Summer Creativity Challenge #5: The Backyard

The backyard, both figuratively and literally, is an area that we consider part of our “turf,” or neighborhood, which makes it optimal territory for creative exploration.  While a backyard can be a little slice of nature on your own property, it can also be the area on the other side of the block where your favorite pizza shop is.  In this week’s Summer Creativity Challenge, we will explore our figurative and literal backyards for a wealth of creative riches.

A few months ago, in an exercise to introduce a little more play into my world, I made a mind map of all of the things that I loved to do as a child.  As the mind map unfolded, more and more of the activities recalled beckoned me outside to the backyard of my childhood in Connecticut.

Even then, as I know now in retrospect, I sensed that it was a wonderful backyard.  It was long and deep, its depth allowing for a sense of independence and adventure.  From out the backdoor, I would escape the house heading past the picnic table and the lilacs; past the detached garage with its flat roof from which we would stand and pick cherries from the branches of the old cherry tree; past the potting shed on which my mom had stenciled three white sheep with black faces on the grey wood above the square windows.  Here the yard narrowed, sloping down to a rusty wire fence thick with the tangled vines of concord grapes.  There was a tire swing in the cherry tree and when you swung out over the slope, the ground would drop away and you’d feel like you were flying.  A gate in the fence led to a narrow back road lined with bungalows, their backyards a common area that paralleled our property, which was not out of bounds for exploring (the large rock rising out of the ground in the far corner, making it especially attractive.)

The yard widened out again after the potting shed to an area bordered by a stone wall on one side and the trees and fence on the other.  Here my parents had planted a large vegetable garden, and raspberry and blueberry bushes.  There was also a big curved flower garden that in the summer was vivid with the orange blooms of Tiger Lilies.  After this garden was the apple tree, with its low and crooked branches, perfect for climbing, and an old chicken coop that my dad had renovated into a playhouse for me, complete with a large tree stump and two smaller cuts from the same tree to make a table and chairs. 

The far back of the yard ran up to the train tracks and was shadowed with a thick growth of tall trees.  One Memorial Day, after the town parade when our extended family and friends came back to the house for brunch, the kids gathered outside.  The game we were playing took us deep into the area near the tracks.  A train approached and we paused to watch, but rather than the usual commuter trains heading into New York, this train was different.  The cars of the train were painted with bold and curling letters, images of tigers and lions, horses and acrobats, and the smiling faces of clowns.  It was a circus train and, as one, all of us began screaming and waving, running up to the breaks in the trees to see the train better.  By the last few cars, the members of the circus had seen us and they stood at the windows and on the spaces between the cars waving back at us, a group of kids just playing in the backyard.

All of this is inspiration for the fifth Summer Creativity Challenge: The Backyard.  My backyards have changed over the years, from the big backyard in Connecticut, to a patio and pool in Florida, and also to being able to say “Fenway Park is in my backyard” during my time in the Fenway area of Boston.  It is interesting to remember the backyards that you’ve experienced during your life and to also ask, “what’s in my backyard?” now.  This challenge can be interpreted in many ways, from taking a simple hour to explore the microcosms that is the little piece of land behind your house, or walking out the door and around your neighborhood to see what buildings, shops and restaurants make up your figurative backyard.    

With this as your touchpoint, plan an artist date, take a walk, write or paint with the inspiration of exploring and remembering your backyard.  Record impressions, inspirations, ideas, and memories in your sketchbook and share here on The Paper Compass. 

    

Summer Creativity Challenge #2: The Hunt & The Perfect Find

A box of Victorian monogram stencils at Brimfield

Inside the tent it is dim and still.  The canvas walls are hung with shallow shadow boxes in tight and tidy rows.  Inside each is a small storm of objects from arrow heads to lady’s pistols to campaign buttons with hairstyles that date the people in them to my great-great-grandparent’s era.  In a corner there is a tall shelf which is the current home of a handmade Eskimo doll who leans languidly against a bottle of Frigid Fluid Co.’s branded embalming fluid circa 1900.  The bottle is still full.

Across the tent, a man standing behind a table marks him as the booth’s owner.  He looks like he simultaneously stepped off his Harley and stepped away from conferring with J.E.B. Stuart over the Confederate’s next move in order to talk to customers.  He has recognized a previous patron, decked out in a stylish straw hat with a brim which would make the British proud.  He is telling her of his latest finds, the point of his salt-and-pepper beard moving up and down over his solar plexus as he speaks.  He has a voice full of gravel and as flavored with the West as his framed memorabilia.  Concluding business with the wide-brimmed hat, he wishes her the felicitous salutation of the day, “Happy hunting.”

