Five {5} Creative Questions with Kathy Jordan

I am currently reading Dr. Kathy Jordan’s latest book, Becoming a Life Change Artist: 7 Creative Skills to Reinvent Yourself at Any Stage of Life, and I am loving it. That’s why I am thrilled to introduce Kathy to my readers.

Dr. Kathy Jordan is an innovative coach and Reiki energy healing teacher who integrates her expertise in creative skill-building and mind/body practices to help people create more meaningful and joyful lives.

She is also a corporate consultant highly regarded for her inventive and practical approaches to managing strategic change and enhancing bottom-line performance. And she provides writing and editorial guidance to help individuals and businesses craft compelling messages true to their voice and vision.

1. What does creativity mean to you?
My vision of creativity is that it is the energy of all things. It is the force which animates us. We’re all born with creative potential, and we all have the ability to develop our creative skills throughout our lifetime. For me, creativity and spirituality are intertwined. I think of creative energy and spiritual energy as the same. As much as possible I try to infuse my daily life with creativity. In my professional work as a writer and editor I am as selective as possible about which projects I take on, choosing work that allows me to “play”, to take ideas and shape them in ways that engage and inspire readers. I’ve learned the hard way that if I take on projects only for financial reasons, I may end up trapped in work that doesn’t allow me to express myself creatively.

It’s also important to me to express myself creatively through art. I do mixed media paintings, and in the last year started art journaling.

2. What is your creative process and what tools do you use to stimulate it?
Hmm. My creative process is a bit mysterious to me. But it always begins with a meditation drawn from the system of Reiki, a Japanese energy healing system. During the meditation I imagine creative energy moving inside me with each inward breath, and that same energy filling the world around me when I exhale. Sometimes I also chant, another way of connecting with the creative energy that I believe is the essence of who I am.

3. What is your most creative time of day?
Morning. Also afternoon. And did I mention evening? Seriously, I do different kinds of creative work at different times of day. Morning is prime time for original writing or workshop design. Afternoon for editorial work. I love doing art work in the evening. Sometimes feeling a little physically tired at night can keep me from overthinking what I’m trying to create.

4. How do you infuse creativity into your daily life and tasks?
Since creativity is about bringing into being what wasn’t there before, I try to tackle routine tasks in fresh ways. For instance, when I’m out running errands, I’ll sometimes deliberately take a different route. I’m also infamous in my family for frequently rearranging furniture, and moving paintings around from one room to another. Perhaps more importantly, I try to make time for my art every day. If I skip a day, before I know it, a month has gone by without doing any art, and I feel disappointed in myself. Which brings me to…

5. What creative tip or resource would you like to share with our readers? …my best creative tip: Do something creative every day. My Reiki teacher, speaking about spiritual practice, says it’s better to meditate 5 minutes a day than 30 minutes once a week. I think the same is true of art or any creative practice. Whether it’s singing, playing an instrument, dancing, scrapbooking– whatever gets your creative juices going–make time for it every day, even if it’s just for a few minutes. If you end up spending more time than you planned, so much the better.

  • THANKS Kathy!

Everyday Creative: Ambition


Wrapping up the month of September has not been easy. Yes, I realize it is already the middle of October!

But September turned into one of the longest months in recent memory for me. As many of you know, I started (almost) full-time back to school, while continuing to work my day job.

This transition actually suited the theme of this month, which was “Be Ambitious.” Undertaking such a task, as going back to school on  regular basis, definitely exemplifies ambition. The first exercise of the month is to write a letter about what you want and how you will achieve it. I actually wish I would have read this before I started school, because it might have served as a better map for my future.

A later topic and exercise in the book is contemplating a radical change. Another thing, I wish I would have thought out before setting out on this new journey. Maisel tells you to write out your creative autobiography then look at it closely to determine how to make a radical change. I think if I would have done this exercise earlier I might have made the same decision to go back to school. It’s strange how this entire chapter seems to have been already done in my mind!

Finally, I did like the section on exhausting yourself, although that was pretty well taken care of by my current hectic schedule. What I thought helpful though was the exercise about creating your own imaginary world. Spend some time really getting to know this place, the landscape, the the people. How big can your imagination stretch? When you come back to your own world, use your insights to improve your current creative project.

Once you’ve been ambitious enough to imagine your own world, then it seems even the smallest creative projects will be simple in comparison.

