Melanie – Page 2

Creativity Anew

December 17, 2014 by Melanie 5 Comments

My word for this year was SHIFT, and wow, did I ever! Actually, there were two, almost harmonious parts of my year that defined this. The first part was marked by a lot of stress and uncertainty in my life. In this part, I began to see the need to shift my perspective and how I viewed my life and the role that creativity played in it. It was also a time of much growth, although I couldn’t see it at the time. I relaunched this blog as part of this process, with a fresh new design and ideas for the future.

And then the real shift took place, as I dealt with a sudden loss. A loss that left me with plenty of time to regrow myself and strengthen my creative muscles. This time has been marked by immense growth both spiritually and creatively. It has allowed me to refocus my energy on this website and let me dream and plot and plan for its future.

Creativity anew is the phrase I’ve been using to describe this. For me, it was sparked by a sudden shift, but it doesn’t have to be that way. Creativity anew can happen at any time. It just takes an intentional mindset to achieve and the upcoming new year is a good time to start cultivating that mindset toward your own creativity.

In 2011, I wrote a post on New Year, New Creative Goals. It seemed appropriate this year to revisit it and create some intentions for the upcoming year. The purpose of the intentions are to keep them simple. You limit yourself to three. They can be big goal creative dreams or simply a new technique to learn or a new medium to explore. After much thought, here are mine:

Take an improv workshop
Collect essays for an actual book
Learn to crochet

What are your creative intentions for the new year so that you can begin with creativity anew?

Filed Under: Creativity, Featured

Committed: A Memoir of the Artist’s Road

November 12, 2014 by Melanie 3 Comments

When I first met Patrick Ross several years ago and learned about his creativity seeking cross country trip, I immediately asked when the book on it was coming out. At that time, there was no book, but I knew after listening to Patrick talk about the trip, that there should be.

So I asked again, every year or so. I believed this was a book that needed to be written and one that myself and my fellow creatives needed to read. Well, I got my wish and when I found out it was published this fall, I contacted Patrick for an advanced reading copy. And I am so glad I did.

Patrick’s path back to his creativity is no different from mine or a lot of other creatives I have talked to over the last 8 years I’ve been writing this blog and on my own quest to rediscover my creativity. And that’s what resonated with me most.

The book opens up with a particularly raw scene in which Patrick is fleeing his parents’ home with his children after a heated exchange. This exchange brings to light a dysfunctional family dynamic ignited by mental illness. It is from this understanding that we travel with Patrick along his cross country journey sponsored by the funders of the organization that he led for many years in Washington, DC.

While the intended purpose of the trip is to please his funders, it is through the conversations Patrick has with artists that spurns him to question why he has abandoned his own creative practice. These often emotional exchanges allow us not only to see into Patrick’s internal psyche but also his process of reawakening. It is this process that so captivated me and I knew I had to share with my readers. Below, I asked Patrick the following questions to illuminate this and inspire us all:

Q: What was the one piece of advice you heard from the artist’s that you interviewed that resonated the most? And why?

Patrick Ross: The one piece of advice that most resonated with me at the time was Idaho’s Rochelle Smith (and others, like New Hampshire’s Ernest Whaley) saying you have to tell your story. But the one I find myself hearing most often now is from Vermont’s Sabra Field, which is funny because she explicitly was resisting giving advice: she said the art-committed life is not an easy one, and many would be happier not attempting it. It is not an easy path, but it has been worth it so far.

Q: How did you implement what you learned on the trip into your own creative life?

Patrick Ross: The first thing I did was recognize that while I had a lot of experience as a writer of nonfiction, I had little experience as a writer of creative nonfiction. So In January 2011 I began a memoir-writing class at the Writer’s Center in Bethesda, Maryland, my first-ever creative writing course. I then went to AWP (the annual Association of Writer’s and Writing Programs conference) and walked up to every single MFA program table on the trade-show floor and quizzed them on their creative non-fiction offerings. I ended up choosing the Vermont College of Fine Arts low-residency program, and in late June of 2011 I found myself in Montpelier having pages I had written in my Writer’s Center class worshipped by my fellow VCFA students. It grew from there.

Q: What would you tell other creatives that have abandoned their craft?

