Rebecca West
At Wildish Writing, I am on a mission to encourage authentic and genuine human-to-human communication. Many moons ago, after earning a Masters degree in Art Education and a post-grad degree in Art Therapy Psychology, I worked for several years leading art classes and experiences with children in museums and school settings and with elders in skilled nursing facilities. Life then took me in another direction, and I ended up having a productive 30-year career in marketing, co-founding two agencies (Atomic and H30) before starting my own endeavor, Helium Communications, in 2015, where I spearheaded strategic communications programs for a diverse roster of clients in the B2B and consumer tech space, managed an enthusiastic team of professionals, and dove deep into what I love to refer to as “the rich pageant of startup culture.” Writing has been the cornerstone of my career for the last 30 years, but the truth is that most of it wasn’t my own kind of writing. Maybe it came too easily to me when I was young, so I squandered my abilities. Rather than focusing on developing my own writing, I utilized my skills primarily for work – writing materials in the service of other people’s objectives, often under other people’s bylines, with a keen focus on efficiency, rather than on the experience or the outcome. In retrospect, I can see how damaging it was for me to write things that I didn’t necessarily agree with or believe in. I was abusing something that should have been treated as a gift. A few years ago, I suddenly found myself in a place where I could no longer just pump out banal marketing copy -- I was compelled from deep within to find my own voice and speak the truth, clearly and without fear of judgment. My Wild Writing practice has helped me to find my way back home by showing me the way to use my communication skills in a more direct and authentic way. Wildish Writing and the content on my Substack, No Artificial Ingredients, is driven by the thirst for authentic human-to-human communication. Nothing on this website was generated with AI, and no algorithms were harmed in its making. Writing from the heart has ignited within me a thirst for greater authenticity in all aspects of my life. I believe that this is exactly the kind of medicine we need in these turbulent times. At this moment in history, I can think of nothing more important than helping others to also find their voices, and to listen to one another’s truth. I’d be honored if you would join me on this journey.
Sheila Bannon
Sheila studied movement-based expressive arts at the Tamalpa Institute, where she learned how body movement and creative practices can unlock emotional healing, self-awareness, and personal growth. She completed Laurie Wagner’s ‘Wild Writing’ teacher training and uses these tools to help writer’s discover their authentic, unedited voice. She is a published poet, dancer and food is her love language. She is working on a memoir and studying flash fiction writing with Jeannine Ouellette. Humans are the only species that share stories. We'd be lost without them. With them, we find ourselves. ~Barbara Fulton Some less traditional things about me.... I teach aerial arts because 1) I hate sitting in chairs 2) I love a task where my toes have a purpose. 3) I love falling and being caught. I’m not a good housecleaner or dishwasher but I am a good cook. I have freckles, children, two dogs and I love to dance. One of those is a lie. I like the papery shapes of wilted daffodils, the brown tinged edges curling in like antique lace. My parents were farmers but I can’t get mint, basil or cilantro to grow in my garden. The first story I ever wrote was called “Danny Gets A Broken Leg”. I was the hero.
