Today's Creativity Wisdom

Awaken Your Creativity

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In Praise of the Creative Spirit
with Peter Clothier

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Mastering the Art of Enlightened Work and Mindful Play
Tranquilista with Kimberly Wilson

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Improvisation: Twists & Turns; Rubbing; Mushrooms & Tide Pools
The Art of Is with Stephen Nachmanovitch

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Spirited Woman Q & A
with Nancy Mills

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Invoking the 9 Greek Muses
with Molly Anderson-Childers

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Standing at Water's Edge
with Anne Paris, PhD

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Write What You See
with Hank Kellner

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CreativiTea for Creative Brains!
with Chris Dunmire

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Reflect & Write
with Hank Kellner

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Trick WordSearch Puzzles
with Chris Dunmire

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Write What You See
with Hank Kellner

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Living in the Light, Creativity & Intuition
with Shakti Gawain

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12 Rants About Writing, Writers, & Whining Writers
with Patti Digh

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Writing as Therapy
with Diana Raab, PhD

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Your Life-Changing Story: The Story You Need to Tell
with Sandra Marinella, MA, MEd

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Heroine's Journey: Dancing with the Dark Goddess
with Sara Avant Stover

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Surviving Your Day Job with Your Creativity Intact
with Durga Walker

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Creative Intelligence & FREE-Writing
with Orna Ross

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Innovative Wire Sculpture Workshop
with Elizabeth Berrien

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Making Space
Heeding the Call
Nurturing the Artist Within
PERSIST: The Big Lie
Peter Clothier MIND WORK Interview
Today Is Thine: Tempus Fugit
Not Just a Number
Enlightened Work & Mindful Play
Your Life Is Art
6 Ways to Evoke Creativity
Modes of Creativity
Stephen Nachmanovitch: The Art of Is
Improvisation: Rubbing
Improvisation: Mushrooms & Tide Pools
Improvisation: Twists and Turns
Wine Maker Lane Tanner
Actress and Producer Sybil Temtchine
Mediabistro's Laurel Touby
'The Girl Blue Project' Marlow Wyatt
Artist and Activist Ellen Spencer
Sally Shore, Storyteller & Spoken Word Artist
Cathy Salser: A Window Between Worlds
Astrology Zone's Susan Miller
Swirly Girl Creator Christine Mason Miller
Mystery Writer Rochelle Krich
Jewelry Designer Katy Leakey
Swirly Girl Creator Christine Mason Miller
Jet Set Modeling Cindy Kauanui
Mystery Writer Rochelle Krich
World Traveler Marie Javins
Radio Host Frances Halpern
Creative Sage's Cathryn Hrudicka
Author & Actress Fannie Flagg
Writer Elizabeth Forsythe Hailey
Social Entrepreneur Crystal Allene Cook
Frou Frou Flip Flops Kidpreneur Alice
Lotus Blossom Style Clothier Tabby Biddle
Actress, Comedienne, Storyteller Roz Browne
Humor Inspires Writing
Metaphors Inspire Writing
Interview with Artist Angela Cartwright
Rap as Poetry
Crossing Bridges
Where You're From
Nature's Forms in Poetry and Prose
The Power of the Visual
Isolation and Education
Black & White Images Stimulate Creativity
Why Do People Respond to Graphic Images?
Graphic Images Surround Us
Find Inspiration in Claude Monet
Historic Buildings in Community Theater
Writing Prompts: Bird Cage Theatre
Community Theater
Joke Word Search Puzzles
Shifting Perspectives
Combining Photos with Poems
Photo Essays Tell Stories
Connect Seeing with Writing
Photos Trigger Words
Photos as Writing Prompts
Shifting Perspectives
Contrast in Writing Subjects
Combining Photos with Poems
Using Photography to Inspire Writing
Less is More
Every Photograph Tells a Story
Shakti Gawain Interview
Becoming a Creative Channel
Trusting Intuition
Transforming Our World
11 Tips for Surviving a Day Job
Why Talent Isn't Nearly Enough
The Creative Power of Writing
How to Get Your Day Job to Leave YOU
Define Creativity — I Dare You
Are You Highly Creative?
Conventional vs. Creative Intelligence
Creatives: Transform or Perish
F-R-E-E-Writing Tutorial
Note to Beginner Writers
7 Stages of The Creative Process
8 Habits of the Creatively Intelligent
Innovative Wire Sculpture Workshop
Tips for Artists Working at Home
Create Unconventional Art
Paralyzed by Perfectionism
Why Aren't I More Disciplined?
For Highly-Sensitive Creatives
The Four Steps of Creativity

Author Spotlight

In Praise of the Creative Spirit with Peter Clothier

Peter Clothier is a long time observer of the contemporary art world, and a widely published writer. His publications include fiction, poetry, and a memoir, as well as David Hockney (a monograph), and a collection of political essays, The Bush Diaries. His books include Persist: In Praise of the Creative Spirit in a World Gone Mad with Commerce, Mind Work: Shedding Delusions on the Path to the Creative Core, and Slow Looking: The Art of Looking at Art.

