The Syncreate Podcast: Empowering Creativity
Welcome to Syncreate, where we explore the intersections between creativity, psychology, and spirituality. Our goal is to demystify the creative process and expand the boundaries of what it means to be creative.
Creativity. It’s a word we throw around all the time, but what does it really mean? On the Syncreate Podcast, we share stories of the creative journey. We talk to changemakers, visionaries and everyday creatives working in a wide array of fields and disciplines. Our goal is to explore creativity in all its facets, and to gain a better understanding of the creative process – from imagination to innovation and everything in between.
The Syncreate Podcast is hosted by Melinda Rothouse, PhD. She helps individuals and organizations bring their creative dreams and visions to life through coaching, consulting, workshops, retreats, and now, this podcast. She's written two books on creativity, including Syncreate: A Guide to Navigating the Creative Process for Individuals, Teams, and Communities (winner of a Silver Nautilus Award for Creativity and Innovation), with Charlotte Gullick. She's also a musician (singer-songwriter and bass player) and photographer based in Austin, Texas.
The Syncreate Podcast: Empowering Creativity
Episode 75: Asheville's Story Parlor with Erin Hallagan Clare
Erin Hallagan Clare is the Founder and Artistic Director of Story Parlor, a narrative arts space in Asheville, NC. Erin studied film and theatre at Temple University, as well as psychology / creativity studies at Saybrook University, where she earned her master’s degree. She developed a creativity coaching practice called “Inward & Artward,” as well as an annual Creative Facilitator Training. She's also a writer, storyteller, and radio show host. Our conversation focuses on Erin’s creative journey, the history of Story Parlor, and the creative community in Asheville after Hurricane Helene.
For our Creativity Pro-Tip, we encourage you to take an inventory of your past, present, and future creative projects, reflecting on common themes, in order to discover your creative DNA, so you can approach your future work with greater intention.
Credits: The Syncreate podcast is created and hosted by Melinda Rothouse, and produced at Record ATX studios with in collaboration Michael Osborne and 14th Street Studios in Austin, Texas. Syncreate logo design by Dreux Carpenter.
If you enjoy this episode and want to learn more, you might enjoy our conversations in Episode 7: The Syncreate Story, Episode 42: Creativity & Depth Psychology with Jennifer Leigh Selig, and Episode 73: Theatre, Storytelling, and the Labor of Creativity with Marcus McQuirter, PhD.
At Syncreate, we're here to support your creative endeavors. Our book, also called Syncreate, walks you through the stages of the creative process so you can take action on your goals. We also offer resources, creative process tools, and coaching, including a monthly creativity coaching group, to help you bring your work to the world. Visit our website, syncreate.org, where you can also find all of our podcast episodes. Find and connect with us on social media and YouTube under Syncreate. We’d love your feedback, so drop us a line at info@syncreate.org.
Episode-specific hyperlinks:
Saybrook University Creativity Program
Melinda’s Art of Impermanence Retreat
Book: Wintering by Katherine May
“Writing Down the Soul” Memoir Class
Show / permanent hyperlinks:
Melinda: Welcome to Syncreate, a show where we explore the intersections between creativity, psychology, and spirituality. We believe everyone has the capacity to create. Our goal is to demystify the process and expand the boundaries of what it means to be creative. We talk with visionaries and change makers and everyday creatives, working in a wide range of fields and mediums - from the arts to science, technology and business. We aim to illuminate the creative process - from imagination to innovation and everything in between. I'm Melinda Rothouse and I help individuals and organizations bring their dreams and visions to life.
At Syncreate, we’re here to support your creative endeavors. So, if you have an idea for a project or a new venture - maybe a book, a piece of music, an entrepreneurial venture - whatever it might be - and you're not quite sure how to get it off the ground, find us at syncreate.org.
Our book, also called Syncreate, walks you through the stages of the creative process so you can take action on your goals. And we're excited to announce that our audiobook version, narrated by the authors - myself and Charlotte Gullick - is now available. We also offer resources, creative process tools, and coaching to help you bring your work to the world - including a 2025 monthly creativity coaching group starting later this month. So check the website for details. We'd love for you to join us!
