November Book-of-the-Month: The Creative Habit – Learn It and Use It for Life by Twyla Tharp

Words from author, Twyla Tharp:

First Chapter, I Walk Into a White Room – “To some people, this empty room symbolizes something profound, mysterious and?terrifying: the task of starting with nothing and working your way toward creating something whole and beautiful and satisfying…The blank space can be humbling.? But I’ve faced it my whole professional life.? It’s my job.? It’s also my calling.? Bottom line: Filling this empty space constitutes my identity.”

The?words?hit home?because I, like many readers of this blog,?have dedicated years to a challenging creative discipline.? Each year, there are different finishes,?products, designs and?trends to master.? A working portfolio is an ever-changing chameleon and you can fill it with new samples from classes, videos and books…but at some point, you will?face that white wall and your creative self will have to birth and create something of your own doing.? It will take that client that likes your portfolio but doesn’t specifically see what she?wants?or a product you love but are tired of what?you have always created with it.??This?is what both excites?AND terrifies me.? It is why I bought the book and why this month I am recommending The Creative Habit – Learn It and Use It for Life by Twyla Tharp.? I?first came to experience?Ms. Tharp’s?work?when my husband and I travelled to New York to see?Movin’ Out — her choreography set to Billy Joel’s music.? I thought that reading what one of the world’s best choreographers had to say about creativity would be interesting.? (…and personally, when I think of discipline and unerring devotion to a craft, I think of dancers.)? No worries: It is a book for all artists.

Getting into a creative habit — the process in which creativity is nurtured and defined?– is tough?because?first steps are never easy.??Ms. Tharp theorizes?that?the best?creativity is a result of good work habits, that there are no “natural” geniuses.? (Yes, there are those who have been given a gift but is there?discipline and focus?? “Whether or not God has kissed your brow, you still have to work.”)? No one is born with a skill set: they are developed through exercise, repetition,?learning and a positive reaction to failures.? In order to be creative, she states that you have to know how to prepare to be creative.

Here is one of her examples of evolving work.? One of Rembrandt’s early paintings Artist in His Studio is on the left.? A beautiful work — but notice how small he paints himself in the shadowed corner.? His features are not fully fleshed out and he’s not even touching the point of focus — the large easel!? Almost forty years later, he produces Self Portrait with Two Circles.? The mastery of his brush is fully evident and he paints himself confidently, the focus of the piece fully in touch with the tools of his trade.

I love that her exercises are adaptable?enough so that everyone can tailor?it to their own creative DNA.? (For instance, my brother gets pumped by listening to his iPod while?I like to mostly sync solely with my thoughts?to work at my best.? The same regimen?wouldn’t work for both?of us.)??There are?habits?that need to?happen daily.? The key here is to learn conditioning:?never thinking fundamentals are beneath you,?practicing to avoid rustiness and dealing with creative ruts.? Experience will always open a door?BUT it can also close it if you always rely on what has worked before and you are unwilling to step out of?your comfort zone.

All in all,?nurturing creative habits?will help you to walk into?that white room and walk out leaving a masterpiece behind you.? Who wouldn’t want that?? I hope you enjoy the recommendation and the creative outpouring it will likely inspire.? Have a wonderful day!