The Syncreate Podcast: Empowering Creativity

Episode 98: Creative Spark Series - Creativity and Humor Jul 17, 2025

Show notes

.In this episode of our Creative Spark series, we discuss the connections between humor, creativity, and health, specifically how we can use our creativity to find humor in difficult situations, including end-of-life medical situations. Melinda and Charlotte share their own experiences of medical challenges and sitting with dying parents who maintained their sense of humor to the end. This episode, like the mini-episodes that preceded it, also includes insights from our book, Syncreate: A Guide to Navigating the Creative Process for Individuals, Teams, and Communities.

For our Creativity Pro-Tip, we encourage you to to think about a difficult situation and see if you can find any humor in it. This is a great practice for seeing challenges through a different, and perhaps more creative lens.

If you enjoy this episode and want to learn more about the creative process, you might also like our conversations in Episode 49: Creativity in Challenging Times, Episode 82: Healing the Creative Wound, and Episode 84: From Surviving to Thriving.

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Geoffrey Good on Instagram

Episode 97: The Art of Jewelry Design with Geoffrey Good Jul 10, 2025

Show notes

Geoffrey Good is a renowned fine jewelry designer based in Hudson, New York, internationally recognized for his elegant, minimalist designs. With over 30 years of experience in the industry, he has established himself as a master craftsman and artist, known for his attention to detail and exceptional skill in creating exquisite pieces of jewelry. Geoffrey discovered his passion for jewelry in college after designing a pair of earrings for his girlfriend out of glass-scrap. After earning a degree in jewelry design at the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York, Geoffrey apprenticed with master jeweler Klaus Wisskirchen, assisting in jewelry-works for prestigious firms, including Cartier© and Christie’s© before starting his own atelier. His work has been featured in Vogue, The New York Times, and dozens of other renowned publications.

For our Creativity Pro-Tip, we encourage you to continually explore your craft by drawing, writing, experimenting, and recording your inspirations on a regular basis

If you enjoy this episode and want to learn more about the creative process, you might also like our conversations in Episode 52: Texas Poet Laureate Amanda Johnston, Episode 56: Asking the Questions with Broadway Stereophonic Cast Member Chris Stack, and Episode 68: Wonders of Creation with Dr. Ladan Akbarnia.

Episode-specific hyperlinks:

geoffreygood.com

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Episode 96: Creative Spark Series - Creativity Conference Reflections with Melinda Rothouse & Charlotte Gullick Jul 03, 2025

Show notes

In this episode of our Creative Spark series, Melinda shares insights and reflections from her recent experience attending and presenting at the Creativity Conference at Southern Oregon University, connecting and collaborating with friends and colleagues, and getting energized from being around others studying creativity. This episode, like the mini-episodes that preceded it, also includes insights from our book, Syncreate: A Guide to Navigating the Creative Process for Individuals, Teams, and Communities.

For our Creativity Pro-Tip, we encourage you to find and attend an event where you can connect with others around creativity, collaboration, and community in a way that’s meaningful and relevant to you.

If you enjoy this episode and want to learn more about the creative process, you might also like our conversations in Episode 9: Music and Psychology: "The Pocket" Experience with Dr. Jeff Mims, Episode 16: Creativity, Innovation & Leadership with Robert Cleve, PhD, Episode 48: Can You Learn Creativity? with Creative Director Chris McKenna, and Episode 91: Envisioning the Possible with Vlad Glăveanu, PhD.

Episode-specific hyperlinks:

Creativity Conference at Southern Oregon University

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Brian’s Poetry and Podcast Episode with the Haight Ashbury Literary Journal

Episode 95: Poetry, Nature, and Beautiful Mistakes with Brian Kirven Jun 26, 2025

Show notes

Brian Kirven is a poet, traveler, and teacher living in Point Reyes Station in Northern California. He's the author of Shorelines: A Traveler Comes Home to the Tide Zone. He's served as a California Poet in the Schools, as well as the Poetry Inside Out program, and hosted a radio show on KWMR in Point Reyes for many years. His poetry has been featured in numerous literary journals, including California Quarterly, Inverness Almanac, The Kerf, West Marin Review, and most recently, the Haight Ashbury Literary Journal. His work is rooted in a deep sense of place and connection to nature. Our conversation focuses on his writing process, his sources of inspiration, and his teaching.