So, I am delighted to welcome Erin Hallagan Clare to the show today. Erin is the founder and Artistic Director of Story Parlor, a narrative arts space based in Asheville, North Carolina. She studied film and theatre at Temple University, and she also has a Master’s in Psychology with specialization in Creativity Studies from Saybrook University, where I also did my PhD and teach.
She holds several other creativity related certifications, and she has developed a coaching practice called Inward & Artward, and offers an annual Creative Facilitator Training. She's also a writer, storyteller, and radio show host. So, Erin, welcome to the show! This has been, I feel like, a long time coming.
Erin: I know! I remember when you were just starting the podcast, and we were talking about this, and of course, life has a way of bursting at the seams. (Laughter)
Melinda: Yes.
Erin: So it's an honor to be here. I've been following along since you started. I'm a big fan.
Melinda: Oh, thank you so much. And I'm really a big fan of your work as well. So, we know each other originally from Austin, where you were kind of brewing some of these ideas that I feel like have now really come to fruition. And then you moved to Asheville, and then ended up coming and doing your Master’s at Saybrook. So we've intersected in many different ways. I've been out there and did a workshop at Story Parlor, which was really lovely. And now, of course, I know you're just kind of coming through the aftermath of Hurricane Helene and what that's done to kind of the art scene in Asheville, and I really feel like you're among the forefront of people working so diligently to bring the arts scene back to life and, you know, just help in all the ways that you do there. So, I definitely want to hear more about what that's been like for you and for the community, and maybe how people can get more involved.
So, maybe we can just jump in with Story Parlor - where you are with the venue at this point, and kind of, what it's been like navigating the hurricane and reopening.
Erin: Yeah. So, as you said, you know, I think Story Parlor and just running a creative business, as you know, is a wonderful representation of the creative process - with iteration and fits and starts and ebbs and flows - the hurricane being chief among the ebbs and the fits. (Laughter)
Melinda: Yes.
Erin: But, yeah - I honestly really pulled from that time in Austin in trying to get what this is now off the ground there - for about a half decade with not, you know, the luck that I had been banking on in Austin with a venue there and kind of do what we're doing here. And I think all of those obstacles - and if you can even call it a brick wall - that existed there, really kind of helped me suit up. You have a toolkit to pull through knowing that natural disaster or just a regular Tuesday - there’s going to be - (Laughter) and having, you know, a small business.
So, I'm really grateful. And I pull from those iterations and those difficulties quite often - not just as a business owner or a creative, but in all facets of my life - as a mother, as a partner, all of it. So, yeah. You know, obviously the hurricane made national news, and it was not something that was expected to happen. We were miles inland from any major body of water - in a mountainous region, no less. You know, one of the reasons that Asheville was on the list of where we were looking to move was because it was deemed a climate haven.
Melinda: Right.
Erin: So, yeah, there's irony to that, for sure. But I think also, just the sobering reminder and inability to look away from what's happening. But you know, the beauty and I think, some of the challenges that exist with Asheville is how small and intimate it is. How we are a scrappy bunch. (Laughter)
The other thing - it definitely has that kind of, like, mom and pop feel - equal amounts of just art and passion for what the artists here do. And so, it's a breed of people I've come to love very, very quickly and learn a lot from very, very quickly. And during the hurricane, it was those people that I was most terrified for, and among, because this is the livelihood for so many people here. And unfortunately, we're already starting to see people move on to the next thing where there is a little bit more stability in the arts community and ability to make a living without the cost of living being so exorbitant.
Melinda: Right.
Erin: And so as far as Story Parlor goes, we had - you know this, but where the River Arts District is - which was completely blanketed in the French Broad River, beyond levels that has been seen - you go to the end of the River Arts District, and there’s a little bridge that connects that portion of Asheville with the beginning end of West Asheville. And right there on the end of the bridge is where Story Parlor is. So, you could go up on the roof if you're not terrified of the ladder journey up and see the river art from our space. And so, all that to say, you know, the perspective that came through - and I know you experienced this, as somebody coming from Katrina - it's really a phenomenon that I hadn't experienced before at this level.
You know, our house had a tree come through it and a landslide and a flood, and we were able to still live there during the repairs, and I was so grateful for that. And it was something I often took a step back - when I was like, in any other circumstance, if I felt a slight bit all of the things--cranky and upset and, you know--I had space. But then to kind of take in the bigger picture and have the gratitude for the sufficiency mindset was a big thing. And the same with Story Parlor. You know, there was a very small flood in the basement that we lost some inventory, some supplies. Honestly, the biggest issue with all of that was just kind of mitigating the smell afterwards.
