Today, as a special treat, we have GUEST BLOGGER Denise Mozilo Frasca. Please enjoy her wonderful blog post and be sure to leave a comment with your thoughts.

“…play is a catalyst…just a little true play can spread through our lives, actually making us more productive and happier in everything we do.” – Dr. Stuart Brown, author of Play: How it Shapes the Brain, Opens the Imagination, and Invigorates the Soul

The inspiration for this writing came from a week of babysitting for my 3 (“and ¾” I can hear him say) year old grandson. He is an especially imaginative child and insists that all grown-ups participate. At the end of the first day, I realized that my mindset had gone from serious to silly and my mood from somber to joyous. By the end of the week we had baked banana bread, pretended to be human race cars, created a train community, dressed up as robots using my pots and pans, and made pretend maps which we followed to find secret treasure (usually some mommy-restricted food in my pantry!) We also read many, many picture books.

Seeing the world through his imaginative play brought to light how important play is to an adult’s creativity as well as child’s. When you play, there are no set rules, there is no self- criticism and all your efforts are rewarded, because you are the creator of that world. Play naturally leads us to think of things as they might be, rather than as they really are. When playing it is easy for anyone to imagine a world in they can fly, or be transported to the age of the dinosaurs. Imaginative play gives you permission to explore areas you may otherwise feel inept at. My grandson is one of the few humans who has ever heard me play the guitar when we pretended to be a rock band!

As an adult, play provides an opportunity to expand your creativity beyond the constraints of societal expectations. If you are “just playing”- there is no need to explain or excuse your behavior. The state of mind you are in during play is about the here and now. This has been referred to as Flow, in Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi’s book by the same name. He contends that when you are fully immersed in an activity where you have energized focus, full involvement, and enjoyment in the process of the activity, then you have the optimal capacity for creativity and happiness. This state of flow is exactly the state you are in when you are playing. A playful attitude empowers the mind to remain open to explore and imagine a broader range of possibilities when looking for answers to new experiences. When you transfer that playful outlook to work and home life, you increase your ability to creative problem solve!

The benefits of play enhancing creativity are neurologically based as well. Best-selling author Steven Kotler writes about consciousness through flow states, in his book, The Rise of Superman. He speaks of how the prefrontal cortex calculates time. When playing, we lose the ability to assess past, present, and future. Kotler explains, “we’re plunged into what researchers call the deep now.” According to Kenneth Heilman, a neurologist at the University of Florida and the author of Creativity and the Brain, creativity not only involves coming up with something new, but also with shutting down the brain’s habitual response, or letting go of conventional solutions. Rex Jung, a well-respected neuroscientist sees creativity as a slower meandering in the brain using the frontal lobe in a more transient way (transient hypofrontality). When you play, you are using several areas of your brain in a way they are not normally used.

Businesses have long recognized the benefits of play, which is why they have retreats and team-building exercises. Encouraging employees to play with each other builds trust and boosts cooperation.  According to Dr. Stuart Brown, author and founder of the National Institute of Play, “There is good evidence that if you allow employees to engage in something they want to do, (which) is playful, there are better outcomes in terms of productivity and motivation.”

What is play for one person, can be work for another – so it is important for you to find joy in your play. For me, doing a crossword puzzle with a friend is play, for my husband it is chopping wood and building a holz hausen with the neighbor. For some it is pretend teatime with their child, and others it’s taking an oil painting class. The important thing is that your play should be interactive, non-stressful and stimulate your creative side. So the next time you have writer’s block, or are unable to solve a pressing problem, or are attempting to learn a complicated subject, grab a friend, or a grandchild, and go play…you’ll be surprised how the creative juices will begin to flow.

