Welcome to a spontaneous micro-series on creative piles! In part 1, I explored the importance of piles in creative practices. If you missed it, here it is:
Today, I’m ready to dip my toes in and see what’s been gathering and what wants to happen next…
It’s uncomfortable to share about my own process like this, but I’m thinking of everyone who is sitting on a rich body of work that remains un-offered to the collective.
I’m thinking of knitters and their ‘“UFOs” (unfinished objects in knitting lingo), dusty film cameras, and neglected paint brushes.
I’m thinking of how unnecessarily hard on myself I used to be for having piles of half-read books and half-filled journals…
I’m thinking of everyone who tried their hand at something and after facing shattering disappointment, decided it wasn’t for them.
I’m thinking of how, like clockwork, creative resistance tends to get bigger the closer a project inches toward completion.
I’m thinking of piles of creative dreams that get tucked away because it feels too late or too vulnerable to try again because it matters so much to you.
I hope my sharing encourages you to explore your own creative piles with a renewed appreciation.
If we’re new to each other, I’m Maggy. I’m an artist, writer, and coach and I run Regarding Dew, a creative research studio.
I help people move through creative resistance, perfectionism, and creative fear so they can make progress on projects and dreams they can't face or hold alone—without resorting to sheer will.
(this is exactly what we’ll be doing in The Creativity Lab this fall!!)
In preparation for a credentialing exam, I’m offering a pay-what-you-wish creative support sessions all summer. These are great for if you crave dedicated thinking time with someone who can see patterns and ask pointed questions, if you feel stuck in the same frustrating patterns in your creative process or creative life, and if you’re ready to show up for your life in ways that feel more true to you.
If you've been wanting to work together, I hope you take up this opportunity. This isn't something I plan to offer again, so especially if you've been curious about what working together is like but haven't been ready for the full commitment, my hope is that this makes it possible for you to say yes to yourself and your life in this way.
If you are a sensitive, creative thinker with a vibrant spirit and a curious heart, my work is here to support you in living out loud.
Because of what I do, I have intimate knowledge of so many people’s creative processes over long arcs of time. The contemplative and exploratory conversations that make up my work in this world are a creative pile! And I couldn’t be more grateful.
Alright, let’s dive in to today’s Gentle Musings…
I’m writing about creative piles with a pile of notes… unsure of where to actually start. This is how I always start: with a pile that I’m asked to trust.
A few things I take to be the case, so we’re on the same page before going deeper:
(these stem from my process and might not ring true for you)
1) A creative pile doesn’t offer a clear starting place.
Whether it’s a physical pile of sketches or a digital pile of disparate sentences, there’s no map offered to you. You can literally start anywhere.
This is relieving in theory but it freaks my mind out! Uncertainty = risk to manage or a threat to mitigate. What helps me is to remember this:
The creative process is always sharpening my ability to take a curious, responsive posture and remain open to not-knowing. It’s a constant challenge of meeting what the moment is offering with fresh receptivity.
This comes in handy is all areas of life.
2) In engaging with creative piles, the point isn't to get rid of them.
Life-piles, like dishes and laundry, signal that objects need processed and cleared. Since creative pile-making is ordinary and important, the signal is to engage with them creatively instead of jumping into tidying.
It’s ok to want creativity to be tidy and ordered and certain sometimes, especially when life decidedly isn’t. But it’s not ok to apply this desire to try to control creativity. Give your creativity the dignity of being strange and unpredictable!
The way that I think of this: a perfectly manicured garden where bushes are shaped like cones isn’t any better than a wildflower garden.
What’s key here is to be honest with yourself when the piles are out of active pollination—you’re connecting and creating so much that you can’t always keep up—or creative avoidance.
And if it turns out to be creative avoidance, that’s not a problem, it’s part of the process. What I mean by this is that if you aren’t making headway on anything, but have a lot of creative piles, it might be a sign that you need to create safety or aligned structure in your process (this is where having someone in your corner is immensely helpful).
I used to tell myself that I needed to fully organize my creative thoughts and artifacts before I can get on with making what I’m called to make. This is a convenient, made-up equation that isn’t conducive to creative freedom.
When creative piles don’t have self-judgement added on top, they become a place for synchronicities and solutions.
