The Ritual Behind the Creativity

Daily Rituals: How Artists Work, by Mason Currey

DETAILS
Title: Daily Rituals:  How Artists Work
Author: Mason Currey
Publisher: Knopf (April 23, 2013)

SYNOPSIS (from back cover)
"Writers, composers, painters, choreographers, sculptors, filmmakers and scientists on how they create (and avoid creating) their creations."

REVIEW
Nikola Tesla worked until midnight, breaking only for a highly ritualized solo dinner at the Waldorf-Astoria. Georgia O'Keeffe liked to watch the sunrise with a cup of tea, take the dogs for a walk, then spend the rest of her day in her studio. Charles Schultz took his kids to school and settled down in his backyard studio to draw comic strips for the day, stopping only to have a ham sandwich for lunch. 

Mason Currey's book Daily Rituals is a fascinating compilation of the daily routines of over 150 creative individuals. The book is an easy read, with each entry just a page or so long, and giving the essence of the subject's routines and creative habits. From stoic solitude to nights of debauchery, the routines cover it all. It's clear there is no one routine that works for all creative individuals. Creativity, as well as creative routines, comes in many forms. 

It's interesting to pull back the curtain on these luminaries and see how they actually created their work amid other obligations, what they were frustrated with, and how their habits changed over time. I recommend this book if you are a creative individual seeking time and space to express your creativity in this world of obligations. ​