What I find most beautiful about the nature of my fellowship cohort is the emphasis on creative breadth through collaboration. By suspending what we think we know about our creativity, we reach a positive two-pronged effect: a successful stretch of our organizational methods, and an unveiling of new techniques to pursue our individual crafts with. Though becoming more flexible in one’s creative methods can sometimes be accompanied by organizational growing pains (expanding my brainstorming sessions beyond spreadsheets was tough, folks!), I find that our work becomes even more ornate in nature as we ornament it with what we learn from others. 

Though discussing our creative pursuits will always be of merit, it has always been of great service to speak with each other about any obstacles or concerns, and receive advice on what to do next. As my colleagues know quite well by now, I am a person composed of many questions; words cannot express how grateful I am for their enthusiasm and patience, matched with stellar guidance. Likewise, being able to provide insight to my cohort has been both an honor and a creative stepping stone, as it has been proven time and time again that helping others grow contributes to our own development. 

I must admit, there are times where fully realizing our methods through the screen requires extra brainpower. It is a neat concept to consider: how might one’s interpretation of a piece of art differ through in-person and virtual mediums? Might this affect the creative process with that added cognizance of the way it is (or must be) presented? Though such a query might initially seem like a creative monolith, this was yet another opportunity for our cohort to put our minds together, troubleshoot, and keep moving forward. 

Though I have never been able to produce more than the occasional doodle (well, maybe a stick person or two in the margins of my notes…) I would love to learn how to sketch – color theory in the visual arts is a fascinating concept as well. In some of my classes for my Music major, I have learned the merits of transcribing aural interpretation through simple line contours on my manuscript paper. Should I learn how to sketch (and put some of my colored pencils to good use!), I could utilize such a skill where words are not always necessary through my score study and analyses. This could further translate in my understanding of conducting gestures as well, as such an endeavor is very much like sculpting sound into thin air. 

I’m quite curious to see what happens next – until next time!