The Top 10 for 2010: Creative Liberty’s Year in Review

Image by Billy Alexander courtesy of SXC.

It’s the end of the year, and a great time to look back at the past 12 months. Since my birthday falls on New Year’s Eve, it’s pretty natural for me to do self-assessment and goal-setting at this time. However, for today’s blog post, I’m sharing the top posts from this year that YOU decided (based on the number of visits) that you liked the best.

Here are the top 10 Creative Liberty posts for 2010 – plus a couple I loved so much, I couldn’t help but mention again.

6 Habits to Build Creative Greatness

I touched on half a dozen habits that separate great creative beginnings from successful endings. Most important, of course, is the number one habit: “Begin.”

In the Studio With … Christine Valters Paintner

Paintner, a writer, photographer and spiritual director who runs the Abbey of the Arts website, has a beautiful take on how creativity and spirituality can be integrated. She was kind enough to chat with us about how she keeps her creative zest alive and what her most current projects are.

The Artist @ Work: Michelle James, Center for Creative Emergence

James is a fascinating woman who has a background in disciplines as diverse as business consulting, marketing, creative services management and improv theater. She has combined all her experiences into the CCE, which emphasizes the concept of emergence focus, which James defines as: “…where something emerges (an insight, idea, etc) that changes, usually by expanding, the course of the original plans, and still often includes them. Goals are seen as flexible guideposts, not static end points.”

Recommended Reading: “The 10 Faces of Innovation,” by Tom Kelley

This is a comprehensive review of Kelley’s excellent 2005 book. He uses his experience as general manager of IDEO liberally in this volume, but the book is much broader than just the experiences of that fabulous design company.

Clutter-busting by … Practicing Voluntary Simplicity

I discuss, in a nutshell, what voluntary simplicity is, and how the practice can amplify your creativity.

The Artist @ Work: Tammy Strobel of Rowdy Kittens

The simplicity theme continued in July, when I interviewed Strobel, whose blog, Rowdy Kittens, focuses on simple living strategies to encourage social change.

E-Book Review: Creativity Hacks, by Chuck Frey

This is a review of “Creativity Hacks: Shortcuts to Help You Crush Your Challenges and Live a Kick-Ass Life!” — a useful 104-page e-book by Chuck Frey of InnovationTools.com. I call the book the “cyber-equivalent of a pocket-sized field guide that you might pop into your pocket on a camping trip.”

Interview with An Innovator: Jeffrey Baumgartner

This post links to a podcast I conducted in early 2010 with entrepreneur and business innovation expert Jeffrey Baumgartner of JPB.com. Although he’s operated a number of different types of businesses over the years, his main area of business today is the development and international marketing of Jenni Idea Management software as a service.

In the Studio With … Melanie Sklarz

An interview with collage artist, jewelry maker and blogger Melanie Sklarz, who runs the delightful DOSE of Creativity blog.

Link-a-polooza: The Best of Surf’s Up 2008-2010, Part 1

It seems fitting that the final 2010 link in our top 10 list is a link-fest! To honor World Creativity And Innovation Week in April, I published a two-part series of posts that aggregated the best links shared through Surf’s Up, my weekly feature that “surfs” the Internet to bring readers the top posts on creativity and innovation.

Bonus Links!
A couple of my personal favorites from this year.

Stacking the Deck: Using Cards and Toys to Enhance Creativity

A virtual panel discussion among four creativity experts on the usefulness of card decks and other “play” materials to stimulate creative ideation.

Practice Notes: How I Got My Musical Groove Back (Sort Of)

I love the enthusiasm I showed as I restarted my trumpet playing career, and this report, posted about 6 weeks into the process, was the first look I gave blog readers of my progress!