More About Creativity Matters
Creativity Matters groups are designed to help participants engage with Soul Matters monthly themes and explore spiritual growth through creative expression. The process allows intuition and imagination to serve as guides, not just logic / the reflective mind.
“Think of it as making room for your right brain to dance with your left brain.”
Like the Soul Matters Small Group programming, Creativity Matters typically runs from September to June and consists of up to 8 committed folks (including the trained facilitator) who meet for approximately 2 hours a month.
Each Creativity Matters packet contains creative exercises for group members to work on prior to their group meeting as well as inspirational material and reflection questions to get creative juices flowing.
Participants are strongly encouraged to make use of a creative journal designed to “prime the pump” by helping them slowly work their way into the monthly theme. This journal can also provide fodder for the monthly project. Each monthly packet therefore contains journaling prompts and suggestions for capturing stories, images, ideas and feelings that come up.
Each month, participants select the one personal warm-up question that most “fires” their imagination and engage in a quick, intuitive exploration of that question in their creative journal using words, images, collage, colors, or whatever form of expression that the question evokes. Participants can continue to build off this work in their journal throughout the month, but the initial warm-up is not intended to be lengthy or exhaustive.
Deeper exploration of the month’s theme centers around a creative project, selecting one of a series of provided prompts or creating a project using a favorite modality. Project options might include: collage, storytelling, scrapbooking, sketching, photography, creative writing, watercolor painting, fabric arts, sculpture, movement, music, and more.
“I learned that being an artist was not the most important part of being here.”
All projects are designed for everyone – no technical expertise or honed artistic skill required! The modality and the scope of each individual project will vary from member to member and from month to month. Playful and curious exploration and a willingness to share wonderings, processes, and insights are more important than a finished, polished product.
Group members meet monthly to share both their projects and the insights that emerged from creative journal wonderings and projects. Sharing utilizes the same deep and disciplined listening process as Soul Matters Small Groups in two distinct rounds. The first focuses on creative journal wonderings and the second on the month’s project. Both rounds offer each participant the chance to share a story about their experiences engaging the theme, and then chance for other group members to share one personal insight or memory evoked by another’s sharing.
Again, Creativity Matters groups are designed for everyone – no experience or artistic skill required. Just bring a playful and adventurous attitude.
View the Sample Creativity Matters Packet.
“Gifts” received from participating in Creativity Matters – Candace Lee
Companionship: with others stimulated/challenged by process of creating
Awareness: of a pretty universal need to create
Exposure to artistic skills and improvisation: as participants experimenting with both familiar and unfamiliar media
Witnessed: many stages of project growth (the process)
Reminded: playfulness constitutes a primary aspect of creativity
Renewal/Renewed Perspective: being absorbed in playfully creating can replenish, change self-image, and by stepping out of daily life, may allow you to see that life more clearly
Acceptance of self and others: creative innovation required participants to risk uneasiness and exposure, and practice kindness, tolerance and humility