The main street of the town of Brimfield during the show

I am at Brimfield, one of the largest antique shows in the country.  And I am hunting too.  Happily.  So is my boyfriend and our friend Cassy, who has taught us the ropes, being a long-time Brimfield veteran.  Tents filled with everything from fine antiques to collectibles and hidden treasures stretch the length of several (approximately ten) football fields.  Some booths are cluttered with odds and ends--old photos, books, random pieces of china, vintage toys--and as you explore your hands come away dusty.  Others are as pristine as a china shop, with linen covered tables displaying polished silver serving pieces, claw-footed curio cabinets, and full sets of Depression Era glass all vying for new owners while their prices break the hearts of many admirers.  If shopping is now a form of entertainment, then Brimfield is the Comi-Con of antique shows. 

A Brimfield booth filled with industrial items and index card cabinets

Brimfield is a feast for the eyes and a playground for the memory and imagination.  When I browse—stepping from tent to tent, my eyes adjusting from sunlight to shadow; hot, still air to warm, fan-blown breezes, to browse the wares—I enter a state of flow, quickly loosing track of time (and also often of my companions.)  The three of us have what we call in Creative Problem Solving “fuzzy goals” which means that we have an idea (and ideal) of what we are looking for, but are willing to be lead in new directions.  


At Brimfield, we return to an early form of shopping where exploration, perseverance, and even negotiating evoke the thrill of The Hunt.  It is a place where The Perfect Find—a combination of serendipity, memory/imagination, desire, and price—often feels like it finds you. What I like most about Brimfield and the variety of vendors and items is that The Perfect Find is often not a wallet-breaker, but something that speaks to you in that moment.  One of the items that Cassy scored yesterday was a team image of the 1982 Celtics that reminded her of the ones that use to hang on her family’s refrigerator door when she was younger.  It was a steal at $1.

A Brimfield booth specializing in film and photography

More than antiquing, this is a post about the places that we go to “hunt”—to shop, to browse, and to acquire.  We all have them.  For some, it is the local music store where you browse records and CDs.  For others it is the bookstore, where you disappear for hours, cappuccino in hand.  It is also the gift shop, the home décor store, or that sale rack in the back of the department store that you know just when to visit.  

These places are about more than just shopping, they contain several aspects that create the perfect frame of mind for creativity and embody the Creative Problem Solving Process:

·         You go on a whim or because you have a hunch

·         You are excited and open minded in your approach to the task

·         You have a “fuzzy goal” in mind, which leaves you room to explore alternative solutions  

·         You have to observe and try out all the options in the environment

·         You evaluate the items that have stood out

·         You make a decision and take action (purchase or not purchase)                       

We have these stores, shops or events like Brimfield in our lives because we need environments that we can explore in and mingle with others that share our passions.  Most importantly being on The Hunt consciously (or unconsciously) for The Perfect Find is about being open to unexpected solutions and serendipity (and a touch of happenstance, which I wrote about last week).

All of this is inspiration for the second Summer Creativity Challenge: The Hunt & The Perfect Find.  This week, plan an artist date (or at least an hour) to browse one of your favorite stores or shops.  This is a great time to revisit an old favorite shopping haunt or head into a store that is new to you.  Most importantly, there is no pressure or need to purchase anything for this challenge.  Browsing is a great way to enter a state of flow, which is refreshing for the creative process.  If you have something in mind that you do need to make a purchase for, this is a great time to be aware of the Creative Problem Solving steps and explore how being in an environment where you are comfortable exploring options (divergent thinking) makes you feel, verses an environment where you are focused on getting to a single solution (convergent thinking).  In this challenge, take the time to be aware of how the environment engages your senses. If you don’t have a current haunt in which to Hunt for The Perfect Find, you can use this challenge to remember a favorite place or find a new one.

     

With this as your touchpoint for this interpretive challenge, record your impressions, memories, explorations, or even the merchandise that you found most interesting in your sketchbook or notebook.  Please also share your thoughts, experiences and ideas here on The Paper Compass. 

     

Creepy Brimfield Baby Doll

Where else can you find a vintage polygraph machine?

Even the dummies at Brimfield are having a good time

Brimfield railroad glass pieces

All this exploring with the scent of fresh made donuts in the air

The Creative Thinking Tool Kit, Tool #1: The Getaway - Traveling & the Importance of “Filling the Well”

This post is the first in a series on, what I call, The Creative Thinking Tool Kit.  The tools themselves are a series of essentially low-key activities that, when practiced routinely, can have a big impact on creativity.  Their purpose is to both cultivate a habit of nurturing creativity and to bring our attention to the present with a sense of curiosity. Individually, they can spark ideas, but used in sync they become a natural spring for creative thinking.  I have listed ideas for applying or practicing with the tool at the end of the post.

In her book The Artist’s Way, on recovering personal creativity, author Julia Cameron calls the exercises and experiences that restore or create new memories, “filling the well.”  Having just returned from vacation time spent visiting with my family as well as some places both fantastical and hauntingly familiar, these phrases were on my mind. 

Traveling, or even a new experience, is one of the most powerful tools for creativity.  Traveling is like a feast within the desert of routine that many of us hold ourselves to in order to “Get Things Done” (a phrase I find myself using with troubling frequency.) While vacation time or traveling may not be frequent, it has a huge impact because it allows us to do two things: break for an extended period of time the current pattern of our everyday living; and take in many new experiences to call upon later. 

Traveling, in the sense of a trip, vacation or journey, takes us out of our routine and causes us to look and interact with awareness.  Time feels different on vacations, usually because many of our mile-markers of habit are removed, such as watching TV or listening to a radio program at a certain time.  More importantly, time feels different because we are focused on the present and the experience unfolding in front of us.  As Cameron writes in The Artist's Way, “Our focused attention is critical to filling the well.  We need to encounter our life experiences, not ignore them.”    

This kind of awareness is something that comes naturally to children, but is something that as adults we must cultivate, because we’ve picked up habits and adopted preconceptions over time that, on a reptilian-brain-level, have helped us survive but have also made the world a much less surprising place where adventures are usually a monstrous inconvenience.  Traveling takes us out of that mindset, especially if we set out open to, or in search of, new experiences, and causes us to see things from a fresh perspective.  This is where “filling the well” comes in.

In the space of the last six days, I went from an existence comprised of what seemed like an endless volley of emails and a series of meetings that defied the natural laws of time as governed by my Microsoft Exchange calendar, to sitting next to my sister filled with unabashed delight as we watched a mermaid show at Weeki Wachee State Park.  That same day, on our drive north we discovered a winery in the vast wilderness of route 19 on Florida’s gulf coast and impulsively stopped for a tasting.  The last days of the trip were spent revisiting the coastal islands of Georgia where we’d vacation and visit my grandparents during my childhood.  So many things were different there, but others remained wonderfully the same as I remembered. 

I arrived home tired, but feeling refreshed.  Satisfied.  Filled with new experiences to share with others, to spark my curiosity and imagination.  The best part is that I don’t have use them right away.  That is the importance of “filling the well.”  The memories and experiences are there for when I need them, whether it’s in bringing an idea to fruition or just to sustain me until the next time I can “get away.”

Applying & Practicing:
·         Put a vacation or trip on the horizon: Whether it is the trip to Paris that you’ve always dreamed of, or a day trip to a new local within easy reach via car, train, or boat, save the date on your calendar for time to get away.  Not only does this give you something to look forward to, but it helps to make it real. Goals that are written down are 80% more likely to happen than the ones that just exist in your head.
·         Cultivate a sense of mystery: As it’s been established in this blog, I am a huge fan of Nancy Drew.  The girls’ mystery series has always entranced me with the way that the way that adventure lies in wait around every corner.  When you are Nancy Drew a mystery can find you when you are shopping for a dress or walking to the post office.  I have found that even on the most boring day, reminding yourself that even small journeys can become big adventures or lead to new ideas.
·         Get away: This winter I’ve written about what todo when you are in the dark a.k.a. "stuck" and the importance of incubation in the creative process, that both touch on the value of walking away from an idea or project that is stuck.  “Getting away” is a very powerful action that puts you back in control of the idea, especially if you use that time to “fill the well.”  A walk around the block can, if badly needed, be as inspiring and refreshing as a trip around the world.  Try and bring both to your life to nurture your creativity.
·         Don’t wait until the well is dry: “Filling the well” is something that should be done on a routine basis, and not just when you feel like you need an emergency vacation.  As Cameron notes, often ideas “dry up”–especially when the work is going well and we use them quickly.  The more we replenish the stream of images and experiences we have to draw upon, the smoother and more consistent the creative process has the potential to be.