Emerging Form

Photo of Stéphanie by @steph_stf_photography“Is my career done?” That’s what aerialist Stéphanie Ortega wondered when her touring with Cirque du Soleil abruptly ended at the onset of the pandemic. We speak with her about the fear, anger, and loss of identity in the wake of losing her creative practice–and how she found resilience, purpose, and new ways of pursuing her art before the proverbial show got back on the road. Rosemerry also talks about getting her show back on the road–performing for a live audience for the first time since her son died, and how it taught her to trust process more than ever. Originally from France, Stéphanie Ortega studied ballet at the Roland Petit School in Marseille and started dancing professionally in a cabaret in Paris. She discovered the circus community when she was performing in the United States and began training as an aerialist, acquiring skill after skill including trapeze, aerial silk, Spanish rope, and eventually mastering the “suspended Pole,” a moveable pole that does not touch the ground, emulating a flying effect. She worked for Disneyland Paris, Franco Dragone and Cirque du Soleil. Prior to the Pandemic, Ortega was working on the show “Corteo” performing as the sole suspended pole artist. Currently living in Colorado, Ortega is preparing to rejoin the iconic circus troupe for an international tour. She recently had a chance to perform again for the first time since the pandemic began. Follow Stéphanie on InstagramWatch Stephanie perform on the flying poleRosemerry’s poem about performing live again This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit emergingform.substack.com/subscribe

When you’re actively engaged in creative practice, what’s happening in your brain? We ask research scientist and writer Emily Willingham to talk about the science of creativity. Her clear communication about neurons and cognitive processes open up a new understanding of not only how the brain works but also the three key features of creativity, two kinds of thinking that go into creative process, plus the importance of flexibility, storytelling, openness and awe. The business of Emily’s life has been writing and science. Her work as a research scientist led her to many cool things, including ultrasound and surgery on a spotted hyena, plastic casting of the inside of the mammalian penis, chasing tiny blazing-fast lizards around in the desert, and innumerable activities involving gonads. Her work as a writer has done the same, from stories about the black bears of Big Bend to how pregnant people will fare in a post-Roe nation. There are hundreds of adventures in between, some of them reflected in her stories published at places like Scientific American, the Washington Post, Slate, Vox, Wired, LitHub, Aeon, and others. Emily is the author of several books, including Phallacy: Life Lessons from the Animal Penis, published in 2020, and The Tailored Brain: From Ketamine to Keto to Companionship, a User's Guide to Feeling Better and Thinking Smarter, published in December 2021.Emily’s WebsiteExcerpt from The Tailored Brain about creativity and awe. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit emergingform.substack.com/subscribe

What do you look for in collaborators? How do you find them? Is it better to collaborate with friends? We speak with singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and film composer Leah Shaw about putting together her full-length album Play Beautifully, a sonic exploration of loss, healing and self-transformation. She talks candidly about the balance between control and collaboration, learning new skills, and learning to trust the input and inspirations of others as she pursued her own passion project. Leah is our new audio producer, and this episode also features a new version of our theme Leah engineered, featuring Leah on bassoon alongside Kyra Kopestonsky on cello. Connect with Leah Shaw at: BandCampSpotifyYouTubeApple MusicLearn more about Play Beautifully. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit emergingform.substack.com/subscribe

Image: Catherine, Christie and Rosemerry Feeling stuck or stumped in your creative practice? Maybe what you need is more fun. In this episode we speak with Catherine Price, author of The Power of Fun: How to Feel Alive Again. Her definition of fun feels utterly apropos of creativity. She defines fun as the spirit of playfulness—in which you engage with no attachment to outcome; connection—in that you share the experience with another; and flow—in that you become so engaged you lose track of time. We discuss these principles, plus the role of permission and how a fun squad helped her write her book.Catherine Price is a science journalist, speaker, and author of numerous books including How to Break Up With Your Phone, Vitamania: How Vitamins Revolutionized the Way We Think About Food, and the new book, The Power of Fun: How to Feel Alive Again. As a freelance journalist, her work has appeared in publications including The Best American Science Writing, The New York Times, Popular Science, O, The Oprah Magazine, The Los Angeles Times, The San Francisco Chronicle, The Washington Post Magazine, Parade, Salon, Slate, Men’s Journal, Self, Medium, Health Magazine, and Outside, among others. She's also the founder of ScreenLifeBalance.com, which is part of her mission to help people scroll less and live more.Rosemerry’s poem Porphyry BasinLearn your “fun type” Christie’s New York Times story about using play to motivate yourself to exerciseEpisode 45: Protecting Your Creative Time with Catherine PriceI Did It Dad! I LOVE This!, Christie’s Last Word On Nothing post about performative life in the age of social mediaCatherine’s drum group This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit emergingform.substack.com/subscribe

What does a new calendar year mean for your creative process? In this episode, Rosemerry and Christie return to their creative goals from last year – did they meet them? They talk about Christie’s annual report model for creatives, about how a magic wand might help you identify your creative goals for 2022, and how they are hoping the form might emerge in the next year. Plus they offer new guiding phrases for thinking about creative process and how Christie’s radio gave her the wisdom she needed for the end of the year. A Hundred Falling Veils, Rosemerry’s daily poems.Is it possible to exercise too much?, Christie’s latest story in the New York Times.Shine TheoryEmerging Form is a listener-supported publication. To receive new episodes and support our work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit emergingform.substack.com/subscribe