Patrick Ross: It’s never too late to come back. You could say it’s like riding a bicycle, in that once you’ve learned how you can always do it again. But I think it’s even easier than that. One still must learn how to ride a bicycle to begin with; we are born inherently creative, so what you’re really doing is returning to your core state of being. The difficulty is what Sabra was referring to, sticking with it.

Finally, I can’t recommend this book highly enough (well, maybe I could) to anyone who has allowed life to get in the way of their creative practice. Patrick proves that there is always a way back to it.

Filed Under: Books, Featured

Creative Bucket List

October 7, 2014 by Melanie 5 Comments

A few years ago, I wrote a post on my creative goals at the start of a new year. In it, I included three goals I wanted to accomplish that year. I sometimes referred to it as my creative bucket list. Well, I didn’t accomplish any of them that year. Or the year after. I did, however, do one of them earlier this year. That’s how goals work. Sometimes you can’t control the timing of them.

Taking a class on glass has been on my creative bucket list for as long as I can remember. I’ve always been fascinated by the artistic process of creating a glass piece. There’s just something about the transformation that takes place when you start with a raw piece of material and shape it how you want. In the end, the magic of glass isn’t revealed until after it’s cooled and you can see how it turned out.

This spring I had the opportunity to experience this firsthand. Someone forwarded me a special offer from the Glass Bubble Project. The same place I had initially intended to take a class. I figured this was a sign so I jumped at the chance.

I am not a kinesthetic person – ok, I am uncomfortable doing anything physical – so this class was a real challenge for me. It was also extremely hot near the oven, which made it more uncomfortable. But what I learned long ago is to lean into the things that make you uncomfortable, because it will challenge you and especially challenge your creativity.

With that said, in the middle of the class, I said to the woman next to me that my next creative exploration would be trying my hand (literally) at the pottery wheel. Well, unlike my previous creative bucket list item, this one took a rather short time to accomplish.

Several months later I saw an online posting about a pottery wheel class that included wine at Art House, and I signed up right away. I invited a few friends, who I knew would enjoy it too. We had a fun time in this casual environment. And like my glass experience, I realized how uncoordinated and uncomfortable I am doing physical art work that requires my entire body.

In the end, I am proud of myself for doing both of these activities and not only crossing them off my creative bucket list but also leaning into my fears and challenging myself to grow and see my creativity in a new light.

What’s on your creative bucket list?

Filed Under: Featured, Inspiration

Why I am Not Doing 30 Days of Creativity This Year

June 1, 2014 by Melanie 1 Comment

For the last 3 years, I’ve participated in a monthly challenge called 30 Days of Creativity. I first heard about this challenge on Twitter and since I am someone who can’t stick to anything, I thought I’d give it a try. The first year I had no idea what I was doing, so I just decided to create stuff from my daily life. Because of this, there was a paperclip bracelet, Post-it Art and even a coaster made from from a CD.

The second year, I thought I was being more strategic about the process, because if I learned anything from year 1, it was that I acquired 30 days of stuff! That year, I switched the emphasis to public art. Art that I could leave behind and someone else would receive as a pleasant surprise. I centered this all around the theme of Create. A simple word I’d hoped would inspire people to do more of the same.

Last year was an all around stressful year, so the day before I simply chose to work on sketchbook collages. This challenge was by far the most important for me, as I explained to the delightful Mike Brown of Brainzooming in the video clip below.

Why did I decide to not participate this year?

Well, I am not sure there really is an easy answer. For me the decision had been brewing for some time. The 30 day challenge turned into a chore for me. I found myself stressing more about it than actually enjoying it. I also realized that I didn’t need just 30 days to do something creative, I needed to be creative 365 days a year. In the last year alone, I’ve finished an altered book round robin, co-led a women’s creativity retreat, completed my right brain business plan, guest wrote several blog posts, and created a glass heart.

So this year, I am devoting the month of June and the rest of the summer to enriching my knowledge of creativity by reading all the latest books that have come out in the last few years that I missed. I’m also looking for suggestions to increase my awareness of creativity and spirituality, so please leave your recommendations in the comments section.

What are you doing this summer to heighten your creativity?

Filed Under: 30 Days of Creativity, Creativity, Featured

When Life Gets in the Way

April 16, 2014 by Melanie 2 Comments

When I left my blog over two years ago, I never imagined it would be for such a prolonged length of time. I figured I’d just take a quick break and focus on what in my real life needed attending to.

After a few months, I kept telling myself and others, that I’d be back to blogging here by the end of the month, which turned into the end of the year and then into the spring, fall, etc.

All those months of proclaiming (and often believing) those intentions fizzled as the days flew past. Before I knew it, another season, another year had passed.

And all the while I knew I would return someday when the time was right for me. I thought it was late last year, so I hired someone to finally transfer my dated looking blog to my very own domain which I had been redirecting. Even that didn’t spark my creativity to start writing again.

Then a few things happened a couple of months ago. The first was that I let myself off the hook for believing my blog had to be perfect before I started writing again. You might say I am a bit of an over thinker and a somewhat recovering perfectionist. Both would be true.

I was stunted and overwhelmed by the work I needed to get my new blog picture perfect. One day, I realized it was a lot like what I tell my web design clients and the reason I thrive online: the beauty of a blog is that it is fluid and changeable.

Kind of like what I write about: creativity.

Amazingly, after I came to terms with what was holding me back, opportunities to resurrect this blog came my way. Someone reached out to me about writing some guest posts on creativity and she even offered to write some posts in the future here. Someone else published a book I knew my readers would love and that I instantly knew I wanted to feature in this space. And just like that I am here writing this post all inspired and hopeful to reconnect with previous readers and attract new audiences.

It’s amusing how life works sometimes. Again, it’s kind of unpredictable like creativity.

Creativity Poem by Adam Harvey

Filed Under: Featured, Inspiration

I’ll Be Back Soon!

January 18, 2012 by Melanie 5 Comments

I bet you’ve wondered what happened to me. I was a pretty prolific blogger for about the last 5 years sharing my quest for a more creative life by documenting my ups and downs with that endeavor. The last time I posted was in October which gives the impression that I am no longer blogging about creativity. Well, that is true to a certain point. I am still tweeting about it though!

So what happened?

Nothing really scandalous occurred. And part of the the truth, which may seem cliched is that real life got in the way. I’ve been finishing school and working on exciting new freelance projects. It wasn’t until my friend Patrick Ross (go read his blog in the meantime, if you want great content on creativity!) mentioned to me today that he was catching up on his blog reading and wondered if mine was on hiatus, that I realized I was indeed on hiatus. But I also realized that I missed this blog and my amazingly loyal readers, many of whom have become great friends.

The ultimate reason why I haven’t been blogging here is because I hate the design of my template and with everything else going on in my life right now I don’t have time to alter it to my liking. But that is going to change soon! I have already talked with someone to help me with this, because like creativity, sometimes life also involves collaboration.

With all of that said, I hope to see you back here in the spring with a new design, new content features and a welcome back giveaway.

Until then, be creative my friends!

Filed Under: Featured, Uncategorized

Principles of Creative Engagement

October 29, 2011 by Melanie 8 Comments

Last weekend, I had the amazing experience of attending the 2nd Creativity in Business conference held in my former hometown, Washington, DC and organized by the brilliant Michelle James.

The day was filled with so many insights that I am still slowly processing them all. As I was leaving, I noticed the above instructions tacked up to a wall. I snapped a quick image on my phone. Apparently, they were the guidelines for the entire conference that I somehow initially missed.

A few days later when I looked at the image again, I realized that it did sum up, in a few short phrases, my entire experience at the conference. And here’s how:

Yes – and
A foundational principle of improv, yes- and implies that you will accept whatever happens and flow with what comes next. When I got to the conference, I was torn about which sessions to attend but the creative energy of the event guided me to choose the perfect ones for me.

Make everyone else look good
For me, this meant enthusiastically participating in each session demonstrating my engagement for the presenter to notice. I believe the more involved the audience is, the more creative energy the presenter receives.

Creativity is messy
In one session, Gregg Fraley led our group through an actual Creative Problem Solving process. One of the things he mentioned in doing so was how we should gravitate to and explore what makes us uncomfortable. It is here that your greatest creative discoveries will occur. Creativity is not a neat process.

Have fun
Above all, the conference was a day for me to play and explore new processes while meeting other like-minds folks. I tried improv, doodling, and storytelling.

What I ultimately learned is that when you combine the creative passion and enthusiasm of a group diverse individuals, you will see and feel magic happen. And that’s what I’ll reflect on most from the conference, as I continue to ponder the creative transformation that occurred within me.

How do you create and keep your creative engagement alive?