Melinda: Oh, yeah.
Erin: And then some pooling water in the roof which ended up coming through, and so it was - to reopen - a little bit of a waiting game for the roofers who are still to this day, three months later, very busy. And I think just finding the ground beneath our feet to be a space holder for others - was something that I tried to put a lot of mindfulness in so that I was ready when the time came. And the footnote to that is - I’m still not, but (Laughter)
Melinda: Right.
Erin: That’s about me. And so that's the big takeaway - it's about going through this together.
Melinda: Yeah. And I mean, we have to work with what the circumstances hand us. Right? But I know on social media, I was really touched by how you were also posting about how you were looking in on your neighbors and everyone was getting together and sharing resources and food and things during those initial days after the storm, and I kind of see an analogy there with what you're doing - also with the venue now and committing to reopening and kind of being a hub for the arts community.
Erin: Yeah. You know, the decision to stay wasn't ever really - it didn't feel like a decision. It just was. Obviously, you know, had the circumstances with our home been different or any other kind of different ingredients for a minute, who knows? But, yeah, we decided to stay and in the end, I didn't realize this because so much of it is a reaction – but what happened in the end was I realized as other people who had left and started to come back, I saw they were having a very, very hard time processing.
Melinda: Yes.
Erin: You know, just being reinserted into this now much different world that looks different/feels different. I mean, my own route to get here to Story Parlor is an extra amount of time because there's roads that are still gone and so that was a gift in getting to process but also process with. And I think the point, you know, coming back into Story Parlor, I realized that was what needed to happen - was an ability to process with each other because art obviously affords us this opportunity to transcend some of these more defined boundaries of what processing and healing and moving through require, and experience it in a different way.
Melinda: Yeah. And what better way, again, as you say, through kind of creativity, arts and storytelling specifically. So, I was looking at one of your recent newsletters and I know you have a full slate of events and trainings and things coming up from the year. So, share with us a little bit more about the kinds of offerings that you have at Story Parlor.
Erin: So, the nucleus of our mission - when you were sharing the intro to Syncreate - there’s a lot of shared ground, and I know that's why you and I have connected so much over the years -
Melinda: Definitely.
Erin: But I think you had said - this belief in that everyone's creative and something about - you said it so beautifully, pushing the boundaries of what that connection of creativity can be. And that's definitely what this space exists to do - is to honor this fierce belief that everyone is creative, and that also everyone has a story to tell. And it was really the incentive for how this whole idea ended up developing - was seeing, you know - it's once you turn your attention to something, you can't unsee it. I know there's probably a psychological term for that. (Laughter)
Melinda: Yeah.
Erin: But it was just that kind of reverence of approach where all of a sudden, I started to see story everywhere. And it was in the poem. It was in the dance. It was in the garden. It was in the painting. And that person's story or that group's story was what impacted what I was receiving and how it met with my story. And I think from a creativity standpoint, a lot of the blocks and obstacles that we faced are themselves story. And so, marriage between story and creativity became completely inseparable in my mind. And to answer your question, all of the programming that we have come through, exists to honor that, and to kind of transcend the boundaries of what story can be.
And so, any given weekend, we try and have a variety of different mediums that honor that. So, we might have comedy night, a poetry night, a jazz night, a film night. And then, my favorite of all is when it's a combination of multiple mediums and artists who have that ability to kind of have this cross stitch of a language - of shared language - at the centerfold of the evening. So, that's what we look for. We are a completely community driven space that exists for the community, but also by the community. And so, while Story Parlor - the entity - occasionally will program an event, the vast majority of what we have coming through the doors are people who have dreamed up, produced and put on their own vision. And we just exist to serve as an advocate and a cheerleader and support system.
Some people are long term event producers and veterans in that world, and some people just want to come and share their story, and so, we have the ability to kind of walk through the process of how to do that successfully. So, those are our events. And then during the week, we have classes that mirror that same philosophy and intent.