Relevant links:

http://www.ted.com/talks/stuart_brown_says_play_is_more_than_fun_it_s_vital

https://soundcloud.com/onbeing/creativity-and-the-everyday-1

http://www.deepfun.com/othergames/

http://www.motherearthnews.com/diy/stacking-wood-zmaz86ndzgoe.aspx

Guest blogger Denise Mozilo Frasca

Denise Mozilo Frasca is a writer, educator, wife, mother, and grandmother (not necessarily in that order). She has received the James Nicholson Political Poetry Award for her poem “Memorial Day,” and was a selected poet for Poets and Writers on War and Peace. Her poems have been published in Mother/ Daughter Duets, a collection of essays and poems about adult daughter/mother relationships, The Westchester Review, and The Manhattanville Review. She has been a guest blogger for Hillside Productions (http://hillsidehouseproductions.com/not-just-a-lullaby-denise-frasca-guest-blogger/) as well as an editor for countless colleagues. She is most happy when playing. Follow Denise on Twitter at @DeniseMFrasca.

Jefferson Ross

Welcome to the newest installment of the Creative Spotlight Series – a series of interviews with inspiring and creative people who share insights into their creative process and work.

I am thrilled to introduce Jefferson Ross, a Southern folk artist who is a songwriter, singer, guitar slinger and painter weaving stories for the ears and the eyes. Based in The Peach State, Jefferson travels throughout the U.S. and Europe performing his original music and displays his art at festivals and galleries across the South.

For years, Jefferson lived in Nashville playing for a number of recording artists including Canada’s Entertainer of the Decade, Terri Clark, and shared the stage with Country Music greats such as George Strait, Toby Keith, Reba and Vince Gill.  He worked as a staff writer for a number of publishers on Music Row including Curb Music, one of the top music publishers in the world.

In 2010 he returned to live in Georgia with his wife and daughter and maintains a home and office in Nashville as well. You can find our more about Jefferson at his website www.jeffersonross.com.

Q: When and how did you discover you were creative? 

Original art by Jefferson Ross

A: I drew ALL the time when I was a kid and people would praise these little scribblings so I continued along with that then started to write stories and later songs.  It was always easy to be creative. I was encouraged.

Q: What are your creative outlets/projects?

A: I write a lot of songs and, every couple of years, make them into recorded projects.  I actually released two last year; one was a Christmas album that Thomm Jutz and I made as a duo.  Also, I paint a lot of folk art depicting old blues and country singers.

Q: Can you describe your creative process for us? 

A: Composting.  Reading, traveling, mowing the lawn, thinking, piddling, loafing..then letting all of that rest….compost  Then, I decide to go to work. Make some art.

Original art by Jefferson Ross

Q: Where do you get your ideas?

A: I don’t know. How do I make my heart beat? How I make my lungs work?  Ideas are just flashes in one’s brain.  The trick isn’t getting an idea.  The trick is to write down the ideas and to form them into something that is interesting and moving. Something that is personal and won’t bore an audience to tears.  I wouldn’t worry about trying to get ideas.  Just write, write, write, paint, paint, paint, play, play, play…whatever.  Working will produce the ideas…not the other way around.

Q: How do you get inspired?

A: By not trying to “get inspired”.  That whole idea of getting inspired suggests that you require something outside of yourself to make art.  Turn on the faucet.  The water can’t flow until you do.  Activity breeds on activity and not waiting on some outside force to sweep you along to greatness. Humble opinion.

Photo by Don Teuton

Q: What do you do when you’re not feeling creative? 

A: Make art anyway.

Q: Do you have a schedule or routine for creating?

A: I used to be much more structured.  I once wrote for publishing companies in Nashville and therefore co-wrote a great deal which, if nothing else, is a good thing because it forces you to create schedules.  It’s pretty amazing the body of work one can amass if two or three hours of scheduled creative time can be set aside each day.

Q: Do you consider yourself to be a night person, morning person, or something else?

A: I’m sort of a lunch person.

Q: Do you have any creative tips for others?

A: Give yourself permission to suck.  Write wildly. Paint sloppily.  Then, come back in and edit with a detached perspective.  Kill your darlings, as Stephen King has advised.

Q: What artists/creative people inspire you?

