My goal for 2017 is to spread creativity in a larger community. In my last blog post Fight or Flight – Art in the Times of Uproar I explained why I believe we need more people who are able to think creatively. 

As the State of Create study found out most Americans are convinced that being more creative makes people better leaders, parents, students, and workers. The survey links being creative to stronger personal and professional success. But the bad news is: only 31% of respondents believe they are living up to their creative potential. So here we have a characteristic people recognize they need but believe they don’t have.

We all know eating healthy and working out are good for our health, and still most of us don’t do the best we can there either. But changing eating habits and going to the gym is hard work and painful whereas creative projects are fun and joyful. I guess, it is just life that gets in the way. But for me there is also another truth: there is that subconscious voice that tells us if something is fun, enjoyable, and a pleasure, like creativity, it can’t be a duty and so it shouldn’t be given much credence. Is that true for you, too?

Acknowledging the fact that my creativity needs some TLC I asked myself: what stimulates me to be more creative, to devote more time and energy to creative projects? The answer was easy. Whenever there is an impulse that sparks the fire of creativity I just can’t resist. The impulse can be experiencing art in a concert or an exhibit, talking  with a friend, reading a book, watching a Ted Talk. That stimulation can be so strong that it triggers an immediate creative response. I go home and start creating or I set aside some time on the weekend to do it.

We all need some infectious spark to fuel our creative energy. To achieve my goal of spreading creativity my ambition is to send out those sparks and impulses. Here is my idea on how to ignite some creative fires: 

Creative Spark Series

This new bimonthly series of interviews is for creative Austinites looking to connect with other creative people for inspiration and to boost their own creativity. The host, Christiane Michaelis, will be talking with local artists and creatives about their experiences on how to grow the creative muscle. After a short Q+A session, every guest speaker will have a creative challenge for the audience to stimulate their creativity.

The goal of the Creative Spark Series is to spread creativity by building a creative community to inspire one another.

All events are free and open to anyone.

The next Creative Spark event will be on April 29th.