Melinda: Yeah. So, I think that's a great segue way into kind of Inward & Artward. And the facilitator training that you developed. And I noticed also that you've now kind of taken several cohorts of people through this training, and they're now offering trainings, and workshops and things. So tell us more about how all that came about.
Erin: Everything to me with art is a response, and being open to responding. And so, you know, originally back in Austin when I started offering the creativity in Story Labs there, it was a response from people who are coming to the shows we were putting on saying, “How do I do this?” And, honestly, at that point in time, I was like, “I don't know”. (Laughter)
Melinda: Honest answer!
Erin: An iceberg of whys, right? Like, how? How? That became an obsession for a while. And I think that's what - I remember one of our first lunches, just picking your brain - how I first discovered that this is - there’s a whole world of people who dedicate their lives to the pursuit. And how I found Saybrook in the end. But all that to say, in starting to facilitate classes, I was doing a little bit of what I had seen other people do and then a little bit of infusing some of what I was learning when I was asking these questions and getting curious about - how do you share a story, how do you develop a story, where does the story come from?
And just seeing this incredible alchemy of how this all exists and comes to fruition in the creative process, and then became very obsessive - I’ve always loved taking classes - but just kind of zooming in on, well, how are people offering this and why are we doing it this way/not this way?
And looking at creativity from more of that scholarly lens and wondering why - I mean, if we're looking at, for instance, your typical writing workshop that happens in a university level where everybody's kind of talking at the writer and not with, and there's a lot of creative approaches where there's not that dialog, there's not that fluidity of everyone here has something to offer, everyone's journey is different. We can all pick up from every person at the table, this incredible wisdom that will inform our own process and take us deeper into our own creativity. And so, in going into Saybrook, that's what I wanted to dedicate my time to - was a little bit - digging into some incredible work that already exists and decolonizing the creative classroom.
Imagining what that can look like from a place that really elevates the autonomy and the self-agency within the artist, and approaching it as a co-facilitating effort amongst everybody, and really honoring those gifts that people bring to the table and giving those - a platform and a voice. So that was my time at Saybrook, in looking at how to develop a facilitator training to then go out and share how this can be done through honoring (a) the psychology and all of the wonderful research that exists on creativity, while also honoring that - and this is one of my favorite things as a student at Saybrook - that there's still so many questions and there's still so much, I think, mystery.
And to me, that is one of the most exciting parts about all of this. And so, that was the journey toward developing this training, and I know this is something you and I have talked about a lot - I think the more that we can make space for people doing this work, the better the world. (Laughter)
Melinda: Absolutely. Yes - especially at these times. You don't have to look far to see the fires in LA right now and the hurricanes and just the political tension and the wars going on. I mean, we need creativity, and for so many reasons. I mean, I've just been - you know, I'm always reading articles and research on - I saw this little video clip this morning, actually, that somebody sent me: Jane Fonda basically talking about the benefits of art and creativity for aging well. (Laughter)
Erin: I love her.
Melinda: Yeah, totally. And, you know, there's so many benefits. There's psychological benefits, physiological benefits, and so many potential benefits for the wider world where we need creative solutions to the problems that we're facing now and to empower that and put that in the hands of the people, you know.
Erin: Yeah, absolutely. And I think it goes back to this shared heartbeat in both of our missions. That we do have this belief of everyone being creative - but unfortunately, and I'm sure you've seen this a gazillion times - the number of people who show up to a first class who say, “I'm taking this because I am not creative." And often you can trace that back to some trusted person in their life who often unintentionally stifled their creative journey. And that is just one of the most heartbreaking…
Melinda: Yes. Right.
Erin: …things to hear. And that has lit the fire underneath me in wanting to hear that story and that narrative reach as many people as possible. But yeah, I mean, just like you said in this need for creativity - it was a big thought during the hurricane. You know, how this fits, how these all kind of are in relationship - and with anything within the creative journey, there's so much ambiguity. There's so much necessity for the both “and” and the “I know”, rather than kind of this black and white.
Melinda: Yes.
Erin: Made me think, you know, with the destruction of the hurricane and the destruction that's happening in LA right now - and that will continue to happen, until we get creative. You know, the opposite of that - the antithesis of that - is creation.
Melinda: Yes.
Erin: That's what we need to come to meet this, to find our way through.
Melinda: Yes, for sure. So tell us a little bit more about the facilitator training itself. Like what does it consist of if people were interested in learning more?
