Creative Musings

Art

“Art and music can awaken the spiritual and ultimately lead to productive and positive change.” Shezad Dawood

Night in the Garden of Love, an exhibition at the Aga Khan Museum encompasses work and inspiration from artists Shezad Dawood and Yusef Lateef. From the show description “Both Dawood and Lateef’s work engages multidisciplinary practices and fuses Western, African, Eastern, and mystical traditions. Their work represents multiple meeting points between cultures and proposes creative and hopeful ways of seeking solutions, improvising, and innovating to tackle global issues. Learn more about Shezad Dawood’s work here.

The World of Threads Festival is a leading international showcase of contemporary fibre and textile art representing a broad range of global artists. I visited the exhibit in 2023 - it was an inspiring show encompassing work from traditional to experimental and eclectic. Check out the World of Threads exhibition website here.

Music

One Square Inch is an initiative and website devoted to "a sanctuary for silence at Olympic National Park." My daily walks in nature are a time to unwind, enjoy the sounds of nature and solitude. Its often during these walks when the spark of an idea or creative solution comes to me. If you can't spend time in nature, have a listen to one of One Square Inch inspirational nature recordings. And if you like One Square Inch, check out The Sound Tracker.

The arts enrich our lives and play a crucial role in supporting communities and individuals, especially those facing isolation or marginalization. For individuals with health or mental health issues, artistic engagement offers a therapeutic outlet for expression and healing. Similarly, for marginalized communities, the arts provide a platform for empowerment, storytelling, and social change. Through creative expression, the arts foster connection, resilience, and a sense of belonging for all individuals.

In 1998, Yo-Yo Ma created Silkroad with the intention "to serve as a reminder that amidst the rapid pace of globalization, while it may lead to division, it also presents remarkable opportunities for collective action." Their overarching aim is to "craft music that embraces diversity, igniting profound cultural cooperation and fostering a fervent dedication to learning for a world that's more optimistic and inclusive."

Learn more about their work, programs and listen to some of their music here.

Listen, Read

The Rich Roll Podcast

Hosted by ultra-endurance athlete and wellness advocate Rich Roll, the podcast offers a deep dive into a diverse range of topics, from health and fitness to personal growth, spirituality, and social issues. What sets this podcast apart from others is his ability to engage his guests in deep and thoughtful conversation, allowing ample time to delve into their stories, insights, and wisdom with compassion and curiosity. There are to many great interviews to choose from, so browse the list, grab a coffee or tea, or put on some earbuds on your next walk and settle into an episode.

Check out Rich Roll's podcast episode here.

I came across Pico Iyer's work a number of years ago in an article he wrote for the New York Times, The Joy of Quiet. His writing captures a thoughtful, creative and fresh perspective to his musings on life.

Visit his website here.

I'm a big fan of all of Seth Godin's work. He's a prolific and creative writer. I love his writing, ideas and perspective whether he's speaking about the creative process, marketing or entrepreneurship. He has a great blog and podcast and many great books to choose from - so lots of inspiration!

Quotes:
> Art is the unique work of a human being, work that touches another. Seizing new ground, making connections between people or ideas, working without a map, these are works of art, and if you do them, you are an artist
> What’s scarce is trust, connection, and surprise. These are three elements in the work of a successful artist.

Check out Seth Godin's work here. And his blog here.

Austin Kleon is a writer, illustrator and artist. Check out his books and blog.

Some quotes from his book Show Your Work:
> Begin again! When you feel like you’ve learned whatever there is to learn from what you’re doing, it’s time to change course and find something new to learn so that you can move forward. You can’t be content with mastery: you have to push yourself to become a student again.
> The thing is you never really start over. You don’t lose all the work that’s come before. Even if you try to toss it aside, the lessons you’ve learned from it will seep into what you do next.

And from his book Keep Going:
> Leave things better than you found them
> Uncertainty is the very thing art thrives on.
> To Change is to Be Alive!
> If you’re bummed out and hating your work, pick somebody special in your life and make something for them. If you have a big audience, make them something special and give it away. Or even better: volunteer your time and teach someone how to make what you make and do what you do. See how it feels. See whether it puts you in a better place.

Follow Austin Kleon's blog here.

Rick Rubin is a record producer, former president of Columbia Records and recently published The Creative Act: A Way of Being. Some favourite quotes from his book:
> If we are aiming to create work that is exceptional, most rules don’t apply, average is nothing to aspire to, the goal is not to fit in, if anything it’s to amplify the differences.
> Open mindedness is curiosity, it explores all perspectives, always open to new ways, always seeking to arrive at original insights.

Learn more about his book here.

Head on over to my blog for more book arts, creative musings, ideas and reflections. Its an ongoing experiment :)