For our Creativity Pro-Tip, we encourage you to explore the exercise of beautiful mistakes, as Brian shares in the episode, to closely observe the world around you and play with metaphor, even if silly and absurd, as a sense of inspiration.

If you enjoy this episode and want to learn more about the creative process, you might also like our conversations in Episode 6: Gratitude, Gentleness, and Generosity with Mayela Padilla Manasjan, Episode 83: Proprioception with C. Prudence Arceneaux, and Episode 87: Dreams and Creativity with Musician, Poet & Psychotherapist Linus Streckfus.

Episode-specific hyperlinks:

Brian’s Book: Shorelines: A Traveler Comes Home to the Tide Zone(contact us at info@syncreate.org for direct ordering info)

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Episode 94: Creative Spark Series - The Joy in Collaboration with Melinda Rothouse & Charlotte Gullick Jun 19, 2025

Show notes

In this episode of our Creative Spark series, we explore the benefits of collaboration, including the synergy that arises when two or more people join together in a creative endeavor, which can yield fresh ideas and perspectives, camaraderie and teamwork, as well as joy, fun, and levity. This episode, like the mini-episodes that preceded it, also includes insights from our book, Syncreate: A Guide to Navigating the Creative Process for Individuals, Teams, and Communities.

For our Creativity Pro-Tip, we encourage you to find a person or group to collaborate with on some kind of community project. This could be within your household or family, or with a group of creative collaborators. Maybe it's a community garden or neighborhood art project - just have fun or perhaps find a way to benefit your local community.

If you enjoy this episode and want to learn more about the creative process, you might also like our conversations in Episode 31: The Power of Collaboration, Episode 51: Curiosity & Exploration, and Episode 84: From Surviving to Thriving

At Syncreate, we're here to support your creative endeavors. If you have an idea for a project or a new venture, and you’re not sure how to get it off the ground, find us at syncreate.org. Our book, also called Syncreate, walks you through the stages of the creative process so you can take action on your creative goals. We also offer resources, creative process tools, and coaching, including a monthly creativity coaching group, to help you bring your work to the world. You can find more information on our website, where you can also find all of our podcast episodes. Find and connect with us on social media and YouTube under Syncreate, and we’re now on Patreon as well. If you enjoy the show, please subscribe and leave us a review! We’d love to hear your feedback as well, so drop us a line at info@syncreate.org.

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Alisa’s Website: Eye of the Heart (eye4heart.com)

Episode 93: Creativity and Collaboration in Internal Family Systems (IFS) Work with Alisa Carr, LCSW Jun 12, 2025

Show notes

How do we work with the multiple energies, drives, and desires, sometimes conflicting, inside ourselves? Internal Family Sytems (IFS) is a therapeutic modality that focuses on healing the wounded and protective parts that we all carry within us, in service of internal connection and collaboration. Alisa Carr, LCSW, uses IFS in her therapeutic work to help clients find clarity, creativity, spiritual connection, and more satisfying relationships. Our conversation focuses on the IFS process and how it can enhance intra-personal, or inner, creativity and collaboration for a more joyful and vibrant life.

For our Creativity Pro-Tip, we encourage you to pay close attention to your body and mind whenever you feel triggered or overwhelmed, as it likely signals a part of you that’s asking for attention and nurturance. Try dialoguing with it to learn how it’s trying to help you or what it needs from your Self energy.

If you enjoy this episode and want to learn more about the creative process, you might also like our conversations in Episode 42: Creativity & Depth Psychology with Jennifer Leigh Selig, Episode 85: Living a Spiritual Life with Wisdom Pathways Co-Founders Jenny Fairbank and Steven Ross, and Episode 87: Dreams and Creativity with Musician, Poet & Psychotherapist Linus Streckfus.

Episode-specific hyperlinks:

5th International Possibility Studies Conference

IFS Institute

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Episode 92: Creative Spark Series - Self-Mentoring and Creativity with Melinda Rothouse & Charlotte Gullick Jun 05, 2025

Show notes

In this episode of our Creative Spark series, we discuss the inner mentor or inner coach as a counter-weight to the inner critic in our creativity, with inspiration from the book 10 to 25: The Science of Motivating Young People by David Yeager, a professor of psychology at UT Austin. The ways we both challenge and support ourselves through our inner self-talk can make a big difference in our creative success. Are we beating ourselves up or empowering ourselves for success through our inner narrative? This episode, like the mini-episodes that preceded it, also includes insights from our book, Syncreate: A Guide to Navigating the Creative Process for Individuals, Teams, and Communities.

