The Spark File with Susan Blackwell and Laura Camien
Susan Blackwell and Laura Camien
Your one stop shop for creative ideas and inspiration. Sign up for our newsletter HERE. Each week on The Spark File podcast, Susan Blackwell and Laura Camien reach into their spark files and share stories, ideas and fascinations to ignite your imagination. Obsessed with creativity, Blackwell and Camien also talk with artists and makers, movers and shakers who have taken the spark of inspiration and fanned it into a flame. Hear from inspiring creatives like Lin-Manuel Miranda, Sara Bareilles, Eric Stonestreet, Jonathan Groff, Julianne Moore and Bart Freundlich, Zachary Quinto, Leslie Odom Jr, Bobby Lopez and Kristen Anderson-Lopez, Billy Eichner, Celia Keenan-Bolger, Karen Olivo, Sutton Foster, Michael R. Jackson and many more about their passions and their failures, their inspirations and their aspirations. Refill your creative fish pond with new ideas and fresh perspectives. Listen, then take it and make it! Learn more at thesparkfile.com.
Episodes
Mentioned books
Jan 12, 2022 • 1h 12min
Creativity Sparks: Money Money Money
This week, Laura and Susan dig into this taboo topic and explore how and why shame keeps us from talking about money, and sometimes even doing anything about money. But valuing ourselves for the amount of money we have accrued has not always been the norm, in fact, it is a rather new framework. Listen in and imagine a time when we valued ourselves, our communities and the quality of our lives by a different standard. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jan 5, 2022 • 56min
Creativity Sparks: Operation Paperclip
Sometimes a spark is so surprising, so complex and thought provoking it can stun you into silence. And so it was when Susan shared Operation Paperclip with Laura.As outlined in the book, Operation Paperclip by Annie Jacobsen, information on this secret United States intelligence program was recently de-classified and we are now all learning about the plan to bring Nazi Germany scientists to the US to harness their intellectual resources.Defenders of the decision to welcome the scientists here have argued that the combined knowledge of these rocket scientists and nuclear scientists could have ended up in the hands of the Soviets, if the US had taken no action. Others wonder what are the ethical and moral costs of allowing their unimaginable war crimes to go without punishment or accountability.This is a #dark spark. Listen in to try to make sense of it all. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Dec 29, 2021 • 1h 6min
Creativity Sparks: Creative Resistance; OR, The Monster at the End of this Episode
What keeps us from writing those pages we say we WANT to write? What keeps us from taking that first small step toward our goal? What keeps us from doing anything at all related to our creative vision?Why, its our dear ol’ pal, Creative Resistance.This week, Laura and Susan dive into the warm and cozy distractions that keep us safe from the consequence of risk - creative risk, that is. These tactics show up anytime we are close to creating something of meaning or significance and make for damn sure we don’t go anywhere near it. Are we supposed to say thank you? The answer is more complex than you think… Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Dec 22, 2021 • 1h 12min
Creativity Sparks: The Collaborative Wisdom of Metallica
This week, Susan and Laura dip their toes into the topic of Collaboration via the Metallica Masterclass. They discuss how the members of Metallica, guided by their mantra “whatever’s best” for the project, share how they communicate, keep their egos in check, get the most out of everyone, and how they stay inspired to come together to create great things. They share a commitment to the music, yes, but an even larger commitment to each other. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Dec 15, 2021 • 52min
Creativity Sparks: Creative Mornings / Street Wisdom
Here at The Spark File, our mission is to spark creativity, free innate self-expression, and grant permission to fear less and create more. In this episode, we share two recently discovered like-minded creative organizations that have completely lit us up!Here’s how it happened…First, Pam Harris introduced us to @creativemornings and Creative Mornings introduced us to @streetwisdom_ and Street Wisdom introduced us to @davidpearl_here and David Pearl introduced us to his book Wanderful: Human Navigation for a Complex World… and we now we have newfound space for reflection, joy and yes, even more CREATIVITY in our lives. Whew! You heard it here first, folks. That is how contagious joyful self-expression and creativity can be. Pass it on. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Dec 8, 2021 • 1h 5min
Creativity Sparks: The Spark Side of Social Media
This week, Susan and Laura delve into the very best ways social media can be used - to inspire, educate and spread joy. We call this The Spark Side of Social Media.Listen and light yourself up with tales of legacy-worthy chocolate via @morticianinthekitchen, kneel at the alter of @andy_birkey's gothic woodworking, and marvel at the beauty of fore edge printing (did you know this even existed?!?) Turns out, good and meaningful things exist on social, when you know where to look! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Dec 1, 2021 • 60min
Creativity Sparks: What If...?
This week, Laura and Susan explore the inexplicable craving to consume pandemic-related entertainment during a pandemic - not entertainment about the current state of the world, no, we prefer imaginary pandemics dreamed up in the minds of fiction writers and TV writers like Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel, The End of October by Lawrence Wright, The Walking Dead and more. These are some of the works imagined by creative minds at a time when an actual pandemic was a scary but far-fetched idea…Listen in to hear how Laura made her way through a tunnel of imaginary pandemic entertainment and emerged on the other side with extreme respect and admiration for #NormanReedus. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Nov 24, 2021 • 39min
Welcome Back, Sparklers!
Welcome back, Sparklers! All are welcome here. As long as no one is being a d**k, you are invited to be your real, open, authentic selves. This week on The Spark File, Susan and Laura get warmed up for Season 3! They share their gratitude and a mini-spark about indigenous food from The New York Times and an article about Sean Sherman, creator of The Sioux Chef.The Spark File is created on the lands of the Lenape. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Aug 30, 2021 • 46min
Creativity Sparks: Celebrating Endings
In the season 2 finale of The Spark File podcast, Susan and Laura celebrate the highlights of the past year - revisiting favorite sparks of inspiration, and recognizing the incredible achievements of the participants in The Spark File Select Group Creativity Coaching program. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Aug 23, 2021 • 1h 2min
Makers: Hunter Bell: Connection, Community and Fantasy Island
This week, Susan and Laura got to spend extra time with their beloved Hunter Bell, Tony and Drama Desk nominee, Spark File Creativity Coaching client, and creative / writer / maker extraordinare! Tune in to feel the love and the belly laughs. Too much is never enough Hunter Bell. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