A: The ones who seem to be entertaining themselves. Who aren’t afraid to appear foolish.  A few would be John Prine, Shel Silverstein, Henri Matisse, Pablo Picasso, Thomas Wolfe…the list goes on and on.

Original Art by Jefferson Ross

Q: What is your next creative project?

A: Working on a book of southern haiku and photographs.

Q: How do you juggle multiple creative projects?

A: By dropping the ball a lot.

Q: Where can we find out more about you and your work?

A: jeffersonross.com

Q: Is there anything else that you’d like to mention – about you, your work, or on the topic of creativity?  

A: “Neither a lofty degree of intelligence nor imagination nor both together go to the making of genius. Love, love, love, that is the soul of genius.”- Wolfgang Mozart.  Love what you do!

“Jefferson Ross music is flannel-warm in the chilled autumn. It is a calling to decency, to chuckling open-mindedness. It is an invitation to art and sound, to words and ideas. It is the world’s greatest dinner party, set somewhere in the dusk of soft Georgia summer, with bootleg preacher Will D. Campbell, impressionist painter Paul Cezanne, and prophet of kindness Martin Luther King, Jr. in smiling attendance. It’s a little bluegrass-y, but it’s not bluegrass. I just like it, that’s all.” – Peter Cooper, Nashville, TN

“Jefferson Ross stands in a small elite circle of songwriters who can take you in and make you a part of the song. Some of his subjects are simple truths, some complex, but all are amazingly insightful and entertaining.“- Ernie Hopseker, Ocean Beach Radio

4 1/2 stars ”Lyrically, Jefferson Ross is a genius but ultimately I think the best quality of his records is that as a singer-songwriter he never forgets about the importance of a decent tune and there are plenty of them on this quality release.“-Duncan Warwick, Country Music People Magazine, UK

Lavrisa’s most recent release

I am thrilled to introduce Lois Lavrisa, a personal friend and a talented and successful author. Lois has just released “Homicide by Hamlet,” the third book in her Chubby Chicks Club series of cozy mysteries. You can order your copy at http://amzn.com/B019IVCPVI and find out more about Lois at her website http://www.loislavrisa.com.

Q: Where are you from and where do you live now?

A: I am from the rough and tumble, low middle class, Southside of Chicago. Right after our wedding honeymoon, my husband Tom and I moved to Sweden and lived there for two years, after that we moved to Atlanta. For the past 22 years I have lived in beautiful warm Savannah, Georgia with my hubby and four children.

 Q: Can you tell us a bit about your background and about your life?

A: How long do you have? I’ll try to give you the condensed version.

Growing up on the south-side of Chicago provided me with an abundance of story ideas. Throughout high school and college, I waitressed to support myself and paid my own way through college. Earning both my Master and Bachelor of Science degrees in Journalism and Communication with minor in Public Relations-provided ample opportunity for a lot of writing. After completing my Masters degree, I had many jobs including writing training programs for a Fortune 500 Company and teaching many years as an adjunct professor. My fifteen minutes of “fame” came when I was a professional cheerleader for the NBA Chicago Bulls. I’ve been married to my aerospace husband Tom for 25 years and we have four children- two sons and two daughters (and two cats who think they are my kids.)

Q: When and how did you discover you were creative?

A: I do believe that everyone is creative. Perhaps not in the outward way of creating a sculpture, painting or drawing a picture, writing songs or other artistic expressions. Each and every one of us every day has to be creative, as least in the Merriam Webster definition of creative: the ability to make or think of new things. Don’t we all have to? As simple as finding another route to work after you see delays due to construction. Perhaps discovering you are out of your usual breakfast so you use what is on hand to whip up a new meal. See? Everyday in many ways we all are creative according to the definition “the ability to make or think of new things.” You could probably think of hundreds of more ways too.

Book Two of the Chubby Chick Series

Q: What are your creative outlets/projects?

A: Many. I’ve painted, did ceramics, made my own organic natural lotions and other creative projects. But my main outlet is telling stories. Making up stuff. After all, writing fiction is what I do for a living.

Q: Can you describe your creative process for us? Where do you get your ideas?

A: My creative process is usually inspired and driven by what story idea is calling my name, tugging at my thoughts, filling my dreams. It could be a character or a plotline. It could be something that I read or heard then I thought “what if?” and ideas start percolating. Maybe I overhear a conversation (I promise I am not a stalker, but it’s not hard to eavesdrop everywhere you go) and I begin to formulate more ideas.

I do a lot of self editing which means deleting, rewriting, changing and so on. Actually, the first manuscript I completed, well over 300 pages, I “shelved.” It was an incredible learning experience and that journey taught me that, yes, I could write a book. If you count that shelved book, I have completed five books, four that are published. I’ve been a freelance writer for newspapers and magazines. My favorite form of creativity though is writing full-length stories.

Q: What do you do when you’re not feeling creative?

A: Phone a friend or meet up with one for coffee or lunch. Seriously. All of my friends are creative, and just being around their energy and being with them sparks my joy too. Their enthusiasm either by just being themselves, or by them supporting and encouraging me has been a creativity life saver.

Q: Do you have any creative tips for others?

A: Trust yourself, trust your journey. It is so easy to get caught up in following what works for some one else. And trust me, I used to do that, but their journey is not yours. Listen to your gut, your instincts. It will not lead you astray. Even if you do make mistakes, re-group, understand what happened, and move forward. Forward momentum is so important. Do not stagnate. Whatever creative outlet you have, do it or think about it every day. I’m a believer the more you do something (as long as you learn along the way) the better you get.

The first book in the Chubby Chick Series

Q: What artists/creative people inspire you?

A: Wow there are so many I love. But I will try to name some. As far as painters, Rembrandt, Claude Monet, Renoir, and Van Gogh, Mary Cassatt, Picasso, Mary Stevenson Cassatt, Georgia Totto O’Keeffe. Music, wow I can go from classical to rock to country to jazz – way too many to name. Writers? Agatha Christie, Stephen King, Mark Twain, Ernest Hemmingway, JK Rowling, Sue Monk Kidd, and many many more.

Q: What is your next creative project?

A: My next and fifth book, KILLING WITH KINGS, which is the fourth in my cozy mystery series. There will be a total of five books in the Chubby Chicks Club cozy mystery series set in Savannah Georgia. They are centered around a group of four friends who get thrown into solving a murder. They are fun, fast paced mysteries full of southern charm.

Q: How do you juggle multiple creative projects?

Lavrisa’s first release

A: Truth be told, I don’t. Although I constantly take notes and ideas about many stories/projects, I only work on one manuscript at a time. With four children, one hubby, many friends and a lot of commitments – that is all I have time for. Bottom line, I love what I do for a living, and I feel honored beyond compare that this is my career

Q: Where can we find out more about you and your work?

A: You are always welcome to visit my website where you could also sign up for my newsletter too, www.loislavrisa.com, my author Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/authorloislavrisa/ or twitter @loislavrisa. I am also on Instagram @loislavrisa and pinterest at Lois Lavrisa.

ORDER HER BOOKS HERE:

Homicide by Hamlet http://amzn.com/B019IVCPVI

Murderous Muffins http://amzn.com/B00MT79E0Y

Dying for Dinner Rolls http://amzn.com/B00EXZQAHK

Liquid Lies http://amzn.com/B007GQ10WS

Tara Leaver

Welcome to the second installment of the “Creative Spotlight Series” – a series of interviews with inspiring and creative people who share insights into their creative process and work.

I’m thrilled to introduce Tara Leaver from Brighton, UK, a talented artist, writer, and teacher. She has many interesting things to share about creativity!

Q: Where are you from and where do you live now? Can you tell us a bit about your background?

A: Originally I’m from London {England}, but I moved down to the south coast about six years ago to be closer to the sea, to start fresh and move away from a lifestyle that wasn’t good for me.

