Five {5} Creative Questions With Melanie

When I started this interview series earlier this year, I envisioned getting a peak into the lives of some of the creative women I am surrounded by virtually.

And while I did this and shared them with you, I always thought about what my own answers would be. So here they are:

1. What does creativity mean to you?
What creativity means has changed and evolved for me over the years. When I first started thinking about creativity in high school and college, I assumed it was something I didn’t have. So I spent my time admiring it in others, also known as studying art history! It wasn’t until later, while working as an educator at a museum when my boss told me, “to just be creative,” on a project that it hit me. That statement stunted me, because I did not know what that was. After that, I began to really study creativity (mine and others).

So today, creativity means to me a connection of new ideas to make something that moves us forward somehow, whether it is spiritually, personally or professionally.

2. What is your creative process and what tools do you use to stimulate it?
Since I am an introvert, my creative process involves A LOT of internal musings. It usually starts with me being in a quiet place, which could be in nature, bed or even the shower. These are places where I do my best thinking. Once I get the initial idea to create, I usually run with it from there.

For instance, if I am designing something, it usually starts with an idea. Then I try to tie a theme or process to it. I am very big on connections and am always thinking about how things relate to one another.

Five {5} Creative Questions with Linda Naiman

I have long been a fan of Linda Naiman's work. So much so that I asked a mutual contact to introduce us last year. Linda and I have stayed in contact since then, and I am delighted  that she agreed to answer my questions on creativity this month.

Linda Naiman is a creativity and innovation consultant, coach, and speaker. She is founder of CreativityatWork.com and co-author of Orchestrating Collaboration at Work. She has been featured in the Globe and Mail, Vancouver Sun, and Canadian Business Magazine.

Linda has spoken about art, design and transformational leadership at US Navy Leadership Symposiums, The MIT Club Singapore, The Banff Centre, and at international business conferences. Organizations who have sought out Linda for her expertise include American Express, AstraZeneca, and Intel.

To find out more about coaching for creativity and innovation: visit Creativity at Work, follow Linda on Twitter @lindanaiman and @alchemize, and join the CreativityatWork fan page on Facebook.

1. What does creativity mean to you?
I define creativity as the act of turning new and imaginative ideas into reality. Creativity involves two processes: thinking, then producing. If you have ideas, but don't act on them, you are imaginative but not creative.

Five {5} Creative Questions with Kathy Jordan

I am currently reading Dr. Kathy Jordan's latest book, Becoming a Life Change Artist: 7 Creative Skills to Reinvent Yourself at Any Stage of Life, and I am loving it. That's why I am thrilled to introduce Kathy to my readers.

Dr. Kathy Jordan is an innovative coach and Reiki energy healing teacher who integrates her expertise in creative skill-building and mind/body practices to help people create more meaningful and joyful lives.

She is also a corporate consultant highly regarded for her inventive and practical approaches to managing strategic change and enhancing bottom-line performance. And she provides writing and editorial guidance to help individuals and businesses craft compelling messages true to their voice and vision.

1. What does creativity mean to you?
My vision of creativity is that it is the energy of all things. It is the force which animates us. We’re all born with creative potential, and we all have the ability to develop our creative skills throughout our lifetime. For me, creativity and spirituality are intertwined. I think of creative energy and spiritual energy as the same. As much as possible I try to infuse my daily life with creativity. In my professional work as a writer and editor I am as selective as possible about which projects I take on, choosing work that allows me to “play”, to take ideas and shape them in ways that engage and inspire readers. I’ve learned the hard way that if I take on projects only for financial reasons, I may end up trapped in work that doesn’t allow me to express myself creatively.

It’s also important to me to express myself creatively through art. I do mixed media paintings, and in the last year started art journaling.

2. What is your creative process and what tools do you use to stimulate it?
Hmm. My creative process is a bit mysterious to me. But it always begins with a meditation drawn from the system of Reiki, a Japanese energy healing system. During the meditation I imagine creative energy moving inside me with each inward breath, and that same energy filling the world around me when I exhale. Sometimes I also chant, another way of connecting with the creative energy that I believe is the essence of who I am.

Five {5} Creative Questions with Dawn D. Sokol

Dawn Devries Sokol is one creative (and busy) woman, so I am happy she took some time and answered my questions this month.

Dawn DeVries Sokol is the author of Doodle Diary: Art Journaling for Girls (Gibbs Smith, 2010) and 1000 Artist Journal Pages (Quarry, 2008), a book designer, and an avid art journaler and doodler. She lives in Tempe, Arizona, with her husband T.J., and dog Lucy.

Her next book will be published by Gibbs Smith in 2011 and Interweave Press just released her workshop DVD titled "Art Journaling: Pages in Stages". She discusses art journaling and doodling on her blog. She also can be found on Twitter and Facebook.

1. What does creativity mean to you?
Creativity is constructing or inventing something and anyone can do it. We are all creative. We all have imagination. It's just how we access the imagination and what we make of it. Whether we paint, draw, make music, sing, dance, perform, craft, crochet, sew, doodle, or whatever...It's all creativity!

