Cory Photography with Tom and Pat Cory

Start a Creativity Group

Many of us belong to camera clubs which is a great way to get ideas of new places to photograph and new ways of seeing those places we may go to all the time.  But, another great way to expand our creativity is to be with others who are creative in other areas.  Over 5 years ago, after reading and becoming inspired by Julia Cameron's The Artist's Way, we began a small group made up of creative people we knew. Besides photographers we have artists in other mediums, writers, and even an orchestra conductor in our group. 

 

 We meet one time a month at someone's house.  The host prepares the main course and the rest of us pitch in. After dinner we show what we've been working on.  There is no critiquing although once in a while someone might ask an opinion on some aspect of what they have done. What you get is an attentive audience for your work and positive feedback. If you didn't get to do anything over the month, that's OK too.  But most of the time 'having to get something ready for group' really translates into an excuse to let real world things go long enough to make a little time to do those things we really enjoy doing.  We've also found that creative people often enjoy more that one discipline so our group provides an audience for experimenting a bit. A photographer may write a poem or try making a collage for a change, or one of our writers may do some photography.  There is no business meeting and the most formal thing we do is come up with a date for the next meeting and occasionally plan a 'field trip' to some event.

 

 So if you have some friends who are actively creative or are closet creatives who don't take the time to let themselves do some of the things they would like to do, try having them over for an evening, tell them to bring something creative that they've done (recently or a while ago, it doesn't matter), and see how it goes.  We started out with 6 and have never gone over 9 people.  The small group seems to work best for us. Our group has become a very positive aspect of our lives and we all make an effort to attend each meeting.  Good luck!

 

 A Creativity Exercise

The beauty of this exercise is that it can be done any time of the year.  Simply go to your florist or even grocery store and purchase a few flowers that have interesting shapes. We find that Irises work very well. Put them close to a north facing window at a comfortable height, put your closest focusing lens onto your camera and start looking for interesting shapes and forms. Explore various focal lengths and angles. You may be surprised at what variety you will find right before your eyes.

 

 

   

 

 

Newsletter September, 2006 Continued

Iris, 2006