In this bonus episode, Christie and Rosemerry read some of the new works they’ve created since the trauma of the last four months.Finding My Friend’s Unwritten Poems, Christie at Last Word On NothingDigging Potatoes, 2021, by RosemerryCondition, by RosemerryPlease note: after we recorded this podcast, we experienced yet another sad event and we need to take a short break to focus on self-care. We will return next month, and when we do, we will have some very exciting news to share. In the meantime, all paid subscriptions will be put on hold (you won’t be charged) until we return. See you again soon!_Image by Ollie Taylor This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit emergingform.substack.com/subscribe

Photo: Photo: Rosemerry and Christie celebrating Rosemerry’s birthday on a recent sleety/snowy day in Telluride.In this episode of Emerging Form, Rosemerry and Christie discuss how their recent traumas affected their creative output and how taking a break from writing ultimately helped their creative process. A quick note: after we recorded this podcast, we were hit with yet another cascade of sadness and we need to take a short break to focus on self-care. We will be back in a few weeks, and when we do we will have some exciting news to share. In the meantime, paid subscribers will receive a very special bonus episode next Thursday, and all paid subscriptions will be put on hold (you won’t be charged) until we return (very soon, we promise!). This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit emergingform.substack.com/subscribe

Why invest in your creative life? In this episode of Emerging Form, we continue with our Soul Food Series with poet and teacher Jack Ridl. He talks about how our creative endeavors link us to the big history and reconnect us with what really matters. Then he brings us the news of the heart, reading poems from How to Love the World: Poems of Gratitude and Hope. An episode full of inspiration, invitation and devotion--an episode to send you to the canvas or stage or blank page with a renewed sense of what’s at stake. Jack Ridl, Poet Laureate of Douglas, Michigan (Population 1100), in April 2019 released Saint Peter and the Goldfinch. Jack’s Practicing to Walk Like a Heron was awarded the National Gold Medal for poetry by ForeWord Review/IndieFab. His collection Broken Symmetry was co-recipient of The Society of Midland Authors best book of poetry award for 2006. His Losing Season was named the best sports book of the year for 2009 by The Institute for International Sport, and The Boston Globe named it one of the five best books about sports. Jack and his wife Julie founded the visiting writers series at Hope College where he taught for 37 years. The students named him both their Outstanding Professor and Favorite Professor, and in 1996 The Carnegie (CASE) Foundation named him Michigan Professor of the Year. In retirement Jack conducts a variety of writing workshops, welcomes readings, holds one on one sessions, and more. Jack’s website: www.ridl.comHow to Love the World: Poems of Gratitude and Hope This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit emergingform.substack.com/subscribe

“Learn. Fail. Grow.” That’s part of the creative action plan for award-winning writer and Susan J. Tweit. In this episode of Emerging Form, we continue our Soul Food Series and talk with Susan about the importance of reflection--how writing not only helps us to meet difficult moments, but also helps us to find “deeper levels and better understanding” as time passes. We talk about the process of reflection and how it leads our writing toward the universal. As Susan says, “Without reflection, what’s the point?”An award-winning writer and plant ecologist, Susan J. Tweit began her career in Wyoming, studying grizzly bear habitat—collecting and dissecting bear poop—coring trees to map historic wildfires, and researching aromatic big sagebrush. Tweit began writing after realizing that she loved writing the stories behind the data as much as collecting the data. She's written thirteen non-fiction books ranging from memoir and nature writing to kids and travel, along with hundreds of magazine articles, columns, and essays. She admits to being a plant nerd focused on the intriguing lives and interrelationships that weave the West’s living landscapes. Her passion is re-storying this earth, and those with whom we who share the planet. When Tweit is not writing, she's most often outside eradicating invasive weeds—restoring nature, plant by plant. As a Quaker, she walks her talk, and she lives with her heart outstretched as if it were her hand, loving this world. Her most recent book is Bless the Birds: Living with Love in a Time of Dying. Susan Tweit’s website. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit emergingform.substack.com/subscribe

What Does It Really Mean to Show Up? In this episode, we speak with Rosemerry’s mentor and beloved friend Judith Jordan Kalush about how the way we meet our daily life intimately informs our creative practice. Are we listening? Are we distracted? Are we opening? Do we feel our connection to the rest of the world? What are we choosing to tune into? It’s a powerful episode with no platitudes, but with hard-earned deep wisdom that comes from devotion.Jude Jordan Kalush is an unpindownable wonder of a human who was raised in Brazil where her father was a Baptist minister and missionary. In 2005, she received her Master’s Degree in Creation Spirituality from Naropa University. As she says,” As far as I can tell the world is held together by a glue called LOVE. The oneness of everything.” She was the founder and director of Colorado’s performance poetry festival, SPARROWS, which was held 1999-2007 and now creates poetry videos for her youtube channel, PoetJude. For decades, she has led dreamwork circles and classes and in recent years opened a Fair Trade business. She and her wife, Micah, are presently living in California. Jude’s You Tube Channel Jude’s Go Fund Me for the hungry in BrazilDream worker Jeremy Taylor This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit emergingform.substack.com/subscribe