Phil Cousineau was the keynote speaker for the First Annual Creativity Conference at NEIU March 28-30. In his lecture, “Stoking the Creative Fire” Cousineau discussed the human need to go through creative cycles.
Cousineau presented a circular cycle of creativity, as well as clips of films about creativity. Cousineau is a Detroit native; defying his working class family: he went to college and became a writer, filmmaker, and motivational speaker. “The real creative person is not even in control of their own life,” says Cousineau. “They have an irrational urge to create something, which will hopefully become rational.”
Cousineau also urged listeners to find a mentor to nourish their soul, someone who has already climbed through the rough patches of creative life. He pointed out that creativity thrives under positive attitudes, encouragement, and constructive criticism. Cousineau believes that the most common cause for neurosis is a deep-seated suppression of creativity.
Also discussed, at the Mar 29 event, was the idea of “time victims.” These are people who say, “I’d love to write a book/paint a landscape/make a film, but I just don’t have time.” Cousineau countered this with the concept of “rubber” time, which he had seen during a trip to Asia. This would involve saying, “I will stretch time for you.”
This approach can also be used in the creative process as well. Making time before classes, before the children wake up (or after they are in bed), sketching out ideas during lunch, or writing on the bus are all ways to stretch time to satisfy the creative need.
In a short clip from the documentary film Inspirations, the artists interviewed discussed the moment they realized that creative work was their true calling. The shared response by all was that there was no clearly visualized plan, and then it just “happened,” the inspiration to create came to them. These are turning points “mythic moments,” because their exact time or place cannot be pointed too distinctly; it is a gradual process of realization.
Cousineau declares that there is the last stage to every creative process: passing the creative fire to others, or passing the torch. “Unless you light someone’s fire, yours will burn pout.”
More information on Phil Cousineau and his work can be found at: http://www.philcousineau.net.