I’m always looking for ways to be more creative. Perhaps a book, a workshop. There is even one called The Creativity Workshop and it takes place in New York, Barcelona, Florence.  Florence, yes! I want to go.
http://www.creativityworkshop.com/newyork.html
Okay, Florence isn’t going to happen. (After all, there is the basement to fix, the bathroom to renovate, repairs to be made on the barn.) Maybe I’ll find inspiration in a book.
I have one titled “Pencil Dancing” by Mari Messer.
I love this book. Even the format is creative. It’s wide margins invite me to sit in a sunny porch with coffee and pen and make creative notes.
So I began to read the book again this week. Chapter Two is called, Going Into Your Egg. The author talks about large plastic eggs found at Easter. You look through a tiny hole in one end and see a whole environment. She says we need to find a creative space where we and retreat and find our sanctuary. Interestingly enough, she quotes St. Francis as saying ‘life is not so much outward and away as inward toward the core of the heart and caves are best for that kind of journey.’
So how does one find their egg or cave? She goes on to say that ‘This space is like a walled garden. This walled space contains creative energy and keeps it from seeping away.’
I discover I am not alone in seeking a ‘walled space.’ This blog takes an amusing look at one woman’s search for her place in local coffee shops. The Quest- One Writer’s Search for The Coffee Shop Office I understand coffee shops work well for many and I have found a couple that work for me. But one is an hour’s drive away and the other is often crowded and noisy.
Some of my favorite places: a coffee shop away from home, a peaceful park with comfortable chairs, a lawn chair at the beach.
I like airports, airplanes, riding in cars (Not driving!!), and libraries. But mostly I prefer to sit at my office desk (with a minimum of interruptions) surrounded by a messy stack of pages and books for ready reference.
How about you? Where are you most creative? What places have you tried that didn’t work?