My Creative Process

    My creative process varies depending on what I’m creating or the problem I’m attempting to solve. However, the genesis is always motivation or inspiration. When I’m creating I predominately become inspired by something I want to hear or something I think is missing in the world. I’m also inspired by the opportunity to do something I consider great.    

    Prior to getting started in any creative endeavor I like to put myself in a calm environment with no one around me. Solitude allows me to focus and be free to have bad ideas and work through them. Again, depending on what I’m creating I will have different rituals.

If I’m creating music, I will play artist with the writing ability I strive to attain. When I write songs, I am inspired by artists that I admire and try and immolate them without copying them. Then I will also listen to an instrumental that I plan to write on a continuous loop and conjure ideas and topics. Once a theme develops and lyrics begin to manifest I will begin recording and listening to the initial version over and over again listening for mistakes and opportunities to improve and continue to build on that preliminary version.

    When a song is finished, I transition my creative energy to cover art for the music. Usually, the song inspires the direction in which I want to go with the cover art. When that is established, I begin thinking about the message I want to communicate through the cover art and whether that message complements the song. From there it's purely subjective on what I think looks good.

    I’ve been working on a golf clothing line and utilizing vision boards. This practice has sparked tons of inspiration. I put up photos of clothing that I aspire to emulate or have elements that I want to include. Images of style icons like Miles Davis, Paul Newman, Michael Jordan, and fashion from designers I respect are scattered across the board. I include colors I see in nature or images of animals. Anything on the board I would feel comfortable associating with the brand.

    In the background of my creative process is optimism. The belief that I can accomplish my ultimate goal, whatever that might be. Scratching is what you do when you can’t wait for the thunderbolt to hit you (Tharp, 2006). For some inspiration is more to conjure. Thus, part of my creative process is completing exercises and doing the work necessary to summon creativity.  

Works Cited:

Tharp, Twyla, and Mark Reiter. The Creative Habit: Learn It and Use It for Life: A Practical Guide. Simon & Schuster, 2006.