Creative People Podcast

This exercise was actually inspired by Ryan and a question he asked me when I was a guest on the podcast. 

We’re going to visualize and animate our creativity. 
This is a great practice to experiment with because…
1) It’s a fun way to use our imaginations and think differently 

2) It gives us an opportunity to appreciate and celebrate our capacity to be creative - remembering even when we’re feeling blocked or uninspired we always have the ability to be creative.

3) It’s a chance to explore our relationship with creativity and be curious about what we might need to support and allow our creativity to flourish. 

So you’re going to close your eyes or focus your gaze. If you’re listening in the car, come back to this when you can close your eyes or focus your gaze safely. 

Take a deep breath in and slowly exhale out and you can even let yourself sigh. Repeat this two more times.

Begin to picture yourself walking through a park, there’s a windy pathway lined by evergreen and maple and birch trees, there are patches of gardens with wildflowers in different shades of yellow, pink, orange and blue and there’s a slowly flowing river off to the side.

In a moment you’re going to walk up and see your creativity.
. Imagine what your creativity would look like if you animated it? 
What kind of character or object would it turn into? 
What colour or colours is it? 

How does it move and communicate with you? 

You now see your creativity waiting for you on a bench. You’re excited to spend some time together.

You’re going to ask your creativity some questions and just notice what it wants to share with you:

Ask your creativity, what encouragement or guidance do you want to share with me?

What’s something you want us to collaborate on and create together?

And lastly, what does your creativity need in order to flourish?

You can open your eyes now and you may want to write down any messages or ideas you got from this visualization. You can always re-ask yourself these questions and journal about them. 

You can use this visualization as a way of connecting with your creativity - maybe you take time to have a weekly or monthly brainstorming session with it OR you can use the visualization to inspire a piece of art - maybe you draw, paint or make a comic about your creativity. 

I hope this exercise helped you activate your imagination and think of your creativity in a playful and different way! 

www.creativepeople-podcast.com

Hi, I’m Krista Kankula - a Creativity Coach and I’m all about helping you use play and creative self-expression as a tool to cultivate more self-connection, FUN and joy in your life!

For today’s exercise, we’re going to focus on creative blocks and how we can bring a playful energy/mindset to moving past them.

Creative blocks are sometimes also referred to as fear, resistance, or feeling stuck. It’s the sensation of not being able to access our creativity or feeling like something is blocking us from saying or expressing what’s inside of us.

What’s important to keep in mind is that:
1) Feeling blocked creatively is not a sign that we’re not creative or that something is wrong with us (there’s nothing wrong with you, we’re all creative)

2) although they may feel like it, they’re not impossible to move past

And 3) When we bring in a playful energy or attitude we can change the way we perceive creative blocks. Instead of dreading them, we can see them as an opportunity to get curious and learn.

That’s because creative blocks offer us helpful information. For example, they might be trying to communicate to us that…

1. There’s a part of us that feels afraid, uncertain, or vulnerable.
   
   
   
2. We need to change something in our environment or approach.
   
   
   
3. That we need rest, a break from that creative activity
   
   
   
4. That we need to shift our perspective.
   
   
   

Play is one of the ultimate antidotes to helping us past a creative block. Play helps us embrace the unknown when we’re not sure how to move past a block, it helps us imagine different possibilities and is really like a warm-up for our creativity.

Here’s how we can bring in that energy or attitude of playfulness to meet these blocks..

First, we bring attention to what’s present
Visualize or name the block (ex. I feel like there’s a block stopping me from saying and writing what I want to say or from allowing me to paint in a way that feels fun)
Then get curious about what’s there - what is this block trying to tell us?

Second, we bring in the energy of playfulness

We can do that in a number of ways, but I like using either movement AND/OR visualization as they both can be done pretty much anywhere and without any equipment.

Through Movement
Move in a way that feels playful to you, such as dancing,  jumping up and down, hopping on a swing in your backyard or participating in a game.