2. What is your creative process and what tools do you use to stimulate it?
I'm not really sure if I have a set process. If I feel inspired, I create. As a book designer, it can be difficult to feel inspired on a deadline, but I graduated with a degree in journalism, so deadlines tend to motivate me more than not. I sometimes go days without creating if I've been on a huge deadline or just completed a big creative project. You have to take a break.

Five {5} Creative Questions with Michelle James

I am so honored to introduce Michelle James. I met Michelle over 5 years ago, shortly after I started exploring my own creativity while living in DC. Meeting her was a transformational experience for me in many ways, and I am grateful that we have stayed in contact since then.

Michelle James has been pioneering Applied Creativity and Applied Improvisation in business in the Washington, DC area since 1994. She is CEO of The Center for Creative Emergence and founder of the Capitol Creativity Network. Recently she was recognized for Visionary Leadership in Fast Company’s blog, Leading Change, for “her commitment to bring creative expression into the work environment in a very deep and meaningful way.” Michelle is a business creativity consultant, facilitator and coach who has designed and delivered hundreds of programs for entrepreneurs, leaders, and organizations. Her original programs have been featured on TV, the radio and in print. Michelle performs full-length improvised plays with Precipice Improv, is an abstract painting artist, and is a CoreSomatics Master Practitioner. In 2009, she put on DC’s first Creativity in Business Conference.

1. What does creativity mean to you?
Life, aliveness, life energy, life trajectory, the core, the source, the natural way of being, the driving force, the unique self, the essence of all living being and systems. It is that energy within all of us and all living things which animates, liberates, and generates. It is the same force that paradoxically expresses our absolute individual uniqueness and connects us in community. It unites things, people, ideas, frameworks, concepts that were previously divided. It is there, ever-flowing, for us all to engage it, shape it, form it, express it and apply it to anything - from expression to solution finding to new structure creating. For me, it is like asking someone to define the essence of life - there are as many different ways to define it as there are people. That is uncomfortable for people who like to think there is one right way. Creativity is not about the one right way.

In my work, I find that I use the definition that resonates most with a particular client or organization to meet them where they are. Once they experience the power of re-igniting their own creative wellspring, they will always be able to come up with their own definitions that are more relevant for them than anything I could come up with - because while creativity is ubiquitous and universal, is is also uniquely personal.

Creativity is living paradox. It contains a balance of left and right brain, cultivating and emergence, thinking and being, reflection and action, receptivity and generativity, improvisation and planning, heart and head, analysis and intuition, and structure and flow.

Five {5} Creative Questions with Diane D.M. Solis

I found our latest guest through her amazingly inspirational blog Creativity as a Way of Life.

Diane D.M. Solis is a scientific and creative writer/editor who designs interactive self-discovery projects, workshops, and retreats for individuals and groups to enhance personal development and creativity. Diane's formal titles have included: teacher (English, ethics, social justice, and art); organizational development and training specialist with an emphasis on work team and leadership development; senior corporate editor (technical publications, public communications, and proposal writing/editing); and spiritual director.

Over the years she has written two monthly columns in local, national, and international publications, as well as articles, stories and poetry. Diane also creates works of music and art in a variety of media and genres, and has practiced contemplative meditation for over twenty years.

1. What does creativity mean to you?
Creativity is like breathing. It’s how I look at the world, and how I see it. It’s how I love the people in my life, and life itself. I realized some years ago that for me, as a creative individual, whatever I’m working on, creating is as critical to how I move through life as breathing. Creativity is as fundamental to my identity as faith, culture, my relationships, and my sexual identity. This is probably true for all serious artists to a significant degree, whatever their genre.

Five {5} Creative Questions‏ with Leah Piken Kolidas

For this round of Five {5} Creative Questions we welcome Leah Piken Kolidas.

Leah is a mixed-media artist living near Boston, MA with her husband and their four fuzzy meows. She sells her art at Blue Tree Art Gallery and blogs and runs creative challenges at Creative Every Day.

1. What does creativity mean to you?
I think a lot of people relate creativity to some kind of art-making, and then think because they can't draw that they aren't creative. But the truth is, everyone is creative. We are already creative every day in the way we live our lives, the way we dress, the way we make that fantastic potato salad, and the way we doodle on our junk mail. I think creativity can be found everywhere and it only expands when we focus our energy on it.

Five {5} Creative Questions with Liz Massey

I am honored to introduce our Five {5} Creative Questions guest this month, creative extraordinaire Liz Massey.

Liz Massey is a writer, editor, media producer and a creative agent provocateur. Experienced in artistic disciplines as diverse as music, photography, filmmaking and journalism, Liz has a deep hunger to understand how the creative process works. She began Creative Liberty in 2007 as a way to share what she’d learned about developing and maintaining creative momentum.

Liz holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism and has worked as a magazine editor, a training content developer, a video producer and a publicist for a county library system, not to mention such “character-building” jobs as veterinary assistant, call center operator and bank correspondence proofreader. She lives in Peoria, Arizona, with her partner, thousands of books and a small, independent-minded dog.