Erin: Well, we read Syncreate. (Laughter)
Melinda: Awesome.
Erin: Yeah. So, it is an 18-week program. Right now, it’s an intensive program that happens over the summer, and the idea is to start figuring out a digital offering/an annual offering. But we basically move through parts of the creative process - looking at common blocks, tools that we can use as facilitators to empower those at our table, but then also how to develop a curriculum within the midst of that. And that's really where there's this phrase Inward & Artward comes into play. If you're looking at the educational term of praxis, where you have reflection and action and that's how you integrate.
To me, that is what my creative experience and my creative process has always emulated - is there is this inward taking in of everything that I've experienced consciously, subconsciously, unconsciously, and then the artward - putting it into action. And it is this - as you speak about in Syncreate - this very iterative, fluid process, and we talk a lot about your work in there because I think it's one of the few models that really honors that this is not a linear lens. (Laughter)
Melinda: Absolutely.
Erin: Leaving that space for the breath to make its way - for the personal stories to integrate into the creative process. And so, in the Inward & Artward model of creativity, I guess you could say - if you are looking at it as like a Venn diagram - you have your personal stories, your art making, you have fear, and you have purpose. These things are necessities to the creative process. And it all kind of is ever changing, ever fluid, impacted by mindset, impacted by mindfulness and paying attention, impacted by perspective and interpretation.
How we find and engage and choose what we find meaningful. And then of course, honoring that everything is a choice. And what is the choice that we are choosing to make, in service of our creative endeavors? And then if you move this inward and artwork portion into, you know, how I have typically approached a curriculum - which in my career gets looser and looser and looser.
Melinda: Yeah. (Laughter)
Erin: You go back, you know, a decade ago - every minute was accountable. But again, it goes back to this idea of praxis - the natural breath cycle of a class. Are we giving the opportunity and the space to reflect, to put into action, to integrate, and using that kind of as a thread to move through what it is that's being facilitated?
Melinda: Yeah, I love that. It's dear to my heart. I just literally last night got back from Mexico, and I had been leading a week-long retreat there called the Art of Impermanence, which is exploring, you know, meditation, mindfulness, the Buddhist teachings on impermanence through arts and creativity. And so, I think it resonates so much with that inward peace of Inward & Artward.
It's like, we talk about - how do we be fully present, how do we open up to the senses and what's right here, right now, kind of slowing down? And then how do we begin to create and express from that place? And we have a little WhatsApp group that we created that people are still kind of chatting on and a couple of the things that came forward this morning were just like the appreciation of that opportunity to slow down. Right?
Because we're so busy, we're so fast paced, and the creative process does take time and it does require reflection, and I love that analogy of the breath, right? The in-breath and the out-breath and just being able to kind of - almost permission - to slow down and to reflect and maybe find a different way of being with our creativity.
Erin: Yeah, absolutely. And I feel like we can't get enough of that invitation to slow down.
Melinda: Yes.
Erin: So, I read Wintering every year by Katherine May. I'm thinking - the other day I was like, I’d love to plot the creative process against the season. How that looks seasonally. And then I forgot about it. (Laughter)
Melinda: But something to come back to. Something to come back to for sure. Well, great. I love all of these wonderful things that you're up to. I guess I'm curious, and maybe others as well - what is the current state of affairs with the Asheville arts community? And how might people get more involved if they feel so inspired in the recovery efforts, as well as just the art scene there?
Erin: Yeah. I'm still hearing about things that are just opening now. I mean, we only opened, I think it was December 5th, and so we had 72 days of being dark. And obviously didn't have irreparable damage to our facilities, and so we were very lucky to be able to open that quickly. I have a number of friends who had businesses in the River Arts District that are taking time to figure out what's next.
Some just really wonderful efforts from the arts community here, to kind of take in artists. And so, there's little hubs of places downtown that didn't - that were kind of shuttered or closed for whatever reason - that have now opened their doors for temporary artist hub. Some artists are finding new spaces. I think some are waiting to rebuild or using this as an opportunity to figure out with a business, “Alright, let's use this as a time to reflect and figure out what is next, and how do I want to use this pause to inform these next steps?” I certainly utilized that with Story Parlor and figuring out what was working/what was not working. There's quite a bit on either side. (Laughter)
Melinda: Of course.