  • Next month, I’ll “be truthful”

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Ingenuityfest: A Study in Contrasts

After almost 5 years of trying, I finally made it to the Ingenuity Festival, a three-day long extravaganza of technology and art held each year here in Cleveland.

I say, “trying,” because I really have had good intentions of going to the fest the last several years.  Arriving back in Cleveland, shortly before the second year of Ingenuity, I signed up to be a volunteer, thinking it would be a cool and easy way to get a free ticket. Of course, I never actually ended up volunteering and for the next several years life seemed to get in the way during the annual weekend of Ingenuity.

This year seemed to be no different, with a planned trip to Pittsburgh falling on the same weekend as Ingenuity. When one of my instructors mentioned that we could receive 5 extra credit points for going and writing about what we saw, I knew that was the motivation I needed!

I arrived early on Sunday, the third and final day, and was instantly greeted with the contrast of the location: a bridge. Yes, that’s right, a bridge. Actually, the fesitval is located on the obsolete trolley level of the bridge, while cars sped along the upper span. The bridge connects the east and west sides of the city above the Cuyahoga River. Yet, more contrast.

Entering into the cavernous space created such a different experience than if the event had been held in an open lot or even in an enclosed area. I started walking toward the span of the bridge, where there were a hodge podge of displays, everything from local political endorsements to non-profits to the odd assortment of vendors selling taffy, jewelry, etc. Interspersed among this were small exhibitions and random musical performers.

Passing by the man-made waterfall, I approached the east side of the bridge and headed  toward the blaring sounds of a youthful rock band. Bypassing that in favor of the Art Gallery area, I began to be slightly impressed with the installation art pieces that thoroughly used the bridge’s architecture as inspiration.

Walking back to the other side of the bridge, I contemplated how much better the curation of the art could have been. Several mixed media pieces were interesting but didn’t really fit into the scope of the festival and/ or use the space that well.

On the west side of the bridge, in another cavernous space, more art installations filled the area. Some were fascinating and others just trite and almost art-schoolish. The entire puppet show concept was overdone on the East Coast 10 years ago. Finally, the soothing sounds of Angelin Chang, a local professor and Grammy-award winning musician made the my time there worth it.

In my opinion, if the Ingenuity festival could bring in more quality artists like her, then then maybe it would have been a worthwhile experience for me. As it is it appears, it is currently a very amateurish Spoletto Festival. With better curation and more “real” artists, Ingenuityfest could really be a noteworthy arts festival. Sadly, now the best thing it has going is the space and the location.

  • Did you go? What did you think?

Doodle Diary Not Just for Girls

Last week I introduced you to uber-creative Dawn Devries Sokol and this week I want you to meet her latest book, Doodle Diary: Art Journaling for Girls. I am a twitter follower of Dawn’s and when I saw this book was being released, I begged for a review copy. I guess I just knew that with a title like that it would be good and fit right into the theme of my blog.

Anyway, after receiving the book, I giddily flipped through it and quickly realized that not only is this book not just for girls (women of all ages will love it too!) but also it is the kind of book I wish I had had when I was growing up.

The introduction features a host of how-tos for getting started doodling, as well as tips for using the book and getting the most out of it. My favorite part includes a statement about how mistakes often make better art! If only, I had read that as a young artist, I wouldn’t have had to learn it later in life, but I digress… Dawn also includes a list of tools, which include suggestions beyond a simple pencil. She mentions gel pens, sharpie pens, and crayons among others.

The rest of the book is filled with brightly colored and creatively laid out doodling prompts with plenty of extra space to well, just doodle. What I really like about the book is not only the emphasis on expanding creativity for girls but also the subtle messages of self-improvement aimed at a group that could probably use a boost of self-esteem.

With that said, I’d highly recommend this book to girls (of all ages) and even to boys. It’s an overall magical book that everyone will glean a bit of creativity and inspiration from.

  • Sample prompt: 5 Things That Make Me Happy. Now get doodling!

Five {5} Creative Questions with Dawn D. Sokol

Dawn Devries Sokol is one creative (and busy) woman, so I am happy she took some time and answered my questions this month.