1. What does creativity mean to you?
At its root, creativity is all about utilizing the present moment to bring something new into being — whether that is a work of art, a poem, a delicious lunch made with 3 ingredients or a new way home from work.

I mention the “present moment” part because every person must start from where they are, with the tools around them. We can certainly plan to purchase new tools, take classes to improve our technique, etc. – but in the end, getting into the habit of plunging in and making an attempt to create something NOW is more important than planning to “get it right” in some far off future that never arrives.

At my blog, Creative Liberty, I try to include news and tips from the art world, business innovators, inventors and social entrepreneurs who are trying to better our world, because all those fields demonstrate the creative process in action.

Five {5} Creative Questions with Shannon Kinney-Duh

The amazing Shannon Kinney-Duh is my guest this month answering Five {5} Creative Questions.

Shannon has been teaching yoga for 9 years, and has been actively exploring her own creative journey throughout her life. What she loves most is discovery and learning new things, and inspiring others to do the same. As she practices yoga and makes art, she feels more deeply connected to her true self.

Her life’s mission is to create, connect with and enliven joy, personal growth and the unlimited potential in herself and in others.

She is also a certified Hatha Yoga Teacher through the Temple of Kriya Yoga in Chicago, and completed their Kriology program. She’s participated in Eric Maisel’s Creativity Coaching program and the Holistic Life Coaching program through the Spencer Institute. She has years of experience teaching and facilitating individuals and groups in creative exploration and mindful living. She loves all art forms, especially fiber, intuitive painting and art journaling. She considers herself a student of life.

You can find her online at Free Spirit Knits.

1. What does creativity mean to you?
Creativity to me means living in the present moment. It’s playing with my son, it’s making messes, it’s getting lost in paint, it’s thinking a new thought. I believe a big part of creativity is embracing our authenticity and letting it shine.

Five {5} Creative Questions with Karen Gielen

I am happy to introduce Karen Gielen this month, as she answers Five {5} Creative Questions.

Karen is a mother, artist, writer, and graphic designer. At 69% right and 31% left, she is considered an extremely right brain dominant thinker. Her interests include portrait illustration, advertising and marketing, graphic design, painting, singing, writing poetry and children’s stories, knitwear designing, photography, and numerous arts and crafts. Her repertoire of creative interests is constantly changing and she is learning that she needs to allow her creativity to flow where it wants to flow. Some days it wants to come out in her writing and some days only a pencil or paint brush will do.

Find Karen online blogging or tweeting under the handle cre8tivkj.

1. What does creativity mean to you?

I believe creativity is something everyone is born with. It is taking our thoughts, emotions, and experiences and turning them into something others can touch, see, or hear. As human beings we are all meant to be creative. It pains me when I hear people say they do not have or they are not very creative.

Five {5} Creative Questions with Andrea Schroeder

This month we feature the inspirational Andrea Schroeder. You may know her better online as the author of ABCcreativity. But above all else, Andrea is a creative being and believer in possibilty. Andrea takes this sense of possibility, blends it with sparkles and secret messages about the magic and wonder of life, and uses it in all of her creative work, infusing it with flashes of inspiration and reminders of what an incredible being you are.

After graduating from Ryerson University in Toronto, Canada with a bachelor of applied arts in fashion design, Andrea explored many different avenues of art and design including costume design, textile design, textile art, knitting, cloth dollmaking and interior design.

Andrea has also spent years studying new thought and other spiritual and philosophical teachings and is currently an accredited new thought healing practitioner at the Centre for Conscious Living in Winnipeg, Canada. Andrea describes this as ”a believer in possibility, a creator of dreams come true and a mentor for others in creating their happily ever afters.” Andrea blends spiritual and artistic creativity in all of her creative work, which is filled with maps that will guide you on your path in creating your own “happily ever after”.

1. What does creativity mean to you?
i see myself above all as a creative being in a creative universe. my inspiration, intuition, uniqueness and gift flow through my creativity out into all parts of my life. creativity is life for me.

Introducing Five {5} Creative Questions

Five {5} Creative Questions is a new feature I am starting this year on the blog. Each month, I plan to highlight a different creator and have them answer the same 5 questions on creativity, their creative process and inspiration. I hope you enjoy!

Our first guest is the talented Dee Wilcox, who you may already know from the fantastic blog, Creative Perch.

Dee is a graphic designer, marketer, and writer. A little bit about Dee… she is 50% right-brained and 50% left-brained. Her interests are rather eclectic, and she believes the combination of these two qualities makes her a better writer. She loves trend-watching and all things design. She believes that public art can raise the spirit of a community and lift the individual spirit, as well. She loves the art and process of creating. Creating is in her blood. Her creative bent is her favorite thing about herself.

1. What does creativity mean to you?
I believe creativity is both an innate ability and a skill that we can develop to bring a creative approach to every aspect of our lives. In other words, creativity allows us to bring new ideas and concepts and approaches into existence that were never there before. It also allows us to tweak current ideas, develop a new perspective, and see things in new ways.