Erin: And I start to make adjustments so that there could be a little bit more of an effort towards sustainability, and knowing burnout is so common for the creative’s world. That's not really talked about as far as like, how to handle. And so, I think, having been here now for five years, I’m very much a sponge for the way Asheville/Asheville-ians and Asheville-ian artists are just so in touch with the present and kind of taking everything step by step. So, I've learned a lot from them, from that. And then I think as far as what people can do is - when things do open, go.
Melinda: Yeah. Support the artists.
Erin: I know a lot of organizations still have GoFundMe’s and are taking donations. And so that's definitely always an option for people from afar. But I think for folks who are here, who are visiting, turning their sights to the local small businesses to go and patronize is the best thing.
Melinda: Yeah, absolutely. And I mean, just given that we're seeing these natural disasters happen with ever more frequency--I know I personally experienced this after Katrina--I moved to Austin, I had to start my life from scratch. And there's the disruption and the reflection, and then, in my case, I feel like ultimately, there was this flourishing and this blossoming that happened. So, I'm a big proponent of post-traumatic growth. And starting to think about like, “Wow, how can this be like, sort of a blueprint for maybe folks in Los Angeles or other places that are experienced seeing these unwanted, unanticipated disruptions?” And we're seeing Oscar nominations being postponed and all kinds of other events in Hollywood and obviously right now, it's not even over yet. It's still happening, and the devastation. And then of course, there will be ultimately this regeneration and this rebuilding process.
Erin: Yeah. I've wondered about that. I love that you mentioned a blueprint for how to move through this, especially as a creative community. And I don't think we're removed from it enough here. You know, it's like what Natalie Goldberg calls composting. I mean, I still see upturned Mac trucks on my drive home. (Laughter)
Erin: But I mean, that is definitely something that's come up in conversation with friends in LA. You know, I had one person pick up my phone call and she was like, “Erin, you're the only person I feel like I have the energy to speak to about this because you just went through it.” I was like, I don't even know what I can say other than I'm here to listen. But it does feel like there is supposed to be answers. And I was like, “I don't know, I'm just - my heart is breaking with you.”
Melinda: Yes.
Erin: But yeah, I mean, it's scary too. Just knowing from a funding perspective, how little already exists for the arts, from a grant related perspective and how it's like pulling teeth to even get supported in that way - what this looks like in the rebuilding. And especially towns like New Orleans and LA and Asheville that have such a huge creative contingency and is the reason people come. One of the top industries to kind of be in the crossfires of that - is pretty scary to me.
Melinda: Yes, yes. Well, just wishing you all the best with the ongoing process for that, right?
Erin: You were, you know, the voice on the other end of the texting conversation. You were that person for me, you know? You know - you had gone through Katrina and just - your guidance has always been just so appreciated.
Melinda: Oh, thank you so much. Yes. Well, so, I'm curious also, just before we kind of come to a close here - in your own creative practice, are there any particular projects in the works?
Erin: So actually, I have you to thank for this as well. (Laughter)
Erin: I ended up taking a class with Maureen Murdock and Jennifer Selig (Featured in Episode 42) over at Pacifica.
Melinda: Oh, great!
Erin: They do an amazing nine months Writing Down The Soul memoir class. And I found with just how small it is in Asheville, it's a lot easier for me to engage with - for these memoir/personal stories - with these classes where I don't know anybody and nobody knows me. And so, I went through the first - it started in spring of last year - I went through the first six months with just gusto and vigor for some personal narratives that I was working on centered around the theme of re-parenting.
And obviously, you know, stumbled toward the end with the hurricane, and Jennifer was so amazing at checking in and just giving grace for that. Which was an interesting thing from a personal standpoint - what happens to your own creativity - and I've noticed it's very different, obviously, for some - some people dig into it and for me, I needed space.
Melinda: Yeah.
Erin: I take forever to process things, so that's probably why. But I feel like I'm just now able to turn my attention back to the project I was developing in there, and looking for the next class to enroll in, because for me, that's what helps keep me engaged and motivated - is that accountability and that check in and those guideposts. So, I know that's what works for me. So I need to find the next one. And maybe it would be with Jennifer again because I really loved her style.
