"creative process" seminar- call for ideas/suggestions

[Tantroniq]

I see from the schedule that I am to give a seminar on "creative process".

Im curious to know from any EM forum participants who care to respond the following:

1) what would you think a seminar like that would be about if you saw it listed as such
2) what you would hope it would be about (esp. if different from the above)

Since this is a specific audience I am opening up the topic generally to see what might indicate how I would tailor this seminar. I've talked about this for different kinds of audiences, but this one is unique. By the way, that is not my seminar title but I think it was intended to be a reasonable placeholder name- which it is

Any and all ideas welcome.

[robsol]

I love this theme, and would immediately hope that it would be about how to improve creativity, in other words, how to be more productive and original.

I am personally interested in the question if it is possible to have "ceativity on tap" - to be able to make unique art whenever needed for anybody who considers themself an artist in any sense. I refer to this process as "alchemy" and I have been interested in the philosophical part of this question until lately when I have started concentrating on the more practical side of it.

And in case anybody is wondering - yes, it is possible.

Unfortunately it looks like I won't be able to make it to EM10...

[Tantroniq]

I agree completely- and I also think that yes it is possible. And yes its also then a practical issue of how to integrate that into daily life, while being aware that this integrative process has to evolve and adapt with life's changing patterns and responsibilities....(((sigh)))). Its not easy, of course.

I dont think Ive ever met an artist who was not heavily preoccupied at one time or another with the issues of that kind of practicality, esp. with respect to being able to access and work with, document or archive one's own ideas consistently.

You are on my wavelength- this is an area I plan to address. Thank you for responding! Hopefully there will be more...

[robsol]

[Acoustic Interloper]

Some of the exercises in Pauline Oliveros' *Deep Listening* book come to mind, although I have to admit that my own deep listening exercises are at times less meditative than hers. Playing electronic bass duets through the heating ducts in our house (players on separate floors) or firing varying-bore potato canons off the back deck to hear the harmonics are two exercises you'd wouldn't find in the book.

One of the most important dynamics in creative composition for me is synthesis of the stuff that's around you. Our family's homeschool philosophy for all of its years, and my philosophy in teaching college, is that every corner of the physical universe is the center of the universe, that you can open up the core of the universe using whatever is right in front of you. There is an old Buddhist saying about making every place a bodhimandala (a place of enlightenment) that fits the spirit of this.

[JEM]

Thank you Acoustic Interloper and Muied Lumens!!
At last, somebody has decided to throw a bone into this thread!
I was starting to wonder where everyone ran off to.
There's no question in my mind that there are people overflowing with musical talent in this forum. In fact, there's a vast ocean of creative energy among the several thousand members who have joined the Electro-Music collective over
the past six years.
Seeing a universe everywhere you go is an excellent approach and a very interesting one at that. So is deep listening which requires you to "turn off" your mind,..in a sense (not an easy thing to do).
Muied Lumens is on the right track when he talks about inspiration or creativity "on tap".
Inspiration IS what drives the creative process and, YES, it IS on tap 24/7, 365.
Life issues do have a tendency to get in the way, discouraging and stifling your process, but you have to put things in the proper perspective:
Is music or art your passion in life?
If what you create is an extensionof your being, and if your craft is what gives your existence a sense of purpose, what are you prepared to do to make it happen? Are you going to let anything stand in your way?
Sometimes it may look like you have no choice, but if your mind is still functioning properly and you're not physically incapacitated in any way, you can still create. "Writer's block" or exhaustion don't have to be a hinderance.
When you stop to look at a flower, or the full moon, or a breath-taking sunset;
when you stop to listen to the crickets at night, or listen to the morning birds singing, or hear the waves crashing on a shoreline, your thoughts are drawn to such beauty like a magnet. Your creative process is driving your appreciation for these simple things.
When you listen to your MP3 player, when you read a book, when you watch a movie or look at a photograph in a magazine, these images and sounds are stored in your subconscious mind and manifest themselves in your dreams or while you paint, or sculpt, or write poetry or play music.
If you have the time and energy to do any of the things I listed above, even if it's only for a minute, your creative process is alive and well.
It's part of who you are. There's no way around it. Your mind is constantly at work even while you sleep. You might be able to slow it down or control it through auto-suggestion or meditation, but you can't turn it off. You would have to be in a severe comatose condition to do that.
No matter how tragic, or painful, or boring, or frustrating your life might be, even THAT comes out in what you create. It's part of being human. Part of being alive. It's a psychological necessity to relieve stress through creative expression.
Now that these words have entered your subconscious, is there any doubt
in YOUR mind as to whether creativity is on tap?

[bachus]

[JEM]

This is also quite true. It's a technique used mostly in transcendental meditation and it works best in natural environments. However, if you practice controlling your breathing and your thoughts well enough, you can do it just about anywhere.
Thanks for contributing that, Bachus.

JEM

[laura woodswalker]

Hi! Hope to catch your seminar at E-M! It's a difficult subject to talk about because most of what goes on in creating is just not accessible by words or explanation!!

I am always getting thoughts & ideas. The problem is remembering them, and in the case of music...recording them (via musical scores or computer software) so that the magic is still there!

Especially with electronic music, it is really something new to me (I previously played guitar & banjo). I have spent a few years starting from Zero knowledge & trying to learn Everything. All the arcana of Reason, MIDI, cables, synths, equipment... at first I was almost afraid to set up my gear! Then when I'd get all set up & try to be 'creative' and record stuff...there was a paralysis, as if all this complicated equipment was a barrier to the music I heard in my head.

I've been fighting to overcome that for these several years & I finally feel that I'm ready to "express myself' with synths and Reason.

The other thought I have about creativity (and by this I usually mean spontaneous jamming) is how easily I fall into cliches and have to try really hard to come up with something different.