Q: When and how did you discover you were creative?

A: I don’t remember ever not being creative. I always loved drawing and painting and making things. I took art at school up to A Level, and later did a one year foundation course which I loved, but I did lose my way a bit in my twenties and it went into hiding more often than not while I struggled with depression. That was partly what prompted the move; I needed to start again, and where I live now is a very creative city. It was a short time after I moved that I began to open up that side of myself again in earnest, and it’s just been expanding ever since!

“Sands” by Tara Leaver

Q: What are your creative outlets/projects?

A: Well ‘officially’, I paint, I write about art and creative living, and I create ecourses, all around helping people rediscover their own unique way of expressing themselves in the world, and those things are of course all very creative.

But I don’t really separate that from the rest of my life; everything is an opportunity to be creative if you’re open to it. It’s really just a way of looking at the world, and we all have it, it’s just that our culture tends not to encourage us to cultivate it. I take photographs, cook and bake, write poems, make things, decorate and arrange my home on an ongoing basis. It’s all the same to me; it’s all an opportunity to see how creative I can be. And the more I do it, the more ideas come to me! It’s a very abundant way to live.

Q: Can you describe your creative process for us?

A: In terms of my painting, the process tends to involve shorter, intense periods of painting followed by sometimes much longer periods of NOT painting. I always thought that was a problem, that it meant I wasn’t a ‘real artist’, but having embraced it as my natural way it’s freed me up to express myself in ALL the ways I’m creative.

In terms of general creative process, I’m always doing something creative, every single day. Removing the lines in the sand about what is and isn’t ‘creative’ means that I can approach everything with this curious and experimental mindset. So much more interesting and fun!

Tara Leaver’s studio in Brighton, UK

Q: Where do you get your ideas?

A: Everywhere! Seriously, it just seems to be how I work, although I also consciously cultivate that so it’s always evolving. I do find that interaction – rich conversations borne of meaningful connections with people I love and admire – and enormous quantities of solitude and quiet are probably my main idea breeding grounds.

Q: How do you get inspired?

A: I think the key to this is to open yourself up and be always alert to inspiration. When I’m actively hunting it down, I tend to look to other artists, my own past work and sketchbooks, and it’s a cliché really but going for a walk on the beach is a failsafe way to bring inspiration! What I’ve learned is that yes, inspiration can and does ‘just come to you’, but it comes a lot more frequently when you create a space and cultivate the conditions for it, and keep experimenting.

Q: What do you do when you’re not feeling creative?

A: I don’t know that I ever don’t feel creative, it’s more that it manifests in different ways at different times. It was a real game changer for me to see that just because I wasn’t making art, didn’t mean I’d ‘lost’ something or stopped being creative. This is what I mean about opening up to a greater range of creative possibility. Most of us have one or two ‘main’ things that we always love the most, but there are always many more to add to the mix.

“Lavender” by Tara Leaver

Q: Do you have a schedule or routine for creating?

A: No. I follow the energy of wherever I am in the cycle. For projects like creating courses I do plan, but it’s always flexible and flowy! In true Piscean style, I like to keep things fluid and open. Recently I’m learning that laying in a basic framework for a specific project actually yields both greater freedom and more satisfying results, so I’m having to recalibrate a bit to accommodate that! But for painting, that’s all done by feel.

Q: Do you consider yourself to be a night person, morning person, or something else?

A: It seems to depend! When I’m in the throes of an exciting project, I’m both a night and morning person and sleep becomes a mildly annoying interruption! During quieter periods I allow my body to sleep as long as it needs.

Q: Do you have any creative tips for others?

A: One thing I always want to encourage people to do is to really let yourself take on board that creativity is not a special gift for the chosen few. Even if you don’t think you’re creative, all it means is that you haven’t yet uncovered YOUR unique way of being creative in the world. Think of all the things you do daily that are creative; putting a meal together, planning a route, using words to describe things in conversation, doodling while on the phone, creating a spreadsheet. It’s all creative if you let it be. And when you do, your life opens up in the most extraordinary and unforeseen ways. That sounds dramatic, but I stand by it.

