My reading of Twyla Tharp’s “The Creative Habit” continues. I am loving this book. Tharp has an approachable writing style and loads of good exercises for stretching your creativity. It’s also fun to read about creativity from the perspective of a field that is not my own. (Do I need to mention that Twyla Tharp is a world-renowned dancer and choreographer?) As I read through the book, I am getting new ideas on ways to…
I’ve been reading Twyla Tharp’s “The Creative Habit: Learn It and Use It for Life” as part of my Year of Creative Reading. I’m not ready to report on the book as a whole because I haven’t finished it yet, but I do want to cover a topic brought up by Tharp in Chapter 3. Tharp discusses an artist’s creative DNA, which includes an artist’s preferred focal length. She says, “All of us find comfort…
Olio: a miscellaneous collection of things Here are a few online items I’ve found intriguing lately. The Power of the Long Walk from 99u – Walking is definitely one of my go-to activities for creative thought. I walk twice a day with Doggle Woggle and while helpful, they’re not really long enough for creative musing. It doesn’t help that I have to be ever watchful lest the dog see a squirrel or freak out about…
And, once again, I’ve fallen off my list of creative reading, this time with a book I had read once before: NutureShock by Po Bronson and Ashley Merryman. I’ve read a number of Po Bronson’s books and enjoyed them. He tends to focus on sociological topics, which I find interesting. The study of people stirs creative thoughts in me, which is how this book relates to my Year of Creative Reading, even though it’s not…
Anita Mills, one of my college professors, posted this marvelous New York Times article about blind contour drawing on Facebook. I remember blind contour drawing well. The exercise has students, using charcoal and large pieces of newsprint paper, draw a subject without looking at the paper. The results are always laughable, but the exercise makes students see their subjects differently and frees them from trying to draw the “perfect” picture. This is what Sam Anderson,…