Creative Process…

Corey amaro photography romance

Waiting to the last minute has been my style when it comes to getting things done. 

Several months ago Jenny Doh asked four other women and me to embark on a creative project that she had in the works. I was flattered to be asked and said yes without a moment of hesitation.

Of course, I waited until mid-June before tackling what is due in August. Waiting to the last minute meant I calculated what had to be done, how much time I thought it would need. Then when that last-minute arrived I jumped in. Which during the last fifty-four years it has worked for me. But, lately, a new twist has cramped my work method unexpected events have been tossed in, causing last minute to be last seconds, dare I say nanoseconds.

Dang unexpected pressure (!) doubled when my creative self-drew a big chunky blank. I flipped out, because this project is 100 percent creative, and my creative went on vacation without notice, nor with a forwarding address.

What do you do to get your creative juices flowing? Where do you find your Mojo? Who or What is your Muse?

Try as I may pump my juices (going to the brocante), sing to my Mojo (called my mom), and flirting with the Muse (listening to music while pinning), my motor would not start. 

Flustered and furious with myself I threw down the drafts that I was working on… and as they fluttered to the floor, one of the drafts landed on the console where an old piece of satin ribbon laid. And BINGO, just like that I felt a creative surge, the project unfolded with a vision from something so simple as a piece of paper falling gracefully on a piece of old satin ribbon. 

Isn't life's creative flow like that… one unexpected moment cracks the river stone and roars.

Is the river roaring or sleeping for you these days?



Comments

35 responses to “Creative Process…”

  1. quickly another one before I pack up laptop… 🙂
    might you just have spoken about me? still looks and feels so ‘yeah, yeah, yeah….’ to me! I have a major photo album to make by Monday; and I have Saturday and Sunday choc-à-bloc full – how on earth shall I get MY creative juices running?
    In a wonderful way things normally always seem to just get sorted a nano second before deadline but it sure takes the energy out of me – every time! I so much prefer to write to a certain Corey instead of doing what I MUST do…. :))
    Love your sentence about creating going on vacation without warning!! you’re quite priceless, my friend!
    bisous, K.

  2. Brava, serendipity is knowing how to pick up on these fortunate instances!
    I have been known to start doing housework when under pressure. Somehow this acts like stress relieve and soon creativity starts flowing. 😉

  3. Totally agree with Merisi about the power of serendipity. Creativity favors the wide-open mind with a bit of luck mixed in.

  4. Gretchen, love your definition, thank you!

  5. an afternoon at Barnes and Noble with a coffee and a stack of magazines and books sometimes works for me. so does going into my studio and just looking at my stash of supplies without any pressure to actually do something.
    But to be honest, when the mojo goes, I mostly panic and think I must have used up my last creative thought!!

  6. Sometimes I just have to plow through it and then BOOM it comes in a mighty wave (I call it the Holy Spirit). And then whoosh it’s gone.

  7. Sometimes “doing nothing”, i.e. just sitting and looking at the world, resting, and daydreaming results in a revelation. However, I think that creativity, an idea, can show up unexpectedly at any moment, serendipitously, you just have to be open to notice it.

  8. Paula S In New Mexico

    It is totally random for me. Usually just the act of getting started is all I need. Believe it or not sometimes I am held back at the notion of having to clean up the mess, wash the brushes….sick, I know.
    And then SOMETIMES I come over here and inspiration jumps off this blog and and hugs me. The posts here, everyone one of you becomes my muse.
    Gotta love it.

  9. The river has been sleeping for me, I’m afraid, but my paintbrushes are sitting here on my desk, begging to be picked up and used. It’s coming up on one year since losing dad. He’d want me creating again, and I’m feeling ready.
    Your description of throwing the papers in the air and having one of them land near a piece of satin ribbon, thereby inspiring you, brought to mind a scene from one of my favorite movies, P.S. I Love You. Holly (Hillary Swank) has no clue what direction her life should take at one point in the movie. In fact, feeling much frustration, she tossed the TV clicker at her ringing phone/answering machine, where it knocked a suspender clasp, which she had on a frame on her bureau, onto the floor. It landed atop one of her shoes, looking like a darling shoe clasp, and because of that, she was immediately inspired (just like you!) and knew what she wanted to do. She began designing and creating a line of shoes. I can’t wait to see what you have created, Corey!
    All my best,
    Donna

  10. When the request or task has been defined, I collect as much random data as I can: images from books, magazines, Pinterest, my imagination, etc. Then I let the whole thing hibernate, stew, mix and evolve. Then I must stand in alert waiting reediness till the muse arrives.
    But best of all is to remember and recollect the reassurance from this wonderful TED talk by Elizabeth Gilbert (Eat, Pray, Love): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=86x-u-tz0MA. Watch this one and be inspired and comforted all at once.
    Please show us your results. Will it be in some Stampington publication?

  11. That is exactly how creativity should happen! I love it. Great story, Corey.
    I’ve been allowing myself to have a time of “input” lately rather than creative output. I’ve been letting my mind go where it wants to and have been following threads that have led me to some great insights and inspirations (reading about Marilyn Monroe, for example). I’m sure it will all come out in some way, eventually. But for now, the input phase is great!

  12. I often wonder how creativity works. One year I wanted a Christmas wreath for our home since I didn’t see any that I liked at the stores. I went to a craft store and bought several different wreaths i.e. grapevine, bamboo etc. Then I bought tons of ribbons and birds, butterflies and all kinds of small items that I thought would be nice to incorporate. I worked on my wreath day and night until it all came together which is a beautiful work of art. Then I made several more that were different but equally beautiful. I never made wreaths before and haven’t made any since. People who see my wreaths at Christmas are in awe of their beauty since they are “special one of kind” that you won’t see in the stores. Every year when I hang them up I shake my head in wonder….how did this happen?

  13. I think Deborah nailed it for me. A trip to the book store and any Somerset magazine will inspire me. Remember the purses we all loved in Avignon? Everyone bought one except me….I bought some of her quilted fabric. I finished mine yesterday and will post on my blog this weekend. It has been 2 years since I bought that fabric. For some reason, that purse has been on my mind constantly, so I unpacked my France stuff and got busy. I love it!!!! an you of course!

  14. It’s roaring right now, and like you, it can’t be forced. It comes from corners and and unexpected moments and then flows like never before. And like you, I have things planned to the second, and if every single thing co-operates, I will finish at the exact moment I need to. That always used to work for me, but lately…. I think there’s a conspiracy…

  15. This reminds me of a quote by Maya Angelou: “You cannot use up creativity. The more you use, the more you have.” I have found this to be true over the years. And, right now, I’m not using creativity much because of my “job” and I don’t seem to have much of it going on! 🙁 Good luck with your project!

  16. I once had lists for everything, but now I fly by the seat of my pants. My muse is chocolate, not very romantic but all too true. Good luck Corey, hope your juices start to flow.

  17. You seem to have a Jack La Lane superpowered juicer where your creative muse lives cause if you ask me I would tell you that everything you do is just beyond all shadow of adoubt glorious and amazing.. My jewelry making comes from having the goods laying around me but gosh it does not come easy to me nor is it gentle… I struggle and my frustration level is in the stratoshere… But I plug on…
    Congrats to your upcoming project… I have no doubt that it will be extraordinary.

  18. Oh Corey, don’t you love it when your muse finally returns?? Looking at other artist’s work always inspires me…and of course, going through my studio and finding supplies that I’d totally forgotten about can bring back memories of the hunt and the original ideas that I had for them! I can’t wait to see what you creative girls are collaborating on because I know it’s going to be WONDERFUL! hugs and love, Dawn

  19. I have found that in a time crunch I feel I create my best. I don’t know why but it’s just true for me. Give me a clean work table to create on, nada, nothing. Give me a small 4×4 inch work area, I’m creating like mad.
    Go figure…right now I’m getting ready for the Where Bloggers Create Party and I’m zipping along.

  20. Rebecca from the pacific northwest

    1. I hate it when deadlines press in and no inspiration is there.
    2. Glad you got yours.
    3. Inspiration sneaks up on me. Don’t know how.
    4. Thanks a lot Corey. I’ve resisted pinterest all this time and just looked at all your utterly beautiful pinned items. Oh my. Another way to waste time. (I bookmarked your page; I’ll just go bask in your finds from time to time. Love the French fashions section.)

  21. Rebecca from the pacific northwest

    If my muse were chocolate, I’d have a lot more to show, considering all the lovely dark chocolate that I enjoy.

  22. Rebecca from the pacific northwest

    I’ve found that in my times of grief and loss, so much of my energy goes to that and I have no energy left over; then eventually my creativity peeks out again and says, “I’d like to do something again please.”
    Your paint brushes will woo you to use them at the right time, Donna. Blessings on you in this journey.

  23. Rebecca from the pacific northwest

    I’ve gotten so spoiled to facebook’s like button. I wanted to click “like” on so many of the comments here!

  24. Annie v.

    happens all the time, and I usually dont wait to the last minute, I do portraits and all of sudden something will take hold and everything freezes, called the dreaded “why am I doing this, I really cant do this” how to get out of it? not easy> creativity is a very fickle companion
    Annie v.

  25. Pressure, a deadline, helps. My studio is a mess, with several projects in the works right now. Art sale next saturday, yikes! I spend a lot of time thinking before I dive into the deep end.

  26. Right now I am weary from traveling so much. When I need my creative juices to flow I have a note book of pictures I have torn out of magazines and I sit quietly and look at these beautiful, quiet pictures. It does seem to help. Then I get out supplies and play awhile and finally creativity knocks on my door. The trouble it then I get so rev’d up I can’t sleep. Good luck with the project and I can’t wait to hear more about it or see it.

  27. Right now I am weary from traveling so much. When I need my creative juices to flow I have a note book of pictures I have torn out of magazines and I sit quietly and look at these beautiful, quiet pictures. It does seem to help. Then I get out supplies and play awhile and finally creativity knocks on my door. The trouble it then I get so rev’d up I can’t sleep. Good luck with the project and I can’t wait to hear more about it or see it.

  28. Oops! Didn’t mean to post twice.

  29. There is so much going on in the garden, that I’m roaring at the moment. If the hot and dry weather keeps going though, my blogging may come to a grinding halt! Glad your mojo is back Corey. Thanks for inspiring me. xxoo Nancy

  30. Hi Annie,
    ‘A very fickle companion” like that!
    C

  31. Hi RPNW
    I agree! Oh if I could add that button I would!
    C

  32. To quote Maya Angelou: “You cannot use up creativity. The more you use, the more you have.” That is the way it is for me + anything can spur me on, for instance, this blog. Thank you God for letting me work in such a creative profession. Have a wonderful weekend. xxpeggybraswelldesign.com

  33. Creative process? Well, in writing, there’s a technique called “pre-writing,” in which one just starts randomly jotting down ideas (OK, OK, so nowadays it’s more likely typing them onto the computer screen!), sentence fragments, turns of phrases that strike one’s fancy — a bit like brainstorming, without initially judging any of the ideas as wrong, and where quantity is what matters most.
    After a while the writer starts cutting/pasting — yes, I really used to do this with scissors and tape back in the pre-wordprocessor era! — and organizing the best ideas into sections of increasing coherency, while leaving the as-yet-unused bits at the bottom of the page(s) in case of later need. More rearranging ensues, then writing finally the “connective tissue” that turns the work into a logical unit, and finally deleting those unused bits lingering at the bottom.
    BTW, I highly recommend napping during the process, or even letting it percolate overnight, because the sybconscious is still chugging away even when the body’s asleep (I learned this from my cats!).
    Something similar works for translating — basically “cherry-picking” the easiest words, phrases and sentences on a page. The bad news is that, unlike writing an original work, I can’t omit something the author wrote just on whim, because translating is always a collaboration, never an individual project (LOL!).
    Something analogous might apply to this latest project of yours, Corey — and in any case, don’t forget the naps!

  34. sUbconscious — guess I forgot to mention the proofreading phase ;-)))

  35. cynthia

    Grief and Loss are the names of 2 of my muses. Even though it may be focused on less than happy circumstances or events, whenever I experience these emotions my poetry takes off. It is very therapeutic at least.
    Perhaps I should name a few more muses and see if they show up :).

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *