June 2003 Contents
I. Feature Article: Mapping your workspaces
II. Friends in Print: When you feel like reading
III. Energy Management:  Translations from the Psych Research Lab, the Board Room, and the Shrink’s Couch
IV. Creative Links: Sites for visual artists
V. Newsletter Info: Sharing this newsletter, subscribing, and unsubscribing

I. Feature Article: Mapping your workspaces
Knowing your best combination of workspaces can help balance creative work with the rest of your life. Judy Chicago wrote of being startled that the stitchers of the “Dinner Party” worked in their living rooms with kids all around. An oil painter might sketch on napkins at the dinner table. I know weavers who do not even think of their work until they are in the room with their loom. I, however, have been known to jot down ideas from a movie into my checkbook, in the dark.

By workspaces I mean the space/time landscape that covers all the times and places where the stuff gets inspired, researched, designed, and made. If you are happy as a multi-tasker and your medium allows it, you may be interlacing many parts of the creative process into your ongoing life. Even then, there are parts of the work that go better in a special space (counter, desk, studio) at a special time.

You can map your workspaces by drawing circles for the various physical places you work and labeling them with location, times, and tasks. Play with the layout to reflect how your work moves, or could move. When I’ve done this, I usually can see ways to improve things, including having duplicate tools where and when they’re needed. In addition to any changes you come up with, consider if any of the following would make your workflow better:
          ____Better habits of carrying a journal to catch ideas
          ____Making your main work space more separate
          ____Clarifying what parts of your work need solitude and which are portable and more tolerant of distractions
          ____New routines (rituals) to begin or each work session (special music, clothes, teas, etc.)
          ____Making your main work space more accessible, less isolated
You may want to print out this page for a checklist reminder of changes you’re considering.
(Return to Top)

II. Friends in Print: When you feel like reading

The Breakout Principle. Herbert Benson, M. D. & William Proctor. Scribner, 2003. Benson builds on his previous work (The Relaxation Response), with ideas of how changing one’s focus can set the stage for creative solutions and peak experiences. He proposes that periods of calm following intense periods of struggle do this. Six suggested triggers of the calm state include: a repetitive physical or mental activity that breaks prior thought patterns, immersion in one’s personal belief system, total abandon, an absorbing personal encounter, altruistic activity, focus on a dominant sensory impression. (I can’t resist adding that , for me, being coached has often been that “absorbing personal encounter”.)  His emphasis on creative and original solutions speaks to any artist who has been stuck in their work.

Fruitflesh: Seeds of Inspiration for Women Who Write. Gayle Brandeis. HarperCollins, 2002.This collection of lovely meditations on various fruits is not just for women and not just for writers. Brandeis nicely connects our bodies’ food responses to our creative process. It’s a book to keep around and look forward to, like a tasty snack waiting in the fridge. A brief taste: “The pear is a sensitive fruit. Its peel is easily bruised, easily broken through. Its core is a delicate spine of filaments. The pear is no weakling, though. Its strength lies in its vulnerability. It know who it is and isn’t afraid to acknowledge its own frailties or its own sweet power.”
(Return to Top)

III. Energy Management: Translations from the Psych Research Lab, the Board Room and the Shrink’s Couch
Steps in the Creativity Dance. Following up on Benson’s ideas in his book recommended above, there’s a new way to think about different steps of creativity.

In its simplest form the traditional theory of creativity has five stages:
1. Struggle with all the choices. 2. Let it alone. 3. Aha- new idea. 4.Test it out. 5. Make the piece. (More formal terms are: preparation, incubation, insight, evaluation, elaboration.)

Most artists claim that, although they recognize these five elements, the order is very varied. The process often circles back on itself in unpredictable ways, going back to redefine earlier choices, moving forward into producing, and then having more new ideas.

What Benson is saying in his breakout principle is that the new, creative idea is more likely to occur if you totally change prior thought patterns after a period of struggle. Most simply put, After intense focus, take a break! Following any period of frustration, whether at the beginning stage of making choices, during the testing it out, or in the making of it, stop the struggle, and go take a break that puts your mind totally onto other things. Next time you’re stuck, experiment with shifting gears in a way that breaks your thought pattern, if only for a few minutes. Any feedback on your results is welcome.
(Return to Top)

IV. Creative Links
www.folkstory.com In working to balance creative work with other parts of life, many have found support from the work of Joseph Campbell. He extended Carl Jung’s idea that life is like a hero’s journey as depicted in folklore, fairy stories, and myth. This site is a great gathering of resources for those who want to explore ways of seeing one’s creative life as a whole and as a narrative tale.

www.nmwa.org is the website of the National Museum of Women in the Arts. Beyond viewing their collections and exhibits, you can access a library and research center for background on hard-to-find women artists.
(Return to Top)

V. Newsletter Info
Share breakTHROUGHArts with a friend.
If you are an e-mail subscriber, click Forward on your e-mail program's menu bar.
E-mail changes. To change your e-mail address, subscribe, or unsubscribe please e-mail breakthrougharts@dianereardon.com.
This material is included on the breakTHROUGH Creativity Coaching website (www.dianereardon.com).  Visit the website for back issues and details on scheduling a complimentary one-hour coaching session.

(Return to Top)This material is included in the website breakTHROUGH Creativity Coaching (www.dianereardon.com). All material is copyrighted ©, May 1, 2003, Diane Reardon. All rights reserved.