I’ve been recently reminded of the importance of play throughout my work day. It’s so very easy to get bogged down with a to do list and all the very important things that must happen right now. Thing is, when you step away, you have a chance to get a better perspective. It’s a bit like staring into … Read More
This Saturday on Facebook, join us for a day of relaxing, of pampering, of doing what you NEED. Join us for a day when we let go of the guilt, and embrace our creative selves.
As for this thing called a writing retreat? Who were these people who could just skip off to do such an outrageous thing as taking a weekend away just for writing?
Is your creativity living a first class life? Or is it shabby and neglected? I know how it usually goes—everything and everybody comes first. The kids, the cats, the puppy, making lunch for your partner, shopping, day jobbing, cleaning. Of course all of those things are important! I get that! But so is your creativity. When’s … Read More
If all of the New Year’s energy and excitement leaves you feeling less than enthusiastic…you might be in Creative Burnout. Hey, it happens to the best of us. Burnout can be caused by too much creative output, financial stress, grief, not enough creative output, health problems, criticism, perfectionism and a host of other stressors. It … Read More
For a little while, living in an insular world is okay. It breaks down all that mess into biteable chunks. If you’re there, it’s okay to disappear for a little while, regroup, and allow yourself time to heal. During this time, our energy is directed toward survival, and oftentimes we don’t have anything left for the creating process.
I was fortunate to speak with Suzanne Kelman, award-winning screenwriter, author, podcast host, actor, and director, about her experience, or rather lack of experience with play. As a woman who wears many, many hats, Suzanne has had to become very organized in order to get all the things done every day. But after years of being creatively productive, Suzanne had a coaching session with our very own Kerry Schafer, and what she learned in that session has dramatically changed the way she approaches her creativity and her schedule.
Almost all creativity involves purposeful play. ~Abraham Maslow
Albert Einstein embraced creative play, as did a number of other bright minds like Edison, Picasso, and da Vinci. Today I want to share ideas from two of my favorite modern day creativity gurus, Julia Cameron and Jill Badonsky, both of whom have a lot to say about the value of play.
Endurance is something that is required when living a creative life. Your art is rarely going to fall out of you with little to no effort. Instead, it usually falls out in a giant mess, and it requires endurance to turn that mess into what we know it can be. Sometimes that process is hard and long and takes a lot out of us. And we need to build strong creative muscles to resist the forces that exist to push against our creativity.
