Episode 373 of the CMP, a Creativity Matters Podcast — gratitude, repeat projects, thoughts on Inktober 2019 and favorite series, and more
In this episode of the CMP, re-watching “Gilmore Girls” (part of my 50 Before 50 list) and finishing up Inktober and trying to sort out what to do in November left me thinking about how you can “always go home” and “never go home again.” Because it’s November, in starting to talk about the fact that sometimes, favorite projects can’t be simply “repeated,” I landed in the memory of doing the Spark Series (30 days of podcasting in November 2017). This episode contains some Spark rehash, some gratitude project thinking, mention of things I hope you also do in November (like a gratitude log), and thoughts on series and the constant movement in the creative journey which pushes us into new things even when there are things behind us that we love.
Even while I know it doesn’t always work to repeat projects, there are projects I do again…. a ritual. In November, I do (or contemplate):
- daily gratitude log
- end of month gratitude summary
- month-long gratitude drawing project
- daily recording of light
As I moved through this show and unpacked my thinking around my Inktober series, which combined both my love of portraits and my love of gridded and comic-style (or graphic novel-like) layout, I started circling around the idea of continuing with a word list. I have never been quick to use or follow a list. My dedication to only working on drawings that have meaning for me is unequivocal. But with this most recent series, I was enchanted by the way “story” happens between the unrelated images, a story that unfolds only in the viewing. In this show, I mused about the possibility of setting up a list — and interjecting words from others into that list. (If I just set it up myself, I feel like I may skew it.)
Did I Really Say That?
While recording…. this idea made some kind of sense even though it feels like I did a 180. There are lots of reasons a list might not work though. And I fell asleep while the show finished saving, so I am posting these notes the next day. The first thing I saw this morning at Instagram was a new daily word challenge for November. I took a look and found myself second-guessing this entire show. What possessed me to say I might make a list and do a list and live a list and even repeat a list? Most listeners never see the show notes, but I already know that this idea may be one that sounded good…. for thirty seconds (or thirty minutes).
It would take something extraordinary for me to really decide to pin myself down to a list in coming weeks. Even now, a few days after finishing, I have the sense that “repeating” this concept (which felt like a continuation, not a repeat) won’t work.
Referenced in this Episode:
- Lots of old shows about gratitude
- The 2017 Spark Series
- 2018 Spark episodes: 333, 334, 335, 336, 338, 339, 340
- Making Comics (Lynda Barry)
Show Information:
- Guitar music: Nicholai Heidlas on SoundCloud
- Creativity Matters Group at Facebook
- Patreon page
- oamyoamy at Instagram
- Try Creative Bug with the Living a More Creative Life: 30 Ways in 30 Days class
- Try Trello
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