It’s been quite the creative whirlwind around here!
As I updated last week, I’m deep in the process of working on Blend by Design and things are moving fast.
I spent the three-day weekend editing 91 videos and getting a 54-page worksheet packet put together — it was a lot of work, but it also moved me so much closer to launch.
This week, as I’m working on final touches to release the course on June 1, I’ve been thinking a lot about what it means to be creative in this very strange time.
Creativity has always been a comfort space for me. It’s the easiest way for me to get into a flow state, whether I’m writing, designing, or just brainstorming. And who doesn’t need a bit of distraction right now?
If you’re in need of a little creativity in your life, here are some of my favorite resources to dip into:
- Creativity by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi — I haven’t read the entire book, but this comprehensive study on creativity is definitely on my list of books to read and then probably return to again and again. Csikszentmihalyi is a great storyteller and I appreciate the work that went into this massive qualitative interview study to learn more about what creative people have in common.
- Find Your Creative Voice by Lisa Congdon — One of my favorite artists to follow on Instagram, Congdon’s story is inspiring because she came to her life as an artist in her 30s and 40s and is now a well-known and sought after creative. Her advice on finding your unique contribution as an artist is full of hard-won lessons from her own experience.
- Originals by Adam Grant — Grant’s research is fascinating, and this book on non-conformists is a great entry point to his work. I appreciate the ways that he infuses the concept of values into much of his scholarship and research and this book is no different.
- The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron — I can’t talk about creativity without mentioning this book! A key element of Cameron’s creativity philosophy is the keeping of morning pages, or daily journaling. As an avid morning pages writer (I just passed my one-year anniversary of journaling daily), this is one of my favorite books on creativity.
- The Creative Habit by Twyla Tharp — Tharp’s book on creativity is part memoir and part workbook and I love how she makes creativity so practical. Since Tharp is a dancer and choreographer, there’s also plenty of fascinating stories throughout the book that let you see into a whole different kind of creative life.
It’s felt great to flex my creative muscles again over the last several weeks and I’d love to hear what creativity is looking like for you right now.
And… if Blend by Design sounds like something you might want to know more about, I’ve created a sign-up form so that you can be contacted when the course is ready to go on June 1… join that list here!