ASHT member Julie Corbett was recently highlighted in her local news after developing a hand therapy assessment tool as part of a local creative workshop.
Over the hump: Creative Completion workshops designed to push projects along
Allison Rooney
Published December 18, 2017
Sometimes it’s simply about saying no — no to checking email, no to catching up with friends, no to going to an event you don’t care about.
It’s also about figuring out the times which work best for you to focus. Procrastination happens, and treating that as a solvable problem is the aim of Creative Completion, a free workshop held twice each month at the Butterfield Library in Cold Spring.
Led by Robin Hutchinson, whose background includes gallery and technology management and graphics, the workshops recently generated a collaboration, the result of which may be a patented medical diagnostic tool.
Hutchinson’s goal is to teach participants to think creatively to solve problems. She advises participants to be as specific as they can about whatever they are pursuing. “Give it details or it’s not as likely to happen,” she says.
Each workshop begins with participants elaborating on what they’ve accomplished. For newcomers, Hutchinson writes five questions on an index card to reflect on, such as what steps they will take, completion dates and how they will reward themselves. The goal is to see projects through, or at least get a good start.
Finding space
At a recent workshop, Pat Angerame reported she had been working on “eking out a new space at home where I could be more consistent with my writing.” She wound up working more than she had previously, everywhere except in the new space.
“Creating that empty space opened up some odd plug, and I was writing elsewhere, scribbling things on the backs of receipts on kitchen counters, anywhere,” she said with a laugh.
What drew Julie Corbett, an occupational therapist, was the wish “to get my ideas off my desk. I believe science is a creative process.”