I like to think of creative piles as where ideas go to simmer. Instead of being a reason to stay stuck in planning, they help you out when you hit a stuck point in the process (I’ll get into this more in a minute).
One last note on feeling disorganized and overwhelmed with all you want to make and juggling so many projects: feeling an active sense of harmony in the creative process isn’t at odds with the existence of creative piles.
It's not just that order arises from chaos–aka your glorious piles–but chaos is a form of order. It might not be organized in a clear way, but it does carry intelligent patterns. When it comes to thinking outside the box, having a pile to pull from gives you an edge.
This brings me to the final thing I take to be the case when it comes to piles, an existential predicament I half-begrudgingly accept:
3) I will never be ahead of my creative drive.
The carrot always moves. I have spent years learning from, studying, and supporting artists and writers, and if I’ve learned anything it’s this: the people with the drive to create also live with the burden and grief of knowing they will never make everything they feel called to make. They will never make beauty and sense of it all.
This "blessed unrest", in Martha Graham's words, is excruciating when I forget what it really means: the creative impulse is the impulse of life. I create to feel alive and to feel the constant current of life. There's grief in wanting to move closer to the center of what you've been circling your whole life, but that circling IS life!
It’s hard to put this impulse and ache into words, but it connects us across time. We express in ever more refined and meaningful ways and we keep reaching as long as we can.
With all that, here’s how I’m approaching my creative piles in this season…
I ask myself: what am I working with? I don’t really know, because it’s in a pile, but I can take stock of the piles.
I have a stack of papers that’s been lingering next to my desk.
My desktop and downloads folder… yikes.
I have piles of books always and always in new spots.
Journals—a pile of pages bound up in a neat little rectangle, but a pile nonetheless! (especially when it’s not harvested)
My Obsidian, one of my favorite hobbies, is so well loved but… some corners are looking especially pile-y.
Ok, in writing pile-y, I just realized something crucial: creative piles aren’t always so obvious. Here’s what is:
Pile = a heap of randomness or disorganization
(maybe with themes or logic that isn’t yet clear, definitely promising novelty)
But! You can consider an organized digital file a creative pile. It becomes pile-y in the same way that good china gathers dust. Tucked away portfolios, sketchbooks from summers ago, and collections of craft materials are creative piles, too.
Let me also be clear that I’m not a fan of clutter. Like I explored last week, there’s a distinct difference between life clutter and creative piles.
When it comes to my own creative piles, sometimes they lean toward clutter. It happens, and I take care of it. Most of the time I use a mix of binders, folders, drawers, and boxes to let things brew.
When I sort through my piles, I use it as an opportunity to harvest. Some things get popped into Obsidian, some get pasted in my journal or taped up on the inside of my closet door as if I’m still a teenager. It’s messy and fun because I’m not overwhelmed by the mess.
At the risk of being redundant, a whole lot of potential unlocks when this clicks:
Creative pile-making is an ordinary and important part of the creative process.
Just this morning, I pulled out a poem by John O’Donohue called For a New Beginning. I had handwritten it on a page a couple years ago and somehow it ended up in my little creative pile. I’m anticipating making a huge decision—an enormous leap of faith—and his words were exactly what I needed to read at exactly the right time.
An oracle I didn’t expect!
(update: I made that leap of faith)
Once I have a general shape of the state of my creative piles—this is important—I make sure I have some blocked out time (even 20-30 minutes will do), and I take out a sheet of construction paper and two books.
Construction paper or color printing paper—it’s playful and low-stakes, this is where I can take messy notes and make mind-maps of associations.
Two books—I ask: what am I compelled to open? I follow that! There is no obligation to read these in full. I might be inspired by the cover, open to a random passage, or let the ‘mood’ of the book help guide my thinking. The main thing here is to be open to thinking in fresh ways.
From there, I’m ready to dive in.
I’m sorry to end here, but I need to wrap this one up so it doesn’t take so long to read. So: Creative Piles Part 3 is happening. I’m going to dive in—Magic School Bus style—and share about it as I explore.
Tell me about your creative piles!!
What are you challenged by in your creative practice at the moment? What are you excited by? Press reply or comment below to share.
If you enjoyed this, please share with a friend and give this a 💜 (at the top of the page) so I know as I work on PART 3 :)
Thank you for being here, really.
xo
Maggy
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