breakTHROUGHArts
a free newsletter for visual artists

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May 2005 Contents
I. In and Out of the Comfort Zone
II. Energy Management: Translations from the Psych Research Lab, the Board Room, and the Shrink’s Couch
III. Friends in Print: When you feel like reading
IV. Creative Links
V. Newsletter and Info: Share this newsletter, subscribe, or unsubscribe

I. In and Out of the Comfort Zone
A friend of mine recently showed a group of us her latest work and said somewhat apologetically, “It’s back in my comfort zone.” I appreciated her honesty, and then admired even more that she clearly knew when she was in her comfort zone and when not. It’s not always that clear for me.

When I thought about it, I recognized that some of my confusion is because I have two ways of moving out of my comfort zone – intentionally and without intention.

Intentionally out-of-the-comfort-zone pieces are where I hitch up my belt and go for it on purpose. Times when I try to integrate several things into one piece that I’ve never combined before.  Or when I look at the last four pieces and see that they line up like an arrow to the next one but I’ve never actually taken that extra step.

The unintentional times are when I’m not under any immediate time pressure. Maybe cleaning up the studio after a push. Simple, almost childlike, experiments that lead to freshness. At such times I can pretty easily keep any inner critics at bay, those voices reminding me of an overall plan: ”You said you’d never use beads again,” as I’m happily, spontaneously beading.

“So often, the risk that leads to revelation and then courage is, at first, a very quiet threshold that we must dare to cross, through which life waits like a secret hidden in the open.” ~Mark Nepo. The Exquisite Risk. 2004.

When I head out from my comfort zone on purpose, I often know enough to get some support for taking risks. It may be the inner support of developing visual clarity of how a piece can be. Or I may need support from beyond myself – from trusted artist friends. Do I have that support group already? Is it time to venture out and connect or reconnect to help me take those risks?

When I spontaneously go beyond my comfort zone, there is no time to seek support. Then it helps me to have been nurturing spontaneity and risk-taking in general. This kind of support can be from books (see below), from newsletters (yes, I subscribe too), or from a coach to help you to the next level even when that level is still unexplored.

Making art is incredible. It asks nothing less of you than all your courage. And all your wisdom to prepare the way, the studio, your support groups, and yourself when you venture out of your comfort zone so that you are up to the challenge of creating what-you-don’t-yet know.
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II. Energy Management: Translations from the Psych Research Lab, the Board Room and the Shrink’s Couch  
Servan-Schreiber, David. The Instinct to Heal: Curing stress, anxiety, and depression without drugs and without talk therapy. (Chapters 3 & 4)
While risk-taking has its creative advantages, improving your ability to be smack-dab in the middle of your comfort zone is also useful. The HeartMath Institute, described by Servan-Schreiber, guides us to manage our heartrate variation so that it has a coherent rather than a chaotic pattern. Research cites many benefits that seem like a kind of energized comfort zone: the brain works faster and more accurately, ideas flow more naturally, verbal expression comes more easily, adapting to surprises is smoother.

There are software programs to learn this skill but you can also learn it from tapes and books. (www.heartmath.com)  In addition to some

breathing guidance, the main instruction is to focus attention on the heart and on a pleasant or happy memory. This is different from techniques to clear the mind, or even many relaxation techniques where calmness is the goal. Here, you can be in “coherence” even when alert and attentive; your heart may be fast or slow since it is the variability, not the overall rate, that shifts as you focus on that pleasant experience.

Applications of this approach are available for everything from test-taking and health problems to business leadership and golf enhancement; as yet, no one has studied the effects on creativity itself. I’ll bet that visual artists, especially those who have experience in relaxation, meditation, or breathing techniques, are likely to be quick studies at learning the skill and applying it to different aspects of their creative work. Let me know if you try it out.
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 III. Friends in Print: When you feel like reading

Weihs, Karen M. Out of My Mind: The art of creativity. 1999. Painter Weihs has pulled together good stories and examples of how she has learned to keep her creativity going. Drawing on her background in calligraphy and painting, she writes of her personal experiences and provides lists of tools to help, including how to create and face new challenges. (www.weihs.com)

Nepo, Mark. The Exquisite Risk: Daring to Live an Authentic Life. 2004.

“If we remember that we need to court, woo, and romance our creative selves, we begin to have a notion of what sort of risk best serves us.” ~ Julia Cameron. Walking in the World. 2002

The author’s skills as a poet enrich his meditations about the connection between taking risks and being fully alive. Like fine dark chocolate, this book is almost too rich to sit down and read through, but it is wonderful for dipping into as a source of daily inspiration. His poetic language is matched by his insights on how to get to that place of awareness from which good art comes.
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IV. Creative Links.

See comments on these links above.

www.heartmath.com; www.weihs.com

V.  Newsletter Info
E-mail changes. To change your e-mail address, subscribe, or unsubscribe please e-mail connect@dianereardon.com. If you use a spam filter, please add this e-mail address to your list of approved senders. This material is included on the breakTHROUGH Creativity Coaching website (www.dianereardon.com). All material is copyrighted ©, 24 April 2005, Diane Reardon. All rights reserved. Visit the website for back issues and details on scheduling a complimentary one-hour coaching session.
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