Dawn DeVries Sokol is the author of Doodle Diary: Art Journaling for Girls (Gibbs Smith, 2010) and 1000 Artist Journal Pages (Quarry, 2008), a book designer, and an avid art journaler and doodler. She lives in Tempe, Arizona, with her husband T.J., and dog Lucy.

Her next book will be published by Gibbs Smith in 2011 and Interweave Press just released her workshop DVD titled “Art Journaling: Pages in Stages“. She discusses art journaling and doodling on her blog. She also can be found on Twitter and Facebook.

1. What does creativity mean to you?
Creativity is constructing or inventing something and anyone can do it. We are all creative. We all have imagination. It’s just how we access the imagination and what we make of it. Whether we paint, draw, make music, sing, dance, perform, craft, crochet, sew, doodle, or whatever…It’s all creativity!

2. What is your creative process and what tools do you use to stimulate it?
I’m not really sure if I have a set process. If I feel inspired, I create. As a book designer, it can be difficult to feel inspired on a deadline, but I graduated with a degree in journalism, so deadlines tend to motivate me more than not. I sometimes go days without creating if I’ve been on a huge deadline or just completed a big creative project. You have to take a break.

3. What is your most creative time of day?
It’s definitely not the morning. It’s always later in the day. I used to be a night owl, and I think that’s stayed with me…sometimes I can feel incredibly inspired late at night. If it’s a rainy day, THAT inspires me.

4. How do you infuse creativity into your daily life and tasks?
Since my job is a creative one and I’m self-employed, I guess I eat and breathe it. Art journaling has become a part of my professional life, and it’s still a part of my personal life.

5. What creative tip or resource would you like to share with our readers?
If you want to introduce creativity into your life but are not sure how, take workshops or an art class. Maybe you’re drawn to music or the theater. Find ways to get involved in these activities!

  • THANKS Dawn!

Creativity is…Learning

This fall creativity is…learning. As many of you know, I’ve headed back to school. Yes, after a 10 year break and a BA and MA, I am currently working on an Associates degree. Strange, I know, but sometimes life is not linear!

Anyway, taking classes has made me think how creativity is…learning. As I’ve mentioned before, you simply can’t create without moving forward. That’s why creativity thrives on learning. Learning makes it possible to add new ideas and then merge them with what you already know to create something new.

For me, that means broadening my focus this fall and taking 2 technology classes and 2 design theory classes.

  • Take a class this fall and see what new ideas you create.

Everyday Creative: Connecting


I am not sure that this theme could have come at a better time for me. This month was all about connecting. I’d been thinking for some time about most of the issues covered in this chapter, so it was nice to actually have a space to explore them.

Connecting is something that I tend to do in spurts. I think it has something to do with being an introvert. Usually, I’ll go on a spree where I am out and networking all the time and then I will retreat for a couple of months and then I’m back again. I am in the retreat mode now, so the first exercise was a little daunting. It required  me to try and create in public. Yes, I have taken art classes, but no, I haven’t sat in the middle of an open area and created. Maybe, I’ll try this one at a later date.

The second week seemed much easier for me to fathom to accomplish. This exercise asks you to find an art buddy. But first, you need to figure our your strengths and weaknesses and also the pros and cons of having and being an art buddy. It got me to thinking how isolated I am in my creating, so if anyone wants to art buddy up (or even create a group) and support one another then drop me a message!

By the third week, I was really catching on to this idea of connecting with other creatives. The exercise this time though required you to connect with a tradition, which I found fascinating. Yes, because I am an introvert and could retreat once again! But really, the concept was useful.

Try it yourself by looking through an art history text book or listening to a historical collection of music. Choose the images and or melodies that resonate with you. Once the list is compiled, see how they can inform your current work or inspire new work.

As the month wrapped up, I had explored creating in public (took a pass on that one!), considered finding an art buddy or starting a group of local creatives, and even looked to the past for inspiration. The final exercise was to look more closely at the audience I was creating for. I mean really look. Maisel asks you to go through magazines, and much like in marketing, create audience profiles. A great reminder for anyone putting their work into the public sphere.

  • Next month, I’ll be ambitious!

Five {5} Creative Questions with Michelle James

I am so honored to introduce Michelle James. I met Michelle over 5 years ago, shortly after I started exploring my own creativity while living in DC. Meeting her was a transformational experience for me in many ways, and I am grateful that we have stayed in contact since then.

Michelle James has been pioneering Applied Creativity and Applied Improvisation in business in the Washington, DC area since 1994. She is CEO of The Center for Creative Emergence and founder of the Capitol Creativity Network. Recently she was recognized for Visionary Leadership in Fast Company’s blog, Leading Change, for “her commitment to bring creative expression into the work environment in a very deep and meaningful way.” Michelle is a business creativity consultant, facilitator and coach who has designed and delivered hundreds of programs for entrepreneurs, leaders, and organizations. Her original programs have been featured on TV, the radio and in print. Michelle performs full-length improvised plays with Precipice Improv, is an abstract painting artist, and is a CoreSomatics Master Practitioner. In 2009, she put on DC’s first Creativity in Business Conference.

1. What does creativity mean to you?
Life, aliveness, life energy, life trajectory, the core, the source, the natural way of being, the driving force, the unique self, the essence of all living being and systems. It is that energy within all of us and all living things which animates, liberates, and generates. It is the same force that paradoxically expresses our absolute individual uniqueness and connects us in community. It unites things, people, ideas, frameworks, concepts that were previously divided. It is there, ever-flowing, for us all to engage it, shape it, form it, express it and apply it to anything – from expression to solution finding to new structure creating. For me, it is like asking someone to define the essence of life – there are as many different ways to define it as there are people. That is uncomfortable for people who like to think there is one right way. Creativity is not about the one right way.

In my work, I find that I use the definition that resonates most with a particular client or organization to meet them where they are. Once they experience the power of re-igniting their own creative wellspring, they will always be able to come up with their own definitions that are more relevant for them than anything I could come up with – because while creativity is ubiquitous and universal, is is also uniquely personal.

Creativity is living paradox. It contains a balance of left and right brain, cultivating and emergence, thinking and being, reflection and action, receptivity and generativity, improvisation and planning, heart and head, analysis and intuition, and structure and flow.

2. What is your creative process and what tools do you use to stimulate it?
I call my meta-process the Creative Emergence Process (named my business after it), and within that, there are many types of creative processes I use, and that list is always expanding. The creative Emergence Process unfolded in my consciousness over a period of several years, more as a life calling than a creative outlet , and led me to create a whole business around it. It is a whole-brain, whole-person, whole-systems approach to merging creativity, purpose, business and serving the larger good. It is based on the Emergence Principles – natural principles that create conditions for creativity to emerge – and Practices that cultivate and focus creativity. My focus is in the work especially.

I use both left and right brain approaches to engage creativity for myself and with my clients. Some tools I use to engage it are storytelling, improv theater, movement, visual arts, imagery, design thinking, movement, intuition-based techniques, reflection tools, journaling, accelerated learning methods, ritual, insights from psychology/archetypes/mythology and process work, systems thinking, analytical processes and structured creative solution finding approaches, outdoor adventures. I also focus on conversations with people who think differently than me, pattern breaking, trying new things, “yes-anding” both myself and others…and doing things that are fun!

3. What is your most creative time of day?
I do not have a more creative time of day but I do have cycles when I feel more creative, and when possible, I try to follow those, and do the busy work in less inspired moments. It’s connected more to what I am creating than a time of day. When I have a project (work-related, artistic, new structure, etc) that I am excited about, I can create all day and night without getting tired. Time has en entirely different meaning. My energy feels endless. When I am in routine busy work, or work that is predictable, I can lose my creative “mojo” very quickly. I then have to consciously focus on breaking patterns and commitment to get it done. I come alive with newness, so I do what I can to keep creating. But in times where I know everything that needs to be done and still have to do it, I either (1) switch from enthusiasm to discipline mode to keep me going or (2) do something to break my habitual patterns. That usually helps me get the creative juices flowing again. Commitment and pattern breaking help keep me going when I’m not feeling the “flow” as easily.

4. How do you infuse creativity into your daily life and tasks?
It is so integrated into my every day way of thinking and being that is is hard to me to separate it out. My life’s work and business is based on it. Whenever I feel the call for something new to emerge, I seek to find a way to create it.

Because of my belief about the essentialness of making it an explicit part of every day work and life, I started a company called The Center for Creative Emergence, dedicated to integrating creativity, meaning, organizational culture and business for a happier and more productive work life and a richer bottom line. Included in CCE is Quantum Leap Business Improv. I founded and run the Capitol Creativity Network in DC for those interested in creativity for personal and professional development; and I put on DC’s first Creativity in Business Conference last year. My mission is to help “mainstream” creativity and engage people into their full humanness for innovative work, positive social change, and consciously creating a life-giving future. That is always at the core of all the choices I make.