Melinda: Yeah. She's so wonderful. And just an aside to our viewers and listeners - Jennifer was actually - her company, Mandorla Books,published the Syncreate book, and we've had her on a previous episode. So, we'll put a link in the show notes on Creativity and Depth Psychology (Episode 42), kind of Jungian psychology and archetypes, and in writing and memoirs specifically.
Erin: Yeah, I have Deep Creativity.
Melinda: And her Deep Creativity book. Yes. Which is wonderful. Yes. Oh, I see you've got Rick Rubin's book back there, too. Another great one.
Erin: Yours is over there! (Laughter)
Melinda: Okay. Awesome, awesome. So, I usually like to end each episode with what we call a Creativity Pro-Tip - something that people can kind of run with and try out on their own. And, you know, given that you've developed this facilitator training, I'm wondering if there's something that kind of comes out of the training - maybe a little assignment or a reflection or something that might be helpful to people around storytelling and creativity - that they could try out on their own - and maybe a little taste of what you offer.
Erin: Yeah. One of my favorites is - and this is, I think, something I like to revisit when I'm trying to figure out what the next project or idea could be - is to write down a list of creative projects ideas from past/present/future that have felt really meaningful to me, or that they could hold a lot of meaning, and then go down the list focusing on those ones that I still have an energetic connection to and jot down a couple things about each of them.
One being theme or what, you know, just one or two words. One asking, what did this project satisfy in me doing it? And then looking also at, do I have any unanswered questions or questions I could ask about this project?
Melinda: Beautiful.
Erin: And so, spending time on that, and then taking some time to - and this is all something I think that could be done in like thirty minutes, maybe less - but taking time to look at the theme column, and seeing as there usually are - what repeating themes? It’s from that list. You know, for me, as of late, a big one that keeps coming up in work is re-parenting. If I'm looking five to ten years ago, existentialism was in everything.
And then taking those themes and kind of doing a reverse mind map. So, having a circle in the center that's blank, branching out with these themes and then exploring on those - why I feel like I'm drawn to those? DNA that I keep coming back to again and again, and then working my way back into the center and addressing, any way that I can synthesize all of these moving pieces of my "creative DNA”.
And I like this because it brings a little bit more intention into why I do the work that I do. Normally if I catch some form of inspiration or the muse or whatever, I just go for it - there's no rhyme or reason. (Laughter)
Erin: Hopefully you don't fall off anytime soon. But then in retrospect, if I go a little deeper, there's a lot to uncover as far as who I am in relationship to my creativity, my creative projects, and usually what happens, just as a fringe benefit of all of that are other project ideas.
Melinda: Yes, certainly. I love that and that dovetails so beautifully in our shorter Creative Spark series. Around the beginning of the year, we've been really encouraging people to reflect on the year that's passed, the year ahead, what our intentions? I think this kind of reflection on process and sort of like, what makes us each tick creatively, is so helpful for us. So thank you for that. I love that. I'm going to try it out. So, if people want to find out more about you and your work and Story Parlor, what are the best ways for them to find you?
Erin: Our website is storyparloravl.com, and our Instagram handle is the same - @storyparloravl. And within, probably the next few months, we'll also have our Inward & Artward site up. And that is just inwardandartward.com.
Melinda: Okay. Beautiful. Well, thank you so much for joining me today. It's always great to talk with you. And I'm just inspired by - you know, I think we share this kind of love of learning, and always thirsting for new knowledge and being kind of lifelong learners - so, it's great to just have that exchange.
Erin: Yeah. Agreed. Agreed. Yeah. Thanks for paving the way. (Laughter)
Melinda: Of course, of course. Keep me posted. I hope to make it back out there one of these days, sooner rather than later.
Erin: We’d love that. We’d love that.
Melinda: Thanks again to Erin from Story Parlor in Asheville for being with us today. Find and connect with us on YouTube and social media under Syncreate. If you enjoy the show, please subscribe and leave us a review, and we'd love to hear your feedback on the show as well. Please feel free to drop us a line any time. Let me know how you're doing with the Pro Tips and so forth. We're recording today at Record ATX Studios in Austin with Erin joining us from Asheville.
The podcast is recorded in collaboration with Mike Osborne at 14th Street Studios, here in Austin. Thanks so much for being with us. And see you next time.
