Great article about one of the storyboard artists for the new “Where the Wild Things Are” movie. He is also an art instructor at BYU. My key takeaway: Inviting criticism of your work by people whose vision you trust almost always leads to better work.
Archive for the ‘Fear’ Category
Phineas & Ferb & Positation
09
Oct
The answer is Friday. As posted earlier this week, sometimes creativity is simply the process of looking at familiar things in new ways. Hence Mr. Phineas and Mr. Ferb. These two are all about making uber-cool stuff, seemingly out of nowhere. Sure, it’s just a cartoon. But for me, the real life takeaway is the fact that it’s all about the fun, and self-editing just takes away from your creative energy. Even more better (yes, I know that sounds wrong – but it’s Friday, remember?) they are all about positation. That’s a real word. I know ’cause I learned it in college – Bill Ball was a theater instructor in SF for many years, and positation was his way of saying “yes!” to every idea, without all the self-editing we use on ourselves. Here’s what a couple of his students had to say:
“Bill had this word, ‘positation.’ He would say, ‘Never say no.’ Of course, this was good for him because he didn’t like people saying no to him. But it was also a wonderful way to work on a play, to be open to any suggestion. Then, through doing what you might not want to do, wouldn’t have thought to do, you have another thought, and his mind would feed on whatever idea you’d come up with, and you’d end up exactly where you really wanted to be. It’s sort of a lesson for life, too, though of course there are times one should say no.” — Kitty Winn
“The point is that if you entertain everybody’s idea, eventually you get to the right one. But unless you say yes all along the way, you might not get to that great idea. … Bill had some genius in him. He was a very nutty person. He was a man who did not play by the rules. … But he had a power to lead and he was willing to stand in front of everybody and, if he had to make a fool of himself, he’d make a fool of himself in order to get done what he wanted to do.” — Annette Bening, former ACT student and company member
So next time you find yourself self-editing, think of Phineas and Ferb and instead say “yes!” and keep working on that backyard roller coaster. BTW, the platypus’s name is Perry.
My 4 C’s
09
Sep
I thought it would be a perfect first contribution to this, my first “Be Mused” blog if I shared my four basic C’s of creating. Number one is to Conceptualize. The basis of creation is to have a concept on which to build. No concept- no creation. Most of our concepts are built on others’ concepts. We stand on the shoulders of other creators taking what they’ve learned and fashioning it into something different, sometimes better. So in reality all creation occurs as the result of a previous creator. Number two is Courage. This for me is key in starting a project, particularly a new one. Getting past self-doubt long enough to press forward and see an idea come to fruition requires an “eye of faith,” if you will. Before the physical there is a spiritual, or an internal creation which I have to believe-in long enough to make my idea into something real. When a project is in its infancy I repeatedly refer to that image in my mind’s eye in order to move forward. This, in and of itself serves many purposes. It took six days to create the earth and only then was it a paradise. Thirdly, I would suggest Collaboration. This goes hand-in-hand with conceptualizing but is something more. The encouragement, experience and different viewpoint of others (whether experienced or not) are an invaluable part of the process for me. Fourth and finally, there has to Celebration. I feel that without a celebration it is much more difficult to begin the process again. These celebrations can be small and internal, but make sure you have one. Being able to celebrate a creation even when it turns out “other than planned” opens our minds to mistakes and better ways of getting things done. We understood this well as children and were much less easily frustrated as a result. Children celebrate everything and I believe this is why they are so creative, because they are free to be that way by their own virtue.
I recently completed my first sewing project. I haven’t sewn since Junior High School. There is another blog for another day in that story. I decided that I was no longer afraid of sewing (Courage). I chose a project that was meaningful, and would be a joy when finished. I decided to make a dress for Ellie. (Conceptualize). I sought out the advice of a seamstress/friend to purchase fabric. I sat next to two ultra-talented seamstresses during its completion both my sister Jennifer and my good friend Carolynn. They led me almost effortlessly through the process with their calm wisdom and experience. (Collaboration) And when I was finished, despite whatever flaws or mistakes had been made I felt joy and accomplishment ( Celebration) I am likely to do this again soon!! Incidentally, I took Ellie in her new dress for a photo shoot which is yet another case of collaboration and conceptualization due in large part to my sister Amy’s inspiration on the matter of photography. I conceptualized her new haircut two weeks ago and collaborated with my neighbor who is an excellent beautician and yesterday it was created. I hope you will all celebrate with me! 
making time to make stuff
20
Aug
All sorts of challenges are inherent in the process of creativity. Even the word itself hints at a struggle or exertion of effort. I find that for me at least, one of the biggest challenges in my creative work is in making time to do something. So the first question as we begin our long journey is this: What do you do to make time for creativity? Feel free to share in the comment section or to do your own post on the topic. If you are an invited author, just use the link you received in your email and log in with the user name and password you were sent. You’ll see an admin page that includes a link on the left side called “Post.” Click on that and you’ll see a window open to blog in. Let me know if you have questions. FYI, I’ve turned off the approval requirement for posting comments, which means you’ll see what you wrote as soon as you comment. And thanks for sharing in the journey…