Q: What artists/creative people inspire you?

A: Artistically I go through phases, according to what’s most interesting to me at any given time. Again something of a cliché, but Matisse is a great inspiration to me, as is Schiele, for their colours and linework respectively. And there’s a whole host of contemporary painters who inspire me, in particular those who work in an abstract expressionist style. I currently particularly love Wolf Kahn’s intense colour forests, and Chris Gwaltney’s figurative paintings.

In a broader sense, I admire many creative entrepreneurs, like Susannah Conway and Artemis Russell of Junkaholique. Both live their work, so to speak, and are creative in many ways that weave through their lives. That’s how I live too, so I’m always inspired to see how others do it in their own ways.

“When I Was Twenty” by Tara Leaver

Q: What is your next creative project?

A: I’m currently creating my next painting course www.taraleaver.com/abstractify which is proving to be a very interesting and rich experience ~ creating courses always teaches me so much! That begins in March 2015. I also have several other projects either just started or soon to be; a photography project called the LiquidLight series, ideas for workshops, a new creative mentoring offering, writing articles, creating prints of my best paintings, and the Grand Ultimate ~ I’d love to create a membership site. That one is more of a background/longer term one! There’s a lot to learn and put in place for that.

Q: How do you juggle multiple creative projects?

A: I really had to think about this one! I think it’s a constant balancing of following inspiration and flow, and doing the tasks that need doing on any given day. I use Teux Deux and a wall calendar to keep track of what I’m doing and where I’m going, which are the result of many attempts to find the absolute simplest way to do that. But if I come to do something and the energy doesn’t feel quite aligned right then, I’ll look for what does and do that, and then I tend to find that I’m ready to do the other thing. It’s like you have to make sure all the parts of you are fed to keep everything running smoothly. I don’t force anything, and everything gets done.

Q: Where can we find out more about you and your work?

A: You can find me at taraleaver.com, which is where my blog, gallery, shop and ecourses are. I am also to be found on my artist page on Facebook www.facebook.com/aquamarineart and www.pinterest.com/taraleaver. I love Instagram, so am always happy to connect there at www.instagram.com/taraleaver; it’s kind of my ‘unofficial’ place, where I share a lot of behind the scenes of my life, mostly beach and paintings in progress!

“Incognita” by Tara Leaver

Q: Is there anything else that you’d like to mention – about you, your work, or on the topic of creativity?

A: I could talk about this all day, so probably best not to encourage me. The one thing I always hope to foster is the understanding that every single one of us has gifts to share, and not believing that doesn’t make it any less true. My work this lifetime is to do the best I can to help people find out the truth of that for themselves, so I always encourage feedback and questions; that helps me bring forth more of what I can do that’s valuable to those who might benefit from it. So I guess what I’m saying is, don’t be afraid to always ask questions and seek support for your creative journey. And don’t separate your life from your creativity!

Roberta Schultz

Welcome to the first installment of the “Creative Spotlight Series” – a series of interviews with inspiring and creative people who share insights into their creative process and work.

I’m thrilled to introduce Roberta Schultz of the folk harmony trio, Raison D’Etre. I first met Roberta at a music conference (SERFA, or the Southeast Regional Folk Alliance) where I heard her perform with her fabulous trio, Raison D’Etre, from Kentucky. She recently released a solo CD “One Small Step” and a poetry chapbook “Outposts on the Border of Longing.”

Q: When and how did you discover you were creative?

A: I have to credit my kindergarten teacher, Donna Mader, for encouraging me to create. She believed that all human beings were naturally creative, so she had us bring in one of our fathers’ shirts to wear backwards as an artist smock while we finger painted and even set up easels for us to simulate the artist experience. We played rhythm instruments in a band, and sang along to our efforts. I never wanted to leave kindergarten. 

