Creative Solutions and Inspirations from the Modern Day Muses

Exposure Realms

By Jill Badonsky, M.Ed.

Part 1 | Part Two

Last month I was sharing with you an interview I had with the anonymous (due to publicity red-tape) Mr. T. Mr. T. is a creative maverick and section head of a creative production department at a renown medical institution. Making distinctive idea generation a priority has made his projects award-winning, unique, and memorable. He employs motivates his employees to think brilliantly by employing a variety of spontaneously original techniques in meetings and in team building.

When I asked Mr. T about creative blocks, his perspective came with a surprisingly spiritual twist and from an aerial view:

“I refuse to accept responsibility for my own creative blocks on any endeavor. It's the old chicken/egg theory as applied to creativity: Who is more creative? — The creator of the work, or the person creatively embracing that work?

Sounds dubious, huh? Look at it from the 50,000 foot view. Who is the ultimate creationist? Putting religious conviction aside, for the sake of argument, I present the answer would be God. Wow, what a piece of art he created: the magnificence of our planet, the beauty and mechanical majesty of the human form, the ever-changing splendor of each day's new cloud formations. And all of this incredible art goes down to the microscopic level, a beauty that was never meant to behold with the naked eye.

Did God map out every line of beauty? Was it all a happenstance that fell into place? Or did God grant us each the gift of enjoying and embracing all that is so wondrous... the creative energy within us all to intake and interpret our appreciation for what is so creative in itself? If so, what a gift we all have... and is it exploitive for all of us who create to leverage?

OK... let's take it down a notch. Perhaps you're familiar with the television series "Lost". It's a true "water cooler" show that has created its own mythology and actually challenged the creativity of its own audience. The producers give you a little bit... then it's your turn to take off with it. The show's fans develop each episode through water cooler chats and Internet blogs. Their theories have become more creative than the show itself. If the plot were more concrete and straightforward this opportunity for creative speculation would not be available.

The simple lesson is, respect the creativity within your audience. Leverage it. Put some of the pressure on them. A creative block allows us the opportunity to turn our perspective around, to challenge our audience. I love the red herring approach to creativity... the deliberate use of ambiguity. Most every production on which I work, I insert something that is never meant to have a specific interpretation. My gift to the audience is the gift of wonder, the gift of using their own creativity to interpret as they see fit, and finally the gift of that achievement.

How do I overcome a creative block? I mess with the audience in my own world of gleeful mischief. As close to God as I'll ever be.”

What does this mean for you? Dare to play with these questions:

1. Imagine having an audience if you don’t have one yet or even if you don’t want one.
   
   
2. Make a list of the following: Who would be your audience? What characteristics would they have? What would they like about your work? What else would they like to see?
   
   
3. How could you “mess” with them? How could you provide them with something that was ambiguous so required interpretation?
   
   
4. Take 15 minutes to write or draw something that has an ambiguous interpretation.
   
   
5. Sometimes a creative block makes the next step to take ambiguous — interpret the next step in a number of ways.
   
   
6. Watch Lost (the first season is on DVD).
   
   
7. Get lost in your process and find your way back.
   
   
8. Read this column next month.

Copyright © Jill Badonsky, 2006. All rights reserved.

About the Author | More by Jill Badonsky
Jill Badonsky, M.Ed. is a nationally recognized workshop leader, artist, performer, humorist, and author of the book, The Nine Modern Day Muses (and a Bodyguard): 10 Guides to Creative Inspiration for Artists, Poets, Lovers and Other Mortals Wanting to Live a Dazzling Existence. She teaches creativity lovers to facilitate classes and workshops based on her book and along with UCLA psychologist, Robert Maurer, she trains people to be Kaizen-Muse Creativity Coaches. She can be found lurking at www.themuseisin.com.

07/13/06