Thinking inside the box

My latest library trip produced the book The Creative Habit, by Twyla Tharp to read. In a nutshell, she wrote a book that tells about how she maneuvered a creative process for herself that helped to create her career as a choreographer. She talks a lot about the value of discipline and making time every day to pursue your creative ventures in order to excel at them. Some of her ideas don't appeal to me at all. But, that's the beauty of books like this, you take what works for you and chuck the rest.

One chapter is titled "Before you can think out of the box, you have to start with a box". When she gets an idea for a project she sets up a box into which she places things that inspire her in relation to the project. Once a project is done, she can have an archaeological expedition through the box to review its evolutionary process. It was so interesting to read about her process because I do similar things, but haven't ever made a box out of stuff (and I sort of fear that if I did, I'd have a second bedroom riddled with half filled boxes of ideas) and haven't ever thought about the way creative ideas get connected for me. What I do have is several file folders into which I put articles that interest me - usually something related to music. There are articles on commissioned works that I found intriguing, organizations that have formed for charity (Socialist, some soon not-to-be vp's might say) reasons, and yoga as it relates to singing.

But, I can see from how she talks about evolutionary process that I do it too. One article I read was about a program a local music college set up with Venezuela. They started by sending instruments down to schools. Then a partnership formed to create an orchestra and a school. The theory was that putting kids in music lessons after school would get them off the streets and help to squash the drug culture. In turn, kids learn a trade that, if they persist at it, will get them either a spot in the orchestra or as a teacher. Either way they are earning a decent living and won't be pushing drugs to make money. I cut the article out because I thought that would be the sort of organization I would like to work for. Ultimately, the concept of 'doing for others through music' was what spoke to me and turned me onto the idea of offering fundraising concerts. So, the top of my box, where that article would be at the bottom, would have the program from my September concert and all the research and music I sifted through to finalize the program. It would also have the books Three Cups of Tea and Banker to the Poor in it.

Another article I cut out a while ago was about a woman who commissioned a work to be written for her to sing, using Hester Prynne's life from The Scarlet Letter. After I read it, I started wondering what heroine I would play in a work I commissioned. One thing lacking in my stage career was characters of substance. The maid and the little sister never presented the kind of heart or humor with which I wanted to sing. Finally, I arrived at being Nancy Drew. I know, so me, right? I started collecting the Nancy Drew books that I read as a kid - part of the appeal was the kitchy language from the 40's and 50's - going through them and pulling out text that I liked. I envisioned a song cycle with songs about the villains, her relationship with Ned, Hannah and her father, the roadster, and her Friends Bess and George. Somewhere I have a notebook with all my notes, but I stopped when I realized I had no idea how to find a composer to work with on the project. But, maybe I'll make a box and put stuff inside...

Another box I could make would right now contain only the idea that came to me while I watched the bad dance concert, written about in an earlier post. In one of the dances they used a Schubert lied. I liked watching the dancer move as I heard the singer perform (though it was via recording and not live). It affected me differently than watching dancing with just instrumental music. Wouldn't it be interesting, I thought, to do a recital in this space where the singer and dancer(s) were both on stage with a dance going on while the songs were sung? Finding music to put together a story line and having it choreographed sounds like a really interesting, collaborative project. I wondered how an audience would take something like that in. Would it be too much to watch two visual components of performance - to have the pianist, singer duo along with any dancers? I've thought about approaching the head of the dance program with my idea to see what she thinks, but don't have the time right now.

The other thing Tharp talks about that I like is what she calls 'scratching', or how she finds her next creative idea. It is the equivalent of a painter going to a museum to see works of art, or a singer going to a concert to hear another singer, each looking for inspiration. But, there are the less obvious times to scratch like when real life is going on and you are going through your regular day. If you pay attention, something may catch your eye. Tharp 'scratches' for little ideas, because she feels big ideas come to her in flashes, but it is the little ideas that get you going. You improvise based on a snipit, until things come together in some kind of coalescence.

I read this chapter on scratching after this past weekend. In teacher training we were talking about chakras and nadis. As we talked I found myself doodling on my page to create another representation of the chakras and before I knew it, I had a quilt design idea in front of me. If I made a box for it, I'd take the chakra handout that someone in class passed around, my design and the pieces of fabric I already own that I envision going into the quilt (I see the cool batiks that are sold at the fabric store in Arlington in the various chakra color families, being blended together by curves to make a design that doesn't necessarily have a defined outline until you look closely).

So, I have LOTS of ideas, but am often not sure how to make them come to life and often realize that I have too many ideas to execute so I have to pick and choose. It did make me wonder if there is some way I could find to just work as an 'artist' and spend my days doing all the crafty, creative things I enjoy. Hello, sugar daddy??