Making Space | Heeding the Call | Nurturing the Artist Within | The Big Lie (Self-Sabotage) | 'Mind Work' Interview | Today Is Thine: Tempus Fugit | Not Just a Number | The Art of Looking At Art | 'Slow Looking' Meditation | 'Slow Looking' Silence

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Persist: In Praise of the Creative Spirit

Nurturing the Artist Within

By Peter Clothier

I was invited to give this lecture by this title for a group of art teachers engaged in a summer workshop at Texas Christian University a little while ago, and I thought the ideas might be worth noting down in written form. Do all of us have an "artist within," as I've heard some claim? At first blush, this notion can sound suspiciously New Age-y; but in fact the truth of it must be evident to anyone who has ever raised or loved a child. Creativity comes naturally to children. Watch them playing in the sandbox. Give them a cardboard box, a few blocks, a stuffed toy or a doll and watch the imagination run wild. Give them a handful of crayons, a pencil, a few pots of paint, a lump of clay, and watch the fingers go to work. Give them a costume to put on.

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Books & Printables

Origami Money Plant Project

By Chris Dunmire

With fake fun printable 'Cashius monetarius' seed packet! As featured in Money: Everything You Never Knew About Your Favorite Thing to Find, Save, Spend, and Covet by Sandra and Harry Chonron, this unique origami money plant makes a delightful gift to create, but hard to give away! Learn how to make this truly memorable craft with my with easy-to-follow instructions in a fully-illustrated, step-by-step 23-page project book.

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Visual Journaling

Symbolic Stories: Your Life is Full of Blissful Journaling Fodder!

By Violette

One way to tell the stories of your life on paper is to choose a pertinent story from someone you care about and relate it to your own experiences in order to realize a deeper connection on the pages of your journal. The origin of this visual journal page is a story about my mother as a teenager. There are so many endearing stories that enrich our lives and can be brought to life visually with a little creativity. What symbolic stories can you tell on the pages of your art journal?

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Fostering Creativity

Prepare to Be Amazed with the Appearance of Creative Ideas

By Abby Connors

I've been teaching young children for over twenty years, and every day I'm amazed at my students' creativity. In fact, almost every day I teach, at least one student shares an idea I've never seen or heard before! When I tell this to teachers at my workshops, I see a few indulgent smiles ("Yes, you love kids, we get it") and a few frankly skeptical raised eyebrows. But it's true — almost every day I see something completely new. Because I'm looking for it. I'm listening for it. I'm prepared to be amazed.

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Creating Time: Using Creativity to Reinvent the Clock

Finding Flow in Everyday Life

By Marney Makridakis

Once we identify the things that get us in a flow state, not only can we take steps to engage in them more often, but also we can work on inserting the essence of those things whenever we are doing other, seemingly nonflow activities. If you lose track of time when making art, think about how to integrate more art into your daily life. Can you add doodles on the envelopes when you pay your bills or write haikus in your head while you do the dishes? If spending time in nature gets you in the flow state, perhaps you could leave your office to take your lunch break in the outdoors or volunteer in a community garden.

Spirited Woman Q & A

Interview with Marlow Wyatt, Founder of The Girl Blue Project

By Nancy Mills

Q. What is the underlying concept The Girl Blue Project teaches to young girls?

A. We teach them self-worth. We combine it with the performing arts and community service where they are trained by KorehLA to actually tutor elementary kids once a week. Also, self-awareness is three-fourths of the program so they have a life coach. We do a lot of work books on body image and family and their connections. A lot of them have issues with men because they don't have fathers in their lives. We work with them really where they are. Each group seems to have its own personality, so each group of girls is dealt with on an individual basis — that's why we don't take more than 20 per session.

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Inspirational Muses

Sirens to Selkies: Mermaids as Muses

Mermaids symbolize abundance, creativity, wisdom, and renewal. Who are these strange creatures? What messages from the deep blue sea do they carry ashore? Originally, mermaids symbolized the divine aspect of human nature. Fish are an ancient symbol of abundance, creativity, wisdom, and renewal. The combination of a fish tail and a female torso and head could be interpreted as a goddess symbol, or a powerful rendering of female sexuality. It may also symbolize the astrological sign of Pisces. (I'm a mermaid myself, born on the cusp of Aquarius and Pisces. I've always been secretly fascinated by mermaids — no wonder!)

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Inner Voices of Creativity

Experience Lightness Through SoulCollage

By Anne Marie Bennett

Spend some time journaling with your own inner voices today. What is each one telling you about how you need to spend your time in the next few weeks? Can you tell which ones are speaking the truth and which ones are simply old recordings that you don't need anymore? Make a SoulCollage® card to honor one of the parts of you that love the holidays.

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