Q: Can you tell us a bit about yourself?

A: I have always performed in some kind of ensemble involving harmony singing. When my dad bought my sister Violet and I guitars for Christmas when I was 12 and she was 9, we started learning how to sing and play together–which we have never really stopped doing. She and I are in Raison D’Etre together with her college roommate and best friend, Vickie.

In college, I trained to teach English, which I did for many years on the high school and college levels.  All the while, I kept playing music, and even minored in voice so that I could study some theory and sing with the concert choir at my university.

Roberta Schultz’s solo CD “One Small Step”

Q: What are your creative outlets/projects?

A: I sing, play guitar and 6-string mandolin for Raison D’Etre. I help arrange our three-part harmonies, although we all have a hand in that.  I also write some of our original songs and research any of the period music we play.

Raison D’Etre started out as a three-part vocal trio devoted to country folk like the music Dolly Parton, Emmylou Harris, and Linda Ronstadt recorded as Trio. But since Vickie was doing some part-time first-person interpreter work at Cincinnati Museum Center, we were asked to learn Shaker music, pioneer music, Swing era music, and Civil War tunes for various exhibits at the Museum.  So, over out 25 years together we have developed our specialty shows for historic venues and general audience shows that combine our originals with selections from our historic covers and folk songs.

Besides Raison D’Etre, I am a Teaching Artist for the Kentucky Arts Council, sometimes teaching songwriting at schools. But I probably spend more time working with senior groups on HealthRhythms wellness drumming. HealthRhythms is an empowerment drumming protocol developed by neurologist, Dr. Barry Bittman, that can be adapted for troubled youth, drug rehab, wounded warriors, seniors, dementia patients, church groups, and even for general recreational drumming. I drum with a rural senior center every other week and I also demonstrate this drumming at arts festivals and wellness fairs.

Another project has been reviewing books for a public radio station in Cincinnati. I post my reviews on my blog at braverself.blogspot.com and try to post about my individual creative life there when I get the time.

For several years, I have attended a regular women’s Practice of Poetry group that emphasizes poetry as spiritual practice.  This year, I decided to submit some of the poems I had been workshopping in group to a publisher. The result is my first chapbook of poetry, OUTPOSTS ON THE BORDER OF LONGING which is largely about my childhood in Grant’s Lick, KY and how that place affected my growth as a person.

Roberta Schultz’s poetry chapbook “Outposts on the Border of Longing”

Q: Can you describe your creative process for us?

A: When arranging other’s work for a historic venue, I strive to make the song sound like Raison D’Etre. Like it would fit right into our set list. So sometimes that would entail making Stephen Foster’s “Beautiful Dreamer” sound like a Roy Orbison song.

I write both songs and poems from prompts and love having that stimulation. So, being part of a retreat group or a poetry circle is important for my process.

I let whatever else I am doing feed my creativity in other areas. When I am leading a drum circle, there are steps in the protocol that could use a song. So, I go home and write a new song for the  “Shaker Share” step so that we won’t always have to use existing songs for the step.

For poetry, I start out with a free write or journal piece, and then try to carve a poem from the mass of words using what poet Cathy Smith Bowers calls “the abiding image.” That’s an idea that seems to hang around the subconscious, waiting to be expressed. For years, I wrote piece after piece about my Grandma Babe until I finally wrote some poems and songs from those free writes and journal pieces.

Q: Where do you get your ideas?

A: Certainly, I get many song ideas from prompts. I have been attending a songwriter’s retreat in NC called SoLaTiDo for many years where we come to the mountain and do this:

1. Get a prompt at 9 am
2. Go write until 11:30 am
3. Share our songs-in-progress in circle at 11:30 am
4. Eat lunch
5. Spend the rest of the day arranging parts, consulting on the song, getting it down.

Repeat for two days.  Then record the songs with our arranger/consultant.

Perform the songs for the writers who also have a workshop on the mountain that week.

I never fail to come home with three new songs.

