Spelunking or scratching or digging?

'At Fisher-Price...products result from a process known as spelunking, which in its literal sense means to explore caves.  But in this realm of toy-making, it refers to the simple act of watching children play.' -- Nicole LaPorte, NY Times, July 8, 2012

-- Twyla Tharp refers to this process as 'scratching'.  For her, you can scratch for new ideas through: reading • conversation • the environment around us • our culture • our heroes • our mentors and • in the beauty of nature. In the scratching mode, she says, we are looking for the 'tiniest microcell of an idea (that will) get you going!' -- Excerpted from 'The Creative Habit' by Twyla Tharp

'I don't know of a single artist more prolific than Jon Foreman (of SWITCHFOOT, FICTION FAMILY and SOLO PROJECTS fame)...and his songs are amazing.  I wondered how he did it.  When I asked him, he said something that changed my life.  He said, "Don, being creative is like being an archeologist.  You just get up every morning and dig around in the dirt, looking for shards of pottery."

That perspective certainly helped.  Rather than words being IN ME, the words were OUT THERE.  The inspiration was out in the world, and all I had to do was go digging for it.  All I had to do was brush away the dirt and sand and keep an eye out for anything that could be polished.' -- Donald Miller, Storyline Blog, February 21, 2013

Whether you are creating new products, dreaming up dances or writing songs, this process of spelunking or scratching or digging is ESSENTIAL to all creative work.  It provides us with the reserves we so desperately need to draw from.

It is similar to the complicated procedure of loading a pipe so you can smoke it.  Pipes are a LOT OF WORK!  You have to get it packed down in the bowl just right and you have to smoke it at a certain pace (because it goes out easily), and periodically you have to repack the bowl with more tobacco, tamp it down so it can breathe correctly...but I think you get the idea...pipes require CONSTANT attention!

If we want to remain fresh and unblocked as we create, we must continually allow ourselves time to get out from behind the camera, step away from the piano, lay down our pens.  Because the more we stoke our creative fire, the more material we will have to draw from...
* What tools do you use when you go spelunking, and how often do you go?
* Share with our idea community an unusual place (either geographical or digital) where you have found been successful in spelunking for new material...