Filed Under: Business Creativity, Creativity

Altered Book Project

October 2, 2011 by Melanie 3 Comments

So you may be be wondering where I’ve been for the last month. Well, I’d like to say that I have been working on an altered book project but that’s not true, it only seems like I’ve been working on it for a month!

Late in the summer, two of my longtime twitter friends Cat and Roisin suggested that all of us participate in a round robin altered book project. I was excited because I had already done one for a friend as a birthday gift several years ago and even took an all day altered book workshop with Gayle Pritchard.

This new project would require each of to start our own altered book by prepping the pages, creating a spread or two, and then sending it off to the next person to complete a few spreads and then pass along. By the end of the project we will each end up with our own book and mine will be filled with not only my art, but also Cat’s and Roisin’s art, which makes it even more exciting.

It took me awhile to find my book and to come up with the concept. I tried looking through my own selection of books, went to a used book store but ultimately found my book at a library book sale. The size was perfect – smaller than a typical hardcover fiction book and the cover was the right shade of purple. The title, The Looking Glass, set the tone for my theme.

Then I began looking through all of my supplies to select possible materials that matched that theme. I set aside a slew of items in pale tones that felt right for the book. My most challenging and lessons learned part was next: prepping the book.

To prep my book, I needed to create a thicker surface on which to create spreads by gluing large blocks of pages together. With my previous book, this process was tedious but doable. For some reason the type of glue I used this time made the process unbearable! It took me about 3 weeks of gluing to complete one and half blocks before I gave up. The glue was not drying and so everything was still sticky.

After a brilliant idea popped into my head, I switched directions, gave up the glue and pulled out my stash of purple duck tape to seal the pages together in blocks. While all the days of gluing taught me immense patience, the spontaneous switch to the tape showed me just how unpredictable the creative process is. That one simple idea appeared at just the right time when I needed it!

Filed Under: Art

Disciplined Dreaming

August 22, 2011 by Melanie 3 Comments

Do you or does your organization need more ideas? Well then Josh Linkner and his book Disciplined Dreaming: A Proven System to Drive Breakthrough Creativity may have just the solution for you or at least just the right idea generating tool!

Filled with proven techniques and the success stories to back them up, Linkner has written a resource that you and your team will come back to over and over. He believes that creativity is a skill that you can learn and even quotes from renown Harvard Business School professor Clayton Christensen to prove it:

“Studies have shown that creativity is close to 80 percent learned and acquired.”

From there, Linkner provides a simple framework to increase your creative thinking capacity and also teaches you how to encourage it your organization or team. His five step process is similar to the actual creative process.

1. Ask: Define your creativity challenge by asking what needs to be solved. Then use your curiosity to seek those clues.

2. Prepare: Like exercise, creative thinking requires warm-ups. Also if you are in an organization, cultural alignment is necessary.

3. Discover: Seek creativity in the unlikely corners of your life. You may be surprised by what you find.

4. Ignite: Where the rubber meets the road. Use as many different tools and techniques to spark ideas individually or in a group.

5. Launch: Bring your analytical mind back into the picture to sort through all of the ideas you generated in the last step in order to choose the best ones to pursue.

Now, I can’t guarantee that you will become a creative genius after reading this book and following the Disciplined Dreaming process, but I am pretty certain that Linkner’s infectious enthusiasm about all things creative will at least make you look at problem solving and creativity a lot differently.

Now go and create some new ideas!

Filed Under: Books, Creativity, Creativity Techniques

Creative Slump

August 1, 2011 by Melanie 8 Comments

After a really productive and inspired late spring and early summer, I hit a creative slump – you know the one where it feels like all of your ideas have evaporated and you panic because you don’t know when a new set will show up?

Yep, that’s me!

At first when it hit, I just tried to ride it out and enjoy the downtime. I figured, like most blocks, if I ignored it it would go away. Well after several weeks, I started getting frustrated, because it was still there.

So then, I started to take my own advice. I got up on the opposite side of the bed, tried new foods, met old friend in new locations, but nothing.

Last week, I thought the slump had been broken. Things in my life began to shift, and I felt change was approaching. I rode this wave for a couple of days, but it didn’t last, and I ended up back in my dry spell.

As I enter the second month of this creative slump, I am desperately looking for a breakthrough. That is why I am turning to you, my loyal readers.

Tell me how you’ve overcome a creative slump.

Filed Under: Creativity, Inspiration