Having a purpose and mission larger than yourself, and larger than expression (but including it), is one way to keep creativity infused in your daily life. Another is to make it a priority, and set aside time for your Creative Self – making it your most important appointment of the day. Your Creative Self need space, time and attention, like all living things, to flourish.

5. What creative tip or resource would you like to share with our readers?
Above all else, let go of any voice in you that says you are not creative. That is based on an outdated – and just plain false – definition of what creativity is. Creativity is not reserved for those in the arts. It is in every person and every field and discipline. By expanding your definition or what it mean to be creative, you can become more comfortable with knowing your self as a creator.

One thing I recommend for everyone – and think should be required in all schools, universities, and business training – is taking improvisational theater classes. The transformational power of improv, in my mind, in unparalleled because you learn how to become fully and completely present. You have to leave planning, agendas, judgement, and just be there, in the moment, without any safety net except for the naturally self-organizing creativity that can’t do anything but emerge. It takes you into the present moment – the place where we can really see and feel and get out unlimited creativity. We have just been socialized, educated, and traumatized out of our natural creative selves, and improv is one of the many ways to help us reconnect. It provides you with a set of principles that, when practiced over time, will free you up to be more adaptive, responsive, generative and creative in your life and work. The tip: find an improv class in your area and take it!

  • THANKS Michelle!

Play Like a Kid

I’ve written before about the importance of play for kids. But it wasn’t until recently (after writing more about creativity and kids!) that I realized how integral play is for adults.

Reflecting on my own busy summer, I noticed how little of it I spent just playing. Remember when you were in school and you couldn’t wait for summer so you could play outside all day and into the evening?

Then you grew up and your life became over scheduled and there was little time left for play, even in the summer!

There is still time to add a little play time into your life. Even as summer comes to an end, find ways to look at life like a child:

  1. Get sidewalk chalk and color to your heart’s content
  2. Find a swing and soar to new heights
  3. Spend an afternoon blowing bubbles
  • What will you do to play like a kid?

Everyday Creative: Using Yourself


Of all the months so far doing this challenge, this one was the most difficult. The task was to “use yourself” and dig deep emotionally. I am the type that relies on research and expert opinions to motivate me, so using myself instead as a resource proved a daunting task!

The first week asked me to hire myself as a consultant. I tried and tried to think of all the the skills I possessed to help myself. Because I tend to wear many hats, it took awhile. It turned out to be a fun, almost existential experiment. By the end of the week, I was really getting into this concept and appreciated Maisel’s suggestion of opening up a savings account. Of course, I already have a savings account at the bank, but this one was intended for use to pay yourself. It was such an obvious and brilliant suggestion. You pay experts to work for you so why shouldn’t you pay yourself?

By the second week, I was asked to get passionate and ravenous, but because I was suffering from a mid-summer slump, I just couldn’t find anything that exciting to get ravenous about. I’ll have to come back to this exercise. The second part of the week was filled with a depression treatment plan, since Maisel seems to be convinced that all creatives also suffer emotional issues. The plan would be helpful to even people that haven’t suffered depression because it contained practical solutions like challenge your negative thinking and focus on your positive achievements.

One of the most powerful exercises of the month was “Kill Maybe” in the third week. How often have you said, “maybe I’ll start my masterpiece tomorrow.?” And how often have you actually started tomorrow or even the day after or the day after that? I know this is were my weak spot lies. I often put off until tomorrow what should have been done today. So with that, I told ‘maybe’ to die, and of course still planned to start that masterpiece tomorrow. Someday, I’ll learn…

Wrapping up the month, I got to acknowledge the mistakes I’ve made in the past and was also permitted to be myself entirely. I suspect the latter is what has been plaguing me all summer: being the authentic me. I think we all eventually lose parts of ourselves over time and only realize they are gone when it’s too late. I know that life usually gets in my way and those parts of me that aren’t necessary to daily life fall by the side. Excavating those parts of me will take time, but I know they are there somewhere waiting for me to discover them when I most need them.

  • Join me next month when I “connect.”

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