Today we welcome Sharon J. Burton to the blog to talk about her new book. I have a copy and it's a wonderful indepth guide with everything from advice on dealing with the inner critic, how to create the perfect creative environment down to the lighting, along with ways to spark your creativity. She has great info on journaling as well as journaling prompts for every section covered in the book. If you're someone looking to add more creativity in your life or, as part of an already established creative practice, then this book is a must have. Tell us about your new book. What inspired you to write it? Creative Sparks: 21 Affirmations and Inspiration at Midlife is a book that provides support for emerging creatives at midlife who encounter circumstances that may derail their creative goals or affect their creative potential. By the use of affirmations, tips and testimonies by their peers, it is my hope that people will gain the confidence to move forward with pursuing a creative life that fuels their passion, no matter what age they are. It is a book I needed some years ago when I was thinking about re-engaging my creative life after graduate school and working professionally in a non-creative world for a number of years. I wanted to revisit my passion for creating art, but doubted myself thinking I was too old or that I really wasn’t the artist I thought I was in high school. After being introduced to the concept of affirmations in Julia Cameron’s The Artist’s Way, I found writing them to be helpful for me to release negative thoughts and feelings about my creativity and move forward towards engaging in a vibrant creative life. Since starting my creativity coaching practice, I have encountered beautifully talented creative people who want to engage in a creative life after the kids have left home, a divorce, or retirement. They are often entering a new role without the benefit of having years of experience in navigating a creative life. This is where the book steps in to help move you forward, no matter whether or not you were creative as a kid or younger person or if you are pursuing a creative life for the first time. I love the idea of reaching readers/artists/creatives at midlife pursuing creativity. Why did you decide to focus on midlife? All of my clients are over the age of 40. As a person at midlife myself, as a Gen Xer, many of us were not encouraged as other generations after us to pursue a creative life. Some of us were discouraged from going to art school or pursuing creative endeavors by well meaning family members who felt that it would lead to a life of poverty. For example, when I was coming out of high school in the late 80s, there was a heavy emphasis on pursuing academic degrees such as business, health care, engineering, law, etc. I didn’t experience a climate of celebrating art, artists and creativity. A lot of us who were trying to engage in creative activity also encountered criticism about our work as youth or young adults that haunts us regarding the ability to create to this day.. As a result, many of us entered careers that were considered stable and financially rewarding. It helped us to buy homes, raise our own families and take care of our obligations. Quite a few of us thrived in these careers but many of us didn’t feel aligned with what we were doing. Some of us who were lucky to pursue creative passions beyond high school had to abandon them to raise families and pursue these careers, but secretly long to return to it. My own physician shared recently that she was a singer in a band before she finished medical school. Today she is a wife, mom, and juggling her own health care practice with her husband. Her face told me all I needed to know about how much she missed that creative part of her life. A lot of us learned to hide that we have these creative passions. I was sharing with an attorney in my age group the other day about my book and her eyes got big and she stated she has been in the process of writing a mystery novel, almost in a hushed tone. It reflected how I feel about many people who may not have felt comfortable owning and sharing that side of themselves as a result of an era that didn’t appear to value their creative interests. I see this book as a love letter to them. That it is never too late to engage into your creative passions. Can you share a little about how and why you use affirmations to help with creativity? I share in the book about what affirmations are, which I define as statements that are in the present tense that are designed to “re-wire” or challenge negative thought patterns. I also highlight a few research studies that examine the role and benefits of positive self-affirmations, which provides some level of scientific evidence that in the proper context, affirmations can work. As someone who didn’t feel confident re-engaging into my creative passion, which was art, my doubts and insecurities kept me from moving forward for a time. After learning about affirmations and how to use them in a way that helped me, I was able to coach and motivate myself in pursuing my art practice and eventually to exhibit my work. That was over 15 years ago and I continue to use affirmations as part of my daily morning journaling practice to focus on intentions every day. What are some of the creative blocks/issues you help creatives work through and how? Many people are encountering the more common blocks such as dealing with the inner critic, imposter syndrome and creative anxiety. A common one is time management…people are juggling more than ever in their lives and time for their creative life is often hard to schedule. I am also finding that grief is becoming more of an issue than it once was, especially since the COVID-19 pandemic. We are grieving a lot right now, whether it’s the death of a loved one, a life circumstance (ex: divorce, a move to another city, our personal health issues that affect how we navigate the world, witnessing the mental or physical decline of our parents, loss of income) or collective humanitarian issues. Grief affects our ability to enjoy the things we are passionate about and can block us from pursuing them. I use everything from affirmations to mindful exercises to help people achieve a sense of balance to achieve their creative goals. It looks different for everyone based on their needs and their commitment to the process. Much of how I assist blocked creatives in many circumstances is provided in Creative Sparks. Could you share one of the affirmations that’s helped you during a period of imposter’s syndrome? I am an author of a book that positively impacts the lives of artists and creatives. Anything else you’d like to share about your book? Where can we find more about you and your book online? The book is available through Amazon.com here: www.amazon.com/Creative-Sparks-Affirmations-Inspiration-Creativity-ebook/dp/B0D2GGK25D. You can learn more about me, the book launch and upcoming related events at https://www.sparkyourcreative.com/book.html
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AuthorAuthor of the Landry's True Colors Series, the Cecily Taylor Series, the Star Series, and Dating the It Guy. Archives
July 2024
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