A Creative Whirlwind
An upward spiral of creativity.
Besides the amazing architecture that Frank Lloyd Wright created in his lifetime, the thing that amazes me most about him was his ability to successