In this episode of Creative Lift: “Creating Space: Finding Flow,” we’re revisiting the ideas offered in season eight. Join me to reflect on our journey through the Illuminary’s five rooms – the Studio, Workshop, Attic, Library, and Garden Cafe, in Creative Lift episodes 60-70. Each of these Illuminary rooms offer unique tools and mindsets to support different aspects of your creative process.

In this episode, we explore:

• How each room in the Illuminary serves a specific creative purpose
• Real-world examples of using these spaces to overcome creative blocks
• Ways to reframe creative challenges into opportunities for growth
• Practical strategies for maintaining creative momentum

Featured Tool:

The Why Game – A practical tool for understanding the root cause of creative blocks. Check it out at this link: https://naomi300.typeform.com/to/PJ43egu9

Key Takeaways:

• Different types of creative blocks require different solutions
• The importance of identifying the underlying cause of creative resistance
• How to transform “work” into play to maintain creative flow
• The value of reframing our creative narratives

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Credits:
Recorded and edited by Alex Doherty

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Find me on Instagram: @naomikinsman

Find Alex on Instagram: @ag.doherty

Support the Show:

If you enjoyed this episode, please rate and review Creative Lift on Apple Podcasts or your preferred podcast platform. Your support helps others discover these tools for their creative journey.

In today’s episode of Creative Lift, Creating Space: Collaborating in the Cafe, we’re getting practical about how we might invite feedback in the most helpful way. Rather than asking someone to tell you what they think of your work, how might you shape a question that makes it possible for them to give you information that will illuminate the next steps of your creative process?

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EPISODE LINKS:

Find me on Instagram: @naomikinsman

Find Alex on Instagram: @ag.doherty

You can also help others find the show by rating and reviewing it on Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen to the show. Your words make such a difference for them—and for me, as I continue to create this show. Many, many thanks in advance. And of course, a huge thank you to Alex Doherty for his fantastic editing of the show.

In today’s episode of Creative Lift, Creating Space: Designing with Collaboration in Mind, we’re considering the importance of collaboration in the creative process. How might we outfit physical spaces and design our mindset to make the most of the varied perspectives and possibilities that arise when we work creatively with others?

What approach might we take to sharing our ideas, inviting feedback, and then processing that feedback in a way that furthers our creative work’s goal? How might we offer feedback to others in constructive and concrete ways that boost their momentum (rather than taking the wind out of their sails)?

While some parts of the creative process may be served best by working on our own, collaboration is also an essential part of shaping and sharing creative work that expresses your unique voice. Let’s lean into some tools and strategies that add energy, flow, and joy to working together.

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EPISODE LINKS:

Find me on Instagram: @naomikinsman

Find Alex on Instagram: @ag.doherty

You can also help others find the show by rating and reviewing it on Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen to the show. Your words make such a difference for them—and for me, as I continue to create this show. Many, many thanks in advance. And of course, a huge thank you to Alex Doherty for his fantastic editing of the show.

In today’s episode of Creative Lift, Creating Space: Learning in the Library, we’re building on last week’s exploration of an expansive library space, dedicated to learning, which houses artistic masterpieces of all kinds.

Today, we’ll step into that space and learn a reverse-engineering strategy. This strategy will make it possible for you to apprentice with any creative hero in an approachable way. First, spend intentional time studying their work, figure out what makes it so impactful, and then personalize those strategies so that you can use them in your own way, in service of your own creative work. 

Roll up your sleeves and try out this powerfully simple strategy that will multiply your creative skills exponentially.

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EPISODE LINKS:

Find me on Instagram: @naomikinsman

Find Alex on Instagram: @ag.doherty

You can also help others find the show by rating and reviewing it on Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen to the show. Your words make such a difference for them—and for me, as I continue to create this show. Many, many thanks in advance. And of course, a huge thank you to Alex Doherty for his fantastic editing of the show.

In today’s episode of Creative Lift, Creating Space: Reflecting in the Attic, we’re building on last week’s exploration of an inner, mental space, specifically designed for reflection.

Today, we’ll step into that space and try an activity together called The Emotion Jars. You’ll consider the emotional fuel you currently have for your creative work through a hands-on experience. I encourage that you listen to this one with pen, paper, and some colored pencils in hand.

Why consider our emotions in relation to our creative work? In Brené Brown’s book, Atlas of the Heart, she describes a survey that she gave as part of her research on shame. Over 7000 participants were invited to list all the emotions they could recognize and name as they were experiencing them. The (shocking) average number of emotions named across the surveys was three: happiness, sadness, and anger. What about shame, disappointment, wonder, awe, disgust, embarrassment, despair, contentment, boredom, anxiety, stress, love, overwhelm, surprise, and the many other emotions and experiences that define what it means to be human?

Through our creative work, we craft experiences that evoke emotion. We open doorways that make it possible for hearts to expand with wonder, and to contract with disappointment. Through experiencing art, people strengthen their emotional range and each artistic touchpoint clarifies their compass. By returning to your song, your story, your poem, your painting, they intuitively feel the slight difference between surprise and shock, or between embarrassment and belonging.  The emotional fuel we use for our work shines through in it, whether it is remembered emotion, current emotion, or sometimes even unacknowledged emotion. Taking the time to ground ourselves in our emotional landscape helps us to see ourselves, our work, and others more clearly, and deepens the impact and meaning of our creative work.

Let’s take a look, then, at where your heart is, today, through this activity in the Illuminary’s Attic. 

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EPISODE LINKS:

Find me on Instagram: @naomikinsman

Find Alex on Instagram: @ag.doherty

You can also help others find the show by rating and reviewing it on Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen to the show. Your words make such a difference for them—and for me, as I continue to create this show. Many, many thanks in advance. And of course, a huge thank you to Alex Doherty for his fantastic editing of the show.

In today’s episode of Creative Lift, Creating Space: Designing with your Voice in Mind, we’re continuing our series that explores the Illuminary. The Illuminary is a visualization tool that invites you to picture your creative thinking process happening in various rooms. Our goal is to make the abstract and sometimes confusing creative process more tangible, giving ourselves tools to see the way we move through the creative process with clarity and flow.

Today’s room is the Attic. In this mental space, you’re invited to think reflectively—collecting ideas, asking questions, and discovering personal connections. Come into my Attic for a while to explore the various possibilities, so that you can then design your own to fit your approach and style. What elements would make an ideal reflection space for you?

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EPISODE LINKS:

Find me on Instagram: @naomikinsman

Find Alex on Instagram: @ag.doherty

You can also help others find the show by rating and reviewing it on Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen to the show. Your words make such a difference for them—and for me, as I continue to create this show. Many, many thanks in advance. And of course, a huge thank you to Alex Doherty for his fantastic editing of the show.

Today’s episode of Creative Lift, “Creating Space: Playing in the Studio,” is a hands-on experience of playing in one of the Illuminary’s rooms, the Studio. You can think of the Illuminary as an inner creative hideout that is made up of various rooms designed to support your creative thinking process. The Studio is a space for divergent thinking, brainstorming, improvising, and experimenting.

Last week’s episode offered a tour of the Studio, and today’s episode invites you to experience it. Since this is a hands-on experience, I encourage you to listen to this episode when you have a few quiet minutes to focus and a pen and paper in hand.

LISTEN IN:

EPISODE LINKS:

Find me on Instagram: @naomikinsman

Find Alex on Instagram: @ag.doherty

You can also help others find the show by rating and reviewing it on Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen to the show. Your words make such a difference for them—and for me, as I continue to create this show. Many, many thanks in advance. And of course, a huge thank you to Alex Doherty for his fantastic editing of the show.