I also get many ideas while driving. Today the words “old wood” kept popping into my head in relation to my creaky joints. While running errands, I received the hook to my new “old time” song about string bands. I came home and wrote down some words. Still working on it, but I love when that happens. When a song is a “bolt from the blue.” A gift for paying attention to the abiding images we hold.

Q: How do you get inspired?

A: I am always inspired by listening to and viewing the creativity of others. I read a lot of poetry, listen to all styles of music, enjoy visual images. It is also very inspiring just to be in the company of folks who create. Even my daily scroll through Facebook offers a tapestry of thought and image I would not experience otherwise.

Q: What do you do when you’re not feeling creative?

A: I do chores like laundry, walk around the lake, take care of seeing projects through their less glamorous details–I just live. Writers of fiction always say that they are still working when they are talking to you or socializing because something you say may trigger a character’s action or dialogue.  I kind of feel that way about poetry and songwriting. Everything I do has potential, so no task is not relevant to me. I once wrote a poem about how seductive my rental car was. I had to spend long hours on the road in that baby before the poem percolated up in my consciousness.

Q: Do you have a schedule or routine for creating?

A: When I am not in a poetry group, my routine is less structured. Our group takes a break from December through March, so right now, my writing is not as routine.

For Raison D’Etre, we rehearse every Wednesday night, so I tend to prepare things for them with that in mind. I guess I treat my creative life more like homework. When is it due? When is that submission deadline? When do I have to have a poem for craft group?

I do try to get mornings to myself whenever possible. Then, I know I will do something. And I keep one guitar by my desk for when I am working on an idea.

Q: Do you consider yourself to be a night person, morning person, or something else?

A: I am not a true morning person, but I know that I write better melodies in the morning. I know this because of my songwriting retreat. One morning at circle I brought in a song that one of my friends in the circle loved. By afternoon, I had forgotten the original melody and tried to play the song for her again.  “That’s almost it,” she said. “But now, it is too normal-sounding.” The next morning, I remembered the stranger, better melody. So for creating, I think mornings are better for me as my right brain access is better then. By afternoons, I am way into editing mode.  I noticed this over my teaching career as well. Grading was how I spent afternoons. Planning was always better in the morning.

Q: Do you have any creative tips for others?

A: I once heard a woman give a talk at NCTE (National Council of Teachers of English) about allowing yourself the time to create. Not to think of it as luxury, but as the rich experience of being present to life.  I’m not sure what her actual words were, but after all this time, I know I feel more alive and present because of music, song, and poetry. I think we must make room for that, being present in our lives.

Q: What artists/creative people inspire you?

A: There are many famous folk I could name, but I am inspired more by those who create something for the joy of it. Because they must, because they can, because they improve the lives of others.

Q: What is your next creative project?

A: Yesterday, I would’ve told you that I was “on break” since I had some role in shepherding a 9th Raison D’Etre recording, “So Dear,” my own solo recording “One Small Step,” and a chapbook of poems all in one year. Plus, I researched the music, learned the music with Violet, and performed the music and sound cues for Falcon Theatre’s production of “Twain by the Tale” from December-January. But since I wrote the first draft of a song this morning, I guess that’s not true anymore.

This year I want to put some energy into celebrating Raison D’Etre’s 25th year.  I want to put some planning into making that an event or project of some kind.  And I will continue to submit poetry to journals. Plus work on my solo performance skills.

Q: How do you juggle multiple creative projects?

A: I keep a big calendar nearby for that so that all aspects of my projects are scheduled and planned as much as possible. I guess it hearkens back to my teacher plan book.

Q: Where can we find out more about you and your work?

A: I’m pretty active on Facebook on my personal page, facebook.com/robertaschultz1, and I administrate the Raison D’Etre page at facebook.com/raison3. But you can read about my solo work at raison3.com/roberta and on my blog, braverself.blogspot.com.

Q: Is there anything else that you’d like to mention – about you, your work, or on the topic of creativity?

A: It’s never too late to get published!