Iss. #1 Welcome to the Pendlum Plethany: An excursion into creativity

I'm writing this on a whim. I was working on an illustration for a book project, when suddenly I remembered that I wanted to post on LinkedIn. So I did that, which led me to tweaking a few things on my LinkedIn profile, which then led me to see the Newsletter feature, and here I am, writing this article. The creative process sure can be fickle and unpredictable at times.

To be fair, this is something I'd been thinking about doing for some time now. This year, I want to share more of my creative works and thoughts. I am always creating (sometimes rather obsessively) and thinking about creativity. As a multi-disciplinary creative, I have seen and experienced creativity from so many angles. I am constantly defining and refining my thoughts and perspectives regarding creativity and the creative process. Creativity is such a fascinating subject, such a vast subject, impossible to box-in, one which—I've realized— many people want to immerse themselves in and talk about more.

For the last 3 or 4 years years, I have been very active in Houston's innovation ecosystem; I've made so many new friends, colleagues, and collaborators, and have become known in my community as somewhat of a thought leader on creativity (I cringe a little as I write this sentence; I've never been the best at giving myself praise or credit). Anyway, I've been invited more and more to present on panels and speaking engagements, join boards, and advise on things related to creativity, the creative arts, storytelling, and the creative process. I'm grateful for this because 1. I get to connect with people and express my creativity in many different ways, and 2. because these opportunities give me a continuous outlet to bounce ideas off and verbalize and refine my thoughts on creativity.

And indeed, so many ideas have been bubbling and marinating; I'm constantly adding notes to my digital notepad and second-brain (on Notion). One of my longer-term goals is to write a book on creativity and the creative process. As a stepping stone in that direction, I wanted to start sharing some of these ideas, bounce them around with others, see what new ideas surface, and really just create more conversation around creativity. This newsletter will help me further refine and compile my ideas, contributing towards my book goal, and hopefully it will also be insightful and entertaining for you.

I truly believe that we are all creative, that creativity has endless manifestations, and that creativity, however we define it, encompasses a whole array of different skills and skillsets that can be refined and improved, like anything else.

Thanks for joining me, and I hope you enjoy the Pendlum Plethany.

Only one thing left to do now...subscribe ?? ??

Just a note on the writing style: I intend these posts to be low friction and relatively easy to put out, and I want them to be free flowing and direct from the brain and heart, so I'll be publishing them with low production and editing.

And, yes, I am writing them myself, no AI involved [nothing against AI, I just truly enjoy the writing process, want to improve my writing practice, and want my writing to be fully authentic], except maybe to add a quick and easy accompanying graphic—again, going for low friction.

Also, I'm hoping to create an open and dynamic dialogue, so please feel free to comment or message me with your thoughts, ideas, and feedback.