Through Visualization 
Picture a time when you felt really playful, maybe imagine yourself playing when you were younger and notice how the energy of playfulness feels in your body.

If you can’t picture that, imagine a child you know or one of your pets, a cat or dog being playful. Notice how seeing them be playful brings that energy of playfulness into your body.

Now that we’re embodying that playful energy we want to ask ourselves questions to get at solutions.

Here are some examples of questions we might ask ourselves:
How might I move past this block if I were being playful?

What would it look like if this activity felt playful again?

Finally, we want to look back at the block and observe:
How do you feel now?
What do you notice that you didn’t before? 

This process was inspired by what is called the coaching arch in life coaching. 

We can use parts of this process or the whole thing to help us when we’re feeling blocked. 

I hope you give this exercise a try and let a mindset of playfulness fuel your creativity and help you move past any blocks you may encounter.

www.creativepeople-podcast.com

Do the Opposite

Hi, I’m Krista Kankula - a Creativity Coach and I’m all about helping you use play and creative self-expression as a tool to cultivate more self-connection, FUN and joy in your life!

Today is opposite day. Or at least we’re going to pretend it is.

Novelty is such an important factor in creativity.
And for a lot of us who are really living creatively it's something we find ourselves seeking out.

When it comes to our creative practice or creative work it's important to shake things up every now and then and just be curious about how it inspires or influences what we’re making or our mindset.

For whatever project or creative practice you’re working on at the moment you’re going to challenge yourself - just for fun to do the opposite of that for one day. 

I’ll give you some examples of how you can approach this opposite challenge:

If you’re someone like me who paints with a lot of colours - specifically pinks, oranges, greens and blues

You challenge yourself to paint only in black and white 
OR you challenge yourself to paint with your eyes closed
OR you challenge yourself to only use words to create an image or pattern on the page

If you’re someone who photographs landscapes and nature

You can challenge yourself to draw or paint what you see instead
Or take photos of objects or people instead

If you’re someone who writes blog posts

You can challenge yourself to use a voice memo to talk out and record your blog post instead of writing.
Or you can challenge yourself to draw a comic that communicates the main theme behind your blog post

If you’re designing posters
You can challenge yourself to make a poster out of cardstock and cut and glue on the shapes and text

Or You can challenge yourself to create a 2-minute video communicating the event or ideas from the poster instead.

These are just a few ideas to get your creative brain warmed up and thinking about how you can practice this FUN opposite challenge for yourself.

And if you take on this challenge, which we really hope you do, share what you created and tag Ryan @creativepeople.podcast and me @KristaKankula on Instagram. We can’t wait to see what you create and how this opposite approach inspires you!

www.creativepeople-podcast.com

This week we are in the studio with DP Paul Duck!   

https://www.pauljamesduck.com/

Paul tells us about the high-pressure world of documentaries, and how he prepares for it.  We talk about frustrations, how they help us grow, and how he's still chasing the same feeling he got as a teenager when he started shooting skateboard videos.  Great chat!

Also, it's our 100th episode.

And we have a new creativity exercise with Krista Kankula
https://www.instagram.com/kristakankula/

Music by Jobii and sarah the illstrumentalist

https://www.creativepeople-podcast.com/
https://www.instagram.com/creativepeople.podcast/

www.creativepeople-podcast.com

Exercise #5

• Design a failure resume from creative projects/pieces you’ve created
• Use inspiration from the Book the rise and explore how you reframed or transformed each failure into another creation, into a meaningful experience. 
• Talking about the challenges of failure and what comes after it.

Normalizing failure as part of the creative process.


Find out more at:
https://kristakankula.com/creativejuice/

www.creativepeople-podcast.com

This week I'm talking with Jim Han - a B-Boy, Hip Hop Dance Teacher, and owner of the 519 School of HipHop!

Jim tells me about discovering Hip-Hop Culture as a kid in South Korea and how it gave his life direction in college.   We talk dance battles, passing on what you learn, and the history/scope of Hip-Hop.

Great chat.

schoolofhiphop.ca

www.creativepeople-podcast.com

This week on the podcast, Ryan is chatting with Toronto-based photographer Kate Dockeray.
https://www.instagram.com/katedockeray/

Kate talks about her time in school and how she puts herself in the position to be lucky.  We talk Harry Styles and Creative Clowns.  Good chat.  Do it up

www.creativepeople-podcast.com

This week we're chatting with director Brea Grant about her new Blumhouse film Torn Hearts, starring Katey Sagal.  

We talk about her years as an actor and how the creative process led her to direct.  How she treats her creative work as a job and the difference between being creative and being desperate.  Great chat.

https://www.instagram.com/breagran
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt15053518/

Brea's Podcast - Reading Glasses
https://maximumfun.org/podcasts/reading-glasses

New creative exercise with Krista Kankula
Learn more about Creative Coaching
kristakankula.com

Program:

0:00 -1:35  - Intro
1;40 - 7:50  - Creative Exercise with Krista
7:45 - 10:00 - Intro 2
10:15 -1:04:50  - Brea Grant


Thank you to our sponsor Him and Her
https://www.himandher.ca/

Music by Dusty Decks
and Matt Large

Made by Ryan Leacock
https://www.instagram.com/ryanleacock_/

Support the podcast:
https://www.creativepeople-podcast.com/

www.creativepeople-podcast.com

Back at it, buds!   

Season 3 kicks off with Abbie Darling!

Abby creates custom crystal and brass jewelry.  She came downtown to the studio, Tim Hortons in hand.  We had such a good time chatting... she's one of those people that just make the rest of your day better.

Check out Abbie online:
abbiedarlingcustoms.com
https://www.instagram.com/sidetrackedwithabbieandjonpod/

New creative exercise with Krista Kankula

Learn more about Creative Coaching
kristakankula.com

Program:

0:00 -3:00  - Intro
3:00 - 7:00  - Creative Exercise with Krista 
7:00 - 8:30 - Intro 2
8:30 -1:24:50  - Abbie Darling

Thank you to our sponsor Him and Her
https://www.himandher.ca/

Music by Dusty Decks

Produced by Ryan Leacock
https://www.instagram.com/ryanleacock_/

Support the podcast:
https://www.creativepeople-podcast.com/

www.creativepeople-podcast.com

I've put together a remixed buffet of some of the best guests and conversations from the most popular episodes this season.

Featuring:

- Stephanie Scott (EP:88) on the Creative Path
2:15 - 10:25

- Densil McFarlane (EP:75) of the OBGM's on being Strong Creatively
11:23 - 18:31

- Isabel Carreńo (EP:85) on "Not Taking it Too Seriously"
19:47 - 26:18

- Kim-A-Tron (EP:84) - "There is No Proper Way to be an Artist"
27:14 -3 5:32

- The High Road Design (Jon Kutt) (EP:89) on Creative Bitterness
36:36 - 43:58

- Robin (EP:80) and Elaine (EP:83) on Marketing, Partnership, and Kitchener
45:00 - 54:54

- Taylor Jones  (EP:81)and Kyle Sawyer (EP:94) on the Keys to Success in Business and Contrived vs Occurring Ideas
56:14 - 1:02:48

- Jonathan Ferrell (farrell_lego) (EP:65) on the Wisdom of Letting Go
1:04:14 - 1:06:48

- Izzy (Isabelle Poirier) of the Ottawa Design Club (EP:82) on Why We Create and Finding her Purpose
1:08:00 - 1:12:10

this episode was produced by Ryan Leacock
(*some audio was corrupted in the mixer - this is the best Mixed Media Sound could fix it.  Better luck next season.)

Thank you for a great 2nd season!

This episode is sponsored by Him and Her
https://www.himandher.ca/


Music for this episode was created by:
Sarah, the Illstrumentalist
Matt Large
shamgang
peerless
Yomoti
Bonkers Beat Club
SINY
Dusty Decks

www.creativepeople-podcast.com