Retirees’ Creative Reinvention Day 6: Sometimes, a partner helps.

When I’m in the kitchen needing to collaborate…okay, bad example.

Finding a fellow painter, photographer, cook, scrapbooker, or writer may be just what you need to launch your creative reinvention.

Educator John Spencer shares his views on this topic here: Ten Things Pixar Can Teach Us About Creativity 

My favorite points:

• Creativity isn’t a solitary endeavor.
• Play matters. [Those creativity partners should encourage fun and wild experimentation.]
• People are more important than ideas. He quotes from the book Creativity, Inc: “Ideas come from people. Therefore, people are more important than ideas…”

Do you have a creativity buddy? How do you contribute to each other’s projects and progress? Let me know in the comments below.

Thanks for reading and stay vigilant for opportunities to stretch your thinking.

 

Retirees’ Creative Reinvention Day 5: Structure can help.

If you want to build more personal innovation into your days, give this article How Following a Schedule Improved My Creativity by Srinivas Rao a look.

Three points that resonated with me:

• You can rely on consistent effort, but you can’t rely on inspiration.
• I was able to put less pressure on myself… I can practice and experiment without worrying about someone judging my work.
• It was easier to find motivation.

I realize that structure and scheduling may not appeal to all retirees, but this is a time to experiment with what works for you. Find the sweet spot–the happy medium–between moderate expectations and enjoying the process.

Do you have any tips or tricks that spur your creativity? Share them in the comments below.

Thanks for reading.

 

Retirees’ Creative Reinvention Day 4: Looking for creativity opps? Cook!

It’s not a masterpiece [and I haven’t even tasted it yet], but every cooking project you take on affords you multiple openings for a creative act.

Just think of all the choices I had to enhance this bread’s flavor and appearance.

Knead in some za’atar.
Dot the dough with chunks of fontina.
Try a new slash/score design.

Not convinced life in the kitchen isn’t for creatives?

Check out this post by Aly Juma: Why the Kitchen is the Most Creative Space in Every Home

My favorite excerpts

— “Due to the lack of consequences in the kitchen, you’re able to defeat fear: fear of criticism, fear of inadequacy, and fear of failure.”
— “It’s a space waiting for you to experiment, explore, and discover new flavors, methods, and recipes.”
— “The kitchen provides you with a set of tools, but leaves it up to you on how to use them to get your desired result.”

Deal with variables.

Embrace the tactile.

Design for uniformity

Inspired? What is your next [of many, I hope] creative project?

Let me know in the comments below.

Retirees’ Creative Reinvention Day 3: Suit yourself.

Just a quick quote for today:

“I’d spent so many years doing things I didn’t really want to do for people I didn’t really like.”
― Claire Cook, Multiple Choice

I’ve been blessed with some great bosses, but certainly there were times when most of us employed-by-others retirees felt as if we were serving others.

Time to serve yourself, especially as a writer, painter, photographer, creator of some type.

I like this article about reinvention.  Pay extra attention to stages 3 [Liberation] and 4 [Re-engagement].

Go do something new today.

Retirees’ Creative Reinvention Day 2: Pace yourself.

What WOULD a wall of retirees’ graffiti look like?

Okay, so you haven’t ordered scaffolding or a thousand-dollar set of camera lenses or an acre of paint supplies. [At least in my house, they’re measured in acres.]

Good for you.

Take your time. Find your bliss. [Sorry to go all woo-woo on you.]

Jill Badonsky, who promotes “continuous improvement through small steps in any creative endeavor”, should inspire you.

Here is a link to the The Muse Is In: An Owner’s Manual to Your Creativity Goodreads page.

Inspired? What is your next [of many, I hope] creative project?

Let me know in the comments below.

Retirees’ Creative Reinvention: Day 1

Let’s shift gears a little.

Even before I retired, ‘reinvention’ crept into my consciousness. I was feeling fairly marginalized in a number of ways and it felt like it was the right time to redefine what I wanted to do with the ensuing years.

Especially as a creator.

So that will be my emphasis in February–your reinvention as a creator.

I will offer suggestions and include a few steps I’m taking in that direction–not in the vein of  ‘Hey! Look at me!’, but as a way to document [for myself] some forward steps.

Need a little nudge in this direction? Just click on and download the page below and print it out as often as you need. Nothing fancy here. No frills, just a little boost to your mindset. Here also is a link to the two-per-page version.

Clicking on this will generate a PDF version of the full page.