Finding a creative spark

By Barbara Gutierrez [email protected] 08-21-2025

The ancient Greeks believed that creativity was sparked by one or several of the muses. These were the nine daughters of the god Zeus.

These goddesses inspired creators in art, literature, music, and other creative endeavors. To be called a "muse" is to be someone who inspires creativity in an individual.

News@TheU asked several members of the University of Miami community to explore what sparks their creativity. Here are some of their answers:

Kyle Trowbridge, artist, director of undergraduate studies and head of undergraduate advising, Department of Art and Art History, College of Arts and Sciences

My life has been on a creative track since I was a young boy. There has always been a need to produce, create, and solve problems for as long as I can remember.

My fine art practice remains a mesh of music and visuals; with music usually guiding my hand when making images or conceptual choices. So strangely, I refer to my recent drawings as collaborations.

The image below was created while listening to Ornette Coleman's "Free Jazz." While much of the music is improvised, I attempt to play my pen along with Coleman's saxophone. It is as much performance as it is a drawing. A constant improvisation and adaptation. The written quips usually come to mind during the process and are added at the end.

Evelina Galang, writer and professor, College of Arts and Sciences

Problems spark my creativity. In life, it may be something small, like what to make for dinner, or intellectual, like how to teach a lesson most effectively, or political, like how to respond to the current climate? In each situation, I find myself thinking about interesting ways to solve what troubles me.

When I can't see the answer to a problem-whether its spiritual, personal, or cultural-I write about it. I build a world where my characters work through the issues. This practice of writing gives me a safe space to explore all that troubles me. And I pass the practice of writing to my students, so they have a way to think about the world and work through their own issues of suffering, injustice, and desire.

Alfred Martin, associate professor and chair of the Department of Cinematic Arts, School of Communication

My creativity is sparked by two major things. The first is running. Running allows me to really clear my head, and I can see things a lot more clearly when I am in the zone. The other place is in the shower. In other words, my creativity is often best engaged when I am doing something where I am not thinking about creativity. I think it allows my brain to be freer and more open to new ways of thinking. I figured out the introduction to my book "Fandom for Us, by Us" in the shower. I figured out the idea for that same book on a run.

Mia Angela Leonin, poet and senior lecturer, College of Arts and Sciences

Creativity is trust.

Poet Pablo Neruda called poetry "el pan de cada día"-daily bread. He emphasized that poetry belongs to everyone and that poets aren't "little gods" with special powers. I'm passionate about demystifying the creative process. Creativity's truest gift is trust-I trust the process, surrender to it, and let the poem reveal itself through the messiness of writing.

The same applies to creative problem-solving. I write freely without censoring, research deeply, and explore without self-critique. Later, I evaluate what I've gathered and pare it down, keeping only what helps me see the familiar in surprising ways. Then I revise and fine-tune. This process crosses disciplines. Creativity isn't confined to the arts-it thrives in every field.

Scott Thomas Flavin, senior lecturer in violin performance and chamber music and resident conductor for The Henry Mancini Institute, Frost School of Music

I find, especially in academia, that creativity is one area that is not encouraged enough in our growth process. We tend to be focused on learning measurable tasks, while not allocating time or effort to explore and enhance creativity. So how do we build our creativity? The answer is to be found less in the left brain (logic, technique), and more in the right brain (tactile, emotional); that is, we need to spend time with ourselves not thinking concretely, not analyzing, but being. We may begin that process by living in the moment, not reflecting on the past or worrying about the future, but being centered in the present. Mindfulness meditation is a wonderful way to allow ourselves to live in the moment, and in so doing, to connect more with who we are and discover what our perspectives may be.

It is no accident that the great classical composer Ludwig van Beethoven found much of his musical inspiration during his daily walks in nature. Another famous composer, Leonard Bernstein (composer of "West Side Story"), described writing music as being a "lonely" activity where ideas would emerge from the subconscious. He would find his inspiration usually lying down, in a half-asleep trance. I myself have composed music while running, sometimes working out even fully realized compositions during a good run. For me, the physicality of running helps me focus inward and live in the moment. No matter how inspiration comes, I believe that creativity must be practiced, like any skill; the challenge is to believe in oneself and not be ashamed of what may or may not come out. Eventually, we come to a place where we trust in our own creativity, and that is a beautiful experience.

Nikita Aggarwal, associate professor of law, School of Law

Creative acts are, I believe, sparked by many things. These sparks interact in complex, often contradictory ways and can't always be identified and isolated. So, while I can never fully know what sparks my creativity, I like to think that some of the key sources include freedom, necessity, desire, boredom, inspiration, and randomness. I have had some of my most creative moments when I needed or wanted to get out of an existence that I didn't like or wanted to get to an existence that I desired more. There is a lot of truth to the proverb "necessity is the mother of invention." The less cluttered and freer my mind is, the more creative I am. My scholarly ideas are often inspired by reading, seeing, or hearing about an unresolved problem or an unanswered question, often as discussed in the media or prior scholarly literature. They are also inspired by other types of artistic works, such as music and visual art, including my own.

Here is one of my latest artistic creations:

Jaime Correa, associate professor in practice, School of Architecture

Many great thinkers throughout history have been fascinated by what we now call "creativity," though the word itself only became common in the 19th century. The idea, however, is much older. From Plato to Kant to Bergson to Sartre, philosophers have long celebrated creativity and imagination as sources of inspiration and as ways to rise above purely rational thought. Creativity was often understood as the ability to form vivid mental/imaginary images-an idea that played a key role in both art and science.

To me, creativity is the ability to imagine and develop new ideas, solutions, or expressions that are both original and meaningful. It's about thinking beyond the obvious, making unique connections, and bringing something fresh and valuable into the world. It's the power to generate something new that adds value to life-whether it's a scientific discovery, a work of art, a building, a city, poetry, or a new way of seeing the world.

Just by looking at our students in the architecture studios, we can recognize that creativity may appear suddenly or develop through continued effort and experimentation. It often blends imagination, knowledge, curiosity, and the courage to try something new. In the creative fields, including architecture and urban design, many questions remain open. Does creativity follow rules, or does it break them? Is it deliberate, unconscious, or both? How do new ideas emerge, and can cognitive science explain the process? What does it truly mean to be creative? What we currently know is that interdisciplinary research proves that creativity and imagination are deeply connected to how we perceive, think, and make sense of reality.

Carol Kaminsky, dance program director, Frost School of Music

These days I feel my creative process is driven by engaging in problem-solving. I challenge myself to see a problem differently by coming up with wild solutions and see how it lands. It's the same when I dance. I have a weekly dance improvisation practice with my close friends, where I can delve into my personal expression, bringing out a treasure of images and ideas, which I channel into my work as a dance artist and therapist. This summer I took a class with a master clowning teacher to push myself in a new creative direction. It combined many aspects of creative work-story, relationship, movement improvisation, acting, and emotion-which pushed me to think and move differently. Relationships with my friends, family, and, most importantly, my grandchildren inspire my creativity. I am constantly shifting my perspective as I see the world through their eyes.