Yesterday was an exciting day.
I took a Mac desktop and a motu audio interface round to Simons house and we hooked it up to his guitar looping setup. He has a proper 8 channel mixing desk and some cool preamps that he runs his guitar loops through so that he can construct beautiful layers of ambient masterwork. He really is a seriously good guitarist!

We actually recorded 3 tracks which I will try to put together with some footage sometime soon so you can all watch (and hear) the maestro at work. It was a great feeling because not only did it all work very smoothly but Simon was actually really bowled over by hearing himself played back and he seemed super appreciative of being given that extra push. There are few greater feelings than helping someone to manifest their talent in to a beautiful recorded art work and seeing the look on their face as they are presented with their own expression. Damn it did sound good as well. If you like Brian Eno style stuff then you're in for a treat.... watch this space

Creative Facilitation

I find myself facilitating other peoples creativity and in the process indirectly facilitating my own. There is a certain amount of sacrifice involved in this as I have to put my own egoic requirements aside and allow someone else to enjoy a period of unerring spotlight in which they can spread their wings and begin to get comfortable in the role of the artist. Have you ever tried this? Do you know someone who's talent is beguiling but unrealised? Im not suggesting that everyone with talent MUST be made to fulfill their potential, because that is the way aggressive industries treat artists, and often to the detriment of the human being.... but being creatively facilitated is very different. Its a generous and fertile creative offering that can lift a persons confidence and allow beautiful expressions to be issued forth that can augment our experience of life in profound ways.
Some of the aspects of creative facilitation can be much like those of a muse or even a scribe. It is a gentle and responsive position to take up as the creator begins the bumpy ride of overcoming their interior blocks and hurdles while stumbling across moments of ecstatic inspiration or unexpected revelation. Simply 'being there' is the foundation of this practise. Being an audience to the tripping machinations of the artist can sometimes be all it takes to tease wonderful expression from them. What was once trapped in the mind or the dreams of this creative spirit, are now given air and allowed to breathe and self organise outside of the abstract.
The next layer is that of gentle guidance. Leave judgement at the door unless directly asked for it. More often than not it is a case of giving simple positive reinforcement to progressive states, and careful easing of the more self destructive and self sabotaging states. It shouldnt feel as if you are telling the artist what to do, or how to feel but instead that they are able to unpick each problem as it occurs and take ownership of each victory as it is won.

A leader is best when people barely know he exists…when his work is done, his aim fulfilled, they will all say: We did it ourselves.” – Lao-Tzu

This is one of my favourite quotes. but how humble! To take on the task of leadership without succumbing to the allure of accolade requires powerful self control and deep wisdom.

The third trick I want to mention for creative facilitation is to actually help with the 'leg work'. Be there to press record when the musician might just give up. Be there to write down an idea which the 'writer' might disregard. Prime a canvas for a demotivated painter, make the tea, open the curtains, and be company when they just want to throw it all down and go for a walk. Often simple physical tasks can stand in the way of a persons motivation to express themselves.

Im not suggesting this as a long term solution. The last thing you need is someone relying on you like a slave for their creativity to flow. These are just gestures that can be employed if/when you are feeling moved to lift someones creativity out of a period of stagnation or low confidence. Its a wonderful gift to give and receive and I personally feel that a bit of key 'leg work' is an essential tenet of creative facilitation. It is easy to be hard on peoples creativity or frustrated with someones relationship to their creative work, but employing some of these humble strategies of creative facilitation can yield wonderful results and bring a sense of transcendent joy to both parties when given time.

Be patient. Creativity is a strange and confusing force that almost never plays by the rules. x

now.... just a tad of splinterlands to help my breakfast go down...

SPLINTERLANDS!

Neutral Quest

Neutral quest was traditionally my least favourite quest because It would severely limit my tactical setups in any splinter. These days its really not so bad as a lot more cards have been introduced and the neutral cards aren't quite as important for creating tactical diversity. I still forget a few times and put in a neutral by accident. Its just muscle memory....
Anyway, here's a couple of highlights from the days questing:

A satisfying takedown of Kron and the team by utilising medusa in the knockout ruleset
https://splinterlands.com?p=battle&id=sl_be44dbfac4d8df04b1ce8808cfddbb1e&ref=basilmarples

A pretty solid victory between two death squads in the even stevens ruleset. I thought Owster might cause me problems as I had a fair bit of magic in the team but I was nerfing his magic and melee quite dramatically and my Dark Ha'on took a lot of the damage while I whittled his front line down one by one
https://splinterlands.com?p=battle&id=sl_87b9be2b2f923be44ad07141f17834f3&ref=basilmarples

All in all...

Im feeling very buoyed by the collaboration last night. It lights my spirit and gives a sense of meaning to my existence when I have these sorts of interactions. I know I make life awkward for myself by treading a vague and unconventional path, but its wonderful in these brief moments when the stars align and creativity flows like a river.

All the very best to you my friends

Basil