Creativity Practice x6
"Practice any art, music, singing, dancing, acting, drawing, painting, sculpting, poetry, fiction, essays, reportage, no matter how well or badly, not to get money and fame, but to experience becoming, to find out what's inside you, to make your soul grow." - Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.
Join us in a sandbox, to deepen and grow confidence in your own creative oomph.
Habits of self-editing, and the weight of high expectations. The voice of our inner critic. Self-doubt, and the unrelenting to-do list. All these can stop the flow of our voice and gifts. Let’s practice getting out from under all that stuff. Let’s remember creative play.
This group was sparked in conversation with a long lost friend, who asked me for help with creativity. We decided we’d like to try getting together every other week, and that we’d like others to join.
It will work like this…
Pre-session inspirations and provocations
Before each session I’ll offer a bit of audio, video, and/or reading. I’ll choose things that inspire, provoke, challenge, or invite a different way of seeing. I have a big collection of stuff from designers, artists, poets, filmmakers, teachers, clowns,…. Some are practical. Some are soulful. Most are both.
Zoom sessions: Learning and trying things together
When we get together, we’ll do three things.
We’ll talk about what we saw and heard in the pre-session provocation. It’s good to chew on this stuff together.
We’ll do stuff. Sometimes together, sometimes by ourselves. We’ll make things, try different ways of seeing, and stretch in a lot of different ways and directions. Based on past experience with this kind of thing, you’re going to surprise yourself.
We’ll encourage and coach each other. Every two weeks we’ll have a new practice—see the next paragraph. When we get together, we’ll take time to compare notes. How did it go? Have any show-and-tell? What was difficult? What was surprising? This kind of mutual learning-by-doing can be gold.
Try different practices, develop new habits
Each week I’ll invite you to spend a little time in practice. We’ll practice seeing and making in different ways. We’ll try different media, we’ll try some different props and tools. The time commitment is up to you. Some practices might take 15 minutes a day, while others may ask for an hour during the week.
I’ve gathered a collection of these practices through years of teaching, facilitation, and general passion for creative development. None of them are difficult. Each of them invites a different stretch a little beyond your routine. A little outside your comfort.
Start in January, six sessions, every two weeks
Sessions will start the week of January 8, 2024. We’re thinking to meet every other Friday afternoon, but will poll the group to find a workable time for all.
We’ll establish the time before you are invoiced, so we make sure you’re only charged if the time works for you. If you are unable to meet for 90 minutes sometime during a weekday, this schedule will not work for you.
Cost
For Winter 2024 I used a tiered pricing approach, invited people to pay according to their ability. That made it possible to grant a “scholarship” to one participant. I’ll do the same for Summer 2024, but the program may be adjusted, and so then the prices. So I’m not showing numbers here until I work them out for the Summer.
Your host: Marc Rettig
Marc has practiced and taught design since the mid-1990’s, at the IIT Institute of Design in Chicago, Carnegie Mellon University, and now at the School of Visual Arts.
In 2008 he became fascinated with questions of creativity—groups creating together, restoring play to people and teams, and deepening or “ensouling” creative work in organizations.
Along the way Marc has fooled around with photography, fiction, poetry, model making, games, video, doodles, and other whimsical modes of expression.
You can learn more about Marc on his personal site: marcrettig.me.