For our Creativity Pro-Tip, we encourage you to pay attention to your self-talk and notice the tone and content of our inner narratives around our creativity. Our we critical and judgemental toward ourselves, or supportive and accepting?

If you enjoy this episode and want to learn more about the creative process, you might also like our conversations in Episode 35: Navigating the Creative Wilderness, Episode 49: Creativity in Challenging Times, and Episode 82: Healing the Creative Wound.

Episode-specific hyperlinks:

Book - 10 to 25: The Science of Motivating Young People by David Yeager, PhD

Book - The Untethered Soul by Michael Singer

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Vlad Glăveanu on LinkedIn

Episode 91: Envisioning the Possible with Vlad Glaveanu, PhD May 29, 2025

Show notes

How do we use our creativity to envision possibility and bring it into reality? Vlad Glăveanu, PhD, has spent his career exploring this question. He is the founder and president of the Possibility Studies Network (PSN). His work focuses on creativity, imagination, culture, collaboration, wonder, possibility, and societal challenges. He is a professor of psychology in the School of Psychology and Director of the DCU Centre for Possibility Studies at Dublin City University, as well as a professor at the Centre for the Science of Learning and Technology, University of Bergen. He has written and edited numerous academic articles and books on creativity and possibility studies, as well as The Wish Thief, a fantasy novel.

For our Creativity Pro-Tip, we encourage you to pay attention to your immediate environment and to look at familiar scenes and objects with fresh eyes, considering the possibilities of each beyond their everyday, conventional purpose or use.

If you enjoy this episode and want to learn more about the creative process, you might also like our conversations in Episode 16: Creativity, Innovation & Leadership with Robert Cleve, PhD Episode 62: The Neuroscience of Creativity with Dr. Indre Viskontas, and Episode 77: Collaborate, Innovate, Advocate with Beth Sundstrom, PhD.

At Syncreate, we're here to support your creative endeavors. If you have an idea for a project or a new venture, and you’re not sure how to get it off the ground, find us at syncreate.org. Our book, also called Syncreate, walks you through the stages of the creative process so you can take action on your creative goals. We also offer resources, creative process tools, and coaching, including a monthly creativity coaching group, to help you bring your work to the world. You can find more information on our website. Find and connect with us on social media and YouTube under Syncreate. If you enjoy the show, please subscribe and leave us a review! We’d love to hear your feedback as well, so drop us a line at info@syncreate.org.

Episode-specific hyperlinks:

Possibility Studies Network

The Wish Thief Website

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Episode 90: Creative Spark Series - Creativity, Meaning, and Psychological Growth with Melinda Rothouse & Charlotte Gullick May 22, 2025

Show notes

,In this episode of our Creative Spark series, Melinda shares insights from her new article in the academic journal Possibility Studies and Society on how we can use our creativity to make meaning of our experiences, particularly the difficult and challenging ones, in service of psychological growth. This episode, like the mini-episodes that preceded it, also includes insights from our book, Syncreate: A Guide to Navigating the Creative Process for Individuals, Teams, and Communities.

For our Creativity Pro-Tip, we encourage you to reflect on your life journey up to this point–the highs and the lows; the good, the bad, and the ugly–through journaling, collaging, or any other medium that calls to you, and reflect on the lessons learned. This is how we make meaning, and how we can grow from our life experiences.

If you enjoy this episode and want to learn more about the creative process, you might also like our conversations in Episode 47: Creativity and Meaning Making, Episode 82: Healing the Creative Wound, Episode 84: From Surviving to Thriving, and Episode 88: Practicing Courage with Our Creativity.

At Syncreate, we're here to support your creative endeavors. If you have an idea for a project or a new venture, and you’re not sure how to get it off the ground, find us at syncreate.org. Our book, also called Syncreate, walks you through the stages of the creative process so you can take action on your creative goals. We also offer resources, creative process tools, and coaching, including a monthly creativity coaching group, to help you bring your work to the world. You can find more information on our website. Connect with us on social media and YouTube under Syncreate. If you enjoy the show, please subscribe and leave us a review! We’d love to hear your feedback, so drop us a line at info@syncreate.org.

Episode-specific hyperlinks:

Melinda’s Article: The Role of Creativity and Meaning in Psychological Development Across the Lifetime: Possibilities for Self and Society

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