September 05, 2006
A Creative Kick
Calling all creative types! Regardless of what your medium is... regardless of how much time you currently have to a lot to your art... Regardless of how talented you think you are... Twyla Tharp's The Creative Habit is a book you have to read.
Tharp takes as her premise the fact that despite the contributions of some DNA, creativity boils down to hard work… and that with the right approach, the right habits, the right routines, the right strategies, and the right attitude... anyone can be successful and creative... The book begins with a fascinating overview of Mozart and then launches into a wonderful section on routine and the importance of routine. But she doesn't stop there. Tharp tackles all kinds of obstacles (real and perceived) that stand in the way of our creativity. She talks about the powers of imitation, she talks about strategies for storing records, she talks about scratching for ideas, she talks about finding the "Spine" or central idea upon which any project hinges...
The narrative of the book is amazing, both in terms of the personal details you get about Tharp's life and processes, and in terms of the numerous anecdotes and examples from the lives and histories of other creative people which have been masterfully woven throughout the book. There's something wonderful and unbelievably, almost surreally, compelling about Tharp's narrative voice... there's something about the level of commitment to her craft and to her vision that seeps through every nook and cranny and around every red and grey word and every dark grey exercise block that is simply riveting.
Supporting the narrative of each chapter are sets of exercises that Tharp outlines as a way to kickstart the process if you're stuck... as a way to move beyond doubt and fear and whatever is standing in your way... as a way of finding ideas... as ways of digging deeper into the process...
(The Creative Habit was reviewed as part of The Creative Mom Podcast, Episode 13)
Posted by amyo at September 5, 2006 06:58 PM