Answers to Cultivating a Daily Creative Practice

Cultivating A Daily Creative Practice

With Pat Otto

How did you figure out what your practice would be?

“Where’s My Soul” popped into my mind when we were committing to practice on the first day.  I think I got it from the intro to the class and because it occurred to me so suddenly I knew it had to be relevant. 

Did you find yourself thinking about or noticing things re your practice throughout the weeks?

Yes, I noticed more possible venues of creativity. I noticed more that things and events interact and have a strong relationship to one another. There seems to be a rhythm to it all.  I think that’s what synchronicity means.  I noticed more positive events in my life.  

·       What are your rules?  Have they evolved?  

At first I believed I had to have rules. Admittedly it was often based on what my classmates were doing.  Then I realized that the soul does not have creative rules.  This helped me to be more honest with myself as opposed to caring about other peoples’ tastes and preferences.  

·       What helped you keep doing it?

It was a lot of fun.  No academic technical boundaries or requirements was most important to me. Once I started the process it continued evolving, no stopping it and I felt I had to expand and to express it.   Sharing it with supportive and appreciative classmates helped a lot.  

·       What hindered you?  And how do you deal with it?

I was resentful of the daily necessary chores butting heads with creative play. Though I’ve always thought about making difficult things more interesting and exciting,  I started to combine work and play more often—I could even make plans for my next creative project while doing some of the chores.

·       Did you write about your creative practice, take notes, journal? 

Yes, daily. I noticed that creative moments were fleeting and photography helped with documenting that. I also realized that in documentation I could put my creative thoughts into physical form more quickly than I originally thought in order to document.   I was cavalier about documentation as something that was done for official even legal purposes and I discovered a more spiritual component of recording my creations.  Documentation became important in my own framework.  It gave my thoughts, feelings, and actions a physical grounding.  It’s a thrill to observe  my soul physically in my journal.

·       Are you documenting your progress now?  How?

I’m answering this questionnaire as part of my daily creative practice.  I see this as important in noting where I am creatively and then using this exercise as a spring board to move on.  

·       What advice would you offer others interested in a creative practice?  

Relax, enjoy. 

·       Have you noticed any changes, awarenesses, in the quality of your life since you’ve started your practice? 

There were many areas of awareness but the main level is that I value myself and my creative efforts even more. This expands to embrace the value and tof others’ creativity as well. 

·       How does your original intention for the practice compare to where you are now? 

When we began the class the term soul was something that was an abstract idea to me. To me now my soul includes the energy that makes me who I am.  I appreciate myself and other people and things (and the beauty of their souls) even more because of my search and discovery.  

·       Are you having fun yet?  Do you think you’ll continue?  

Yes, I’m having lots of fun!  I hope to continue growing creatively (maybe outside my journal) with perhaps a new topic to focus on.  I will continue my artwork in new ways and the idea of documentation is now very important to me.