness shape the choices a visual practitioner makes in real time. Not as abstract theory, but as a think-aloud walkthrough of what is happening internally as the work unfolds.

This is less about what gets drawn and more about how the practitioner is orienting themselves before the marker ever hits the paper.

What we will explore

• How Reilly listens before, during, and between moments of drawing.
• What it means to treat the self as a starting point rather than a bias to eliminate.
• How internal sensing influences layout, flow, and visual hierarchy.
• The difference between catch-as-catch-can recording and through-composed visual narratives.
• How color palettes, restraint, and design choices emerge from intention rather than habit.
• Where inspiration comes from.

Expect a conversational format that blends interview, reflection, and real examples. This is an inside-the-artist’s-head session, equal parts practical and philosophical.

Who this is for
This talk is designed for:

• Graphic recorders and visual facilitators
• Facilitators curious about the inner dynamics of sense-making
• Designers who work live and in ambiguity
• Practitioners interested in deep listening, presence, and authorship
• No preparation is required. Bring your curiosity.

Format
This is a live, interactive conversation with Reilly Dow facilitated by Brian Tarallo, with space for participant questions and reflection throughout. Come ready to listen closely, notice your own internal process, and borrow what resonates.

Date: Thursday, March 26
Time: 6:00–7:00 pm (ET)
Location: Virtual
Hosted by: NOVA Scribes
Practitioner Process Talks are about making the invisible visible. This one begins at the center.

Reilly Dow
Hi, I’m Reilly. Listener, artist, and scribe with nearly two decades of international experience.
Since 2008, I have supported groups and organizations on four continents. My background is in early childhood education and I hold an MA in Interdisciplinary Studies. I have completed advanced training in generative scribing, systems thinking and am a certified Warm Data Labs host. I grew up in Canada and live in Mexico City with my husband, our son, and our dog Tina.

Connect with Reilly:
http://instagram.com/reillypinkfish/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/reillydow/

Self-paced online workshops:
https://www.visual-practice.com/intro-to-scribing
https://www.visual-practice.com/scribing-essentials

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
NOVA Scribes has entered into a partnership with the IFVP: the International Forum of Visual Practitioners! This workshop is an IFVP Learning Lab. All IFVP members have access to Learning Labs at https://ifvpforum.circle.so/c/learning-hub/

This workshop will be recorded and posted on YouTube for anyone who cannot attend. You can find the YouTube link in the Comments section of this NOVA Scribes Meetup event once the workshop video has been uploaded to YouTube.
You can find previously recorded videos at https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLJfInZHmS8prj2_DUaJ35CYY8n7SzoPMJ

We’re not charging for this workshop, but we will be asking for donations! Donations cover the costs of hosting events on Meetup, to honorariums for new graphic recorders, and scholarships.

Please be sure you are registered on Meetup! If your Zoom name doesn’t match your name on Meetup, you will not be admitted. (We’ve had Zoom bombers.)