It’s a book on creativity by Twyla Tharp and I’m finding it very interesting – so many creativity books are written from a writer’s perspective so it’s great to see one coming from the point of view of a performing artist. Looking forward to chapter two!
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I decided on the way home this evening, after contemplating and discarding a number of approaches (including a new, anonymous blog, which then raised the question of how do you promote an anonymous blog?) that I’m going to start creating the occasional longer post for this blog, addressing various topics to do with creativity, productivity and related topics. I’m hopefully going to post the first one on the weekend, but for now, I’ve written a letter to explain what on Earth I’m thinking…
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Twyla Tharp’s The Creative Habit: Learn it and use it for life which I’ve been salivating over on Amazon for quite some time, and which has made it to my house at long last thanks to an Amazon gift voucher Christmas present from a lovely friend (also Wii Fit Plus which I can’t wait to go on once the wretched sprained ankle is fixed!). First thoughts: Ooh, nice typography!
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on creative types’ daily routines – writers, painters, composers, etc. – some interesting stories there: http://dailyroutines.typepad.com/daily_routines/
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Yesterday morning we took djeli’s lovely niece off to the airport at 5.30 in the morning (*ugh*) to see her off on the next leg of her gap year trip – 3 months in India. And now we have the house to ourselves for the foreseeable future – I think for the first time this year, which feels AMAZING. So we’re launching ourselves into a programme of sorting ourselves out.
Djeli has reclaimed his office, but this time has put his desk along the wall beside the window, instead of with his back to it and it looks a much more comfortable working space for him. The sofa-chair-bed is, for the first time in I can’t remember how long, folded up into its chair configuration and the room feels really welcoming now.
I’ve got my own desk back, which isn’t perfect, but at least the junk all over it will be all mine. I am rapidly accumulating a rather long list of things I want/need to buy to either make my working environment more comfortable or help me continue working on my own stuff when I’m out of the house (in particular when I have to take on another contract job in September): a lamp, a cushion because the chair I’m using is really too low, an iPod Touch so I can compose and catch up on my read/review file on the go, and so I’ll have (finally!) a numeric keypad to make using Finale easier, not to mention a control for our about-to-be-set-up music server. This is the cushion I want to get – it matches the gorgeous apron my mama bought me while she was here:
Oh, and a flute of course – I’ve had to give djeli’s sister back hers and now I’m missing it badly 
And then there’s the software upgrades – there’s always more software upgrades – Snow Leopard when it comes out, Pro Tools, because the version I have doesn’t seem to play nicely with Leopard, Finale because my version is 4 years old and frankly rather a crappy iteration.
And we have so many projects to work on! I don’t have time to get a job! This week I’m back on the film score, but still working on a couple of secret squirrels with more lining up. I think I need to review everything I’m trying to start and relegate some of them to the Someday/Maybe list!
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Djeli and I decided that we’d never manage to concentrate seriously enough on what needed to be done on our super-secret project at home, so we booked the meeting room at his coworking office space and battled through things for 3 hours, with great results – not only do we now have a clue about what we want to do (several clues, actually), but we both have action items AND deadlines. Huzzah!
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We’ve made a good start, working out how the content will be distributed throughout the project and I’ve been working on some ideas for the music. Feels good to be thinking creatively again.
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I felt the time had come to finally work up my “Guardian of the dumb idea” doodle into something a little more official. Woollyjitters says he looks like a trout playing golf. I don’t know that he’d take very kindly to that. At any rate, I’m fond of him.
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The horrors of this week all got too much for me, so after spending the morning finishing reading Murder on the Leviathan I decided to give myself the day off and spent the whole afternoon on the couch, listening to music and messing about in my journal – I completed 6 entire spreads! Plus added a bit to a few more. I don’t think I’ve ever done that much in a session ever before. Definitely feel better for a little random creative thought, although the headache is as bad as ever.
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Marianna and I made a decent-sized snowman in Pitshanger Park – my first!
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