This week, Susan and Laura delve into the very best ways social media can be used - to inspire, educate and spread joy. We call this The Spark Side of Social Media.
Listen and light yourself up with tales of legacy-worthy chocolate via @morticianinthekitchen, kneel at the alter of @andy_birkey's gothic woodworking, and marvel at the beauty of fore edge printing (did you know this even existed?!?) Turns out, good and meaningful things exist on social, when you know where to look!
This week, Laura and Susan explore the inexplicable craving to consume pandemic-related entertainment during a pandemic - not entertainment about the current state of the world, no, we prefer imaginary pandemics dreamed up in the minds of fiction writers and TV writers like Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel, The End of October by Lawrence Wright, The Walking Dead and more.
These are some of the works imagined by creative minds at a time when an actual pandemic was a scary but far-fetched idea…
Listen in to hear how Laura made her way through a tunnel of imaginary pandemic entertainment and emerged on the other side with extreme respect and admiration for #NormanReedus.
CREATIVITY SPARKS: IMPOSTER SYNDROME
On this episode of The Spark File, Susan and Laura examine that deep seated fear that you're just not as good / worthy / capable as others think you are. Imposter Syndrome. Check
out this episode and you just might find ways to let go of those coping mechanisms and start to believe in your own abilities.
CREATIVITY SPARKS: THE MIND OF JILL BOLTE TAYLOR, PT 2 ELECTRIC BOOGALOO
This week, Susan and Laura, still super sparked by the life-changing whole brain approach of Jill Bolte Taylor, take an even deeper dive into her work, applying her philosophies to our creativity.
CREATIVITY SPARKS: LINCOLN IN THE BARDO
This week, Susan and Laura share sparks inspired by the bestseller Lincoln in the Bardo by George Saunders. This exploration of grief led to a greater understanding of Mary Todd Lincoln, perhaps some tolerance and acceptance regarding her mental health, and introduced us to the phenomenal story of Elizabeth Keckly, former enslaved person who became a business owner and personal modiste to the First Lady.
CREATIVITY SPARKS: THE BRAIN OF JILL BOLTE TAYLOR
This week on The Spark File, Susan and Laura discuss The Brain of Jill Bolte Taylor - one hell of a managed mind! The woman who taught us to "Please take responsibility for the energy you bring into this space" is the source of this weeks creativity spark.
Tune in to hear Dr. Bolte Taylor's story (as shared in her book My Stroke of Insight) and how we can all gain from her learnings (as shared in her book Whole Brain Living).
If you've ever felt yourself battling between left brain and right brain, now you'll know why.
CREATIVITY SPARKS: FOR LOVE OF THE GAME
This week, Susan and Laura serve up a single spark -- a spark 30 years in the making! Learn about the little card game that could - Canasta - and how it rose to fame, despite the Bridge Club establishment trying to keep it down! Friends and Foes, Joy and Pain, Triumph and Defeat intermingle at the card table. Plus a bonus mini-spark - did you know the Olympics once contained a competition for the ARTS?!
CREATIVITY SPARKS: PERFORMANCE ANXIETY
This week, Susan shares a spark so vast, we give it all our attention - Performance Anxiety. If you've ever felt tormented by fear, panic or anxiety related to your chosen profession, please do not miss this episode! Susan and Laura go deep into the prevalance of performance anxiety, what it feels like, who experiences it, and potential solutions to keep it at bay so that you can go on shining your light with ease.
CREATIVITY SPARKS: THE BEST ADVICE YOU’VE EVER RECEIVED + THE SIXTH STAGE
This week, Susan and Laura take a spin through some of the best advice they've ever received (including "don't pickle it!") plus, the very encouraging signs that people everywhere are entering the sixth stage of grief - finding meaning.
CREATIVITY SPARKS: MADE YOU LOOK + THE CURATED CLOSET
This week, the documentary Made You Look sparks a conversation about the phenomenon of justification and how our brains work overtime when we've done something we shouldn't have, PLUS, The Curated Closet - the joy-filled approach to closet curation that promotes self-expression and creativity over consumption!
CREATIVITY SPARKS: WHY + THE CREATIVE HABIT
This week, Susan and Laura dig into two worthy explorations -- Do you know your Why? Do you know why your Why matters? So many ways to consider how we can act intentionally, on and with purpose. Plus, they revisit Twyla Tharp's classic book: The Creative Habit. Do you have a habit of creativity? If not, you know The Spark File feelings on it - better get one quick!
CREATIVITY SPARKS: THE ATTENTION ECONOMY + EINSTEIN TIME
This week, Susan and Laura dive into two new sparks of creativity - the attention economy that will literally eat up all of your time (if you let it) and the Einstein Time concept that will allow you to make more time, if you need it!
CREATIVITY SPARKS: CHAMPIONS OF BREAKFAST + THE FEEDBACK PROCESS
This week, Laura and Susan take a deep dive into the fascinating tale of betrayal, corporate espionage, and family feuds that resulted in the world's most famous breakfast cereals, and how the feedback process can work in service and support of the artist to the benefit of all.
CREATIVITY SPARKS: MAKING ART OUT OF ART + REFLECTIONS ON A MOMENT
This week, Susan and Laura offer up two new sparks of creativity - the many ways we can be sparked to make art out of art, plus, a myriad reflections on the tumultuous past few weeks, and how reflecting might just put us on the path to healing. Tune in, get inspired, and then take it and make it!
CREATIVITY SPARKS: THE UPPER LIMIT PROBLEM + THE STORYTELLING SECRETS OF DAVID SEDARIS
This week on The Spark File, Susan and Laura explore how an Upper Limit Problem (as defined in The Big Leap by Gay Hendricks) might be keeping you from pursuing or completing your creative goals; AND file under "Insight from The Greats"-- storytelling secrets gleaned from the David Sedaris masterclass.
CREATIVITY SPARKS: IMAGINE IF…A CELEBRATION OF SIR KEN ROBINSON
This episode of The Spark File is dedicated to the memory of one of our creative heroes, Sir Ken Robinson. Laura shares the tale of how Sir Ken walked into her life and left an indelible mark on her creativity and on The Spark File company she and Susan are now building. Be sure to check out the Imagine If Festival going on now online at Imagine-if.com, celebrating the life and the legacy of Sir Ken Robinson.
CREATIVITY SPARKS: EVERY MONTH IS BLACK HISTORY MONTH + HERE IS NEW YORK
The Spark File is kicking off February celebrating Black History Month while asserting that Every Month is Black History Month! Creative sparks fly with conversations about Jackie Shane, William + Ellen Craft and more! Plus, E.B. White's Here is New York is the little classic you need. The mighty NYC has been through much in it's storied history. It is resilient, ever changing and changless at the same time. We heart NYC.
CREATIVITY SPARKS: BURNOUT + MY OCTOPUS TEACHER
This week on The Spark File -- news you can really use! Two hot sparks of inspiration, starting with the book Burnout by Emily Nagoski and Amelia Nagoski, and the ways we can complete the stress cycle to avoid feeling fried. Physical activity, breathing, laughter -- all serve a higher purpose in our overall wellbeing. Next, the documentary My Octopus Teacher illustrates how a man's extraordinary relationship with a cephalopod brings him back from the brink of burnout, restores his energy, his human relationships, and his creative expression.
CREATIVITY SPARKS: HAIKU + COLLECTIVE CREATIVITY
Riding high from the recent Spark File New Year 2021 Creativity KickOff, Susan and Laura discuss the highlights, and share two sparks inspired by the event - the enduring artform of Haiku, and the power we yield when we make things together, such as the work done at quilting bees, crafting bees, raising bees -- also known as collective creativity.
CREATIVITY SPARKS: THE INTRIGUE OF AUSTEN + TOYS!
This week on The Spark File, Susan and Laura are serving up two pipin' hot sparks... Join them as they suss out their obsession with Jane Austen -- is it the repressed sexual tension? the perfect witty, cutting remark? And listen as they dig into their memories of the toys that shaped our childhoods and what might be made of them now... From the Draw-a-Face Doll to the Little Lady Electric Range, Weebles that wobble, and Willy the Waterbug sprinkler... memories (and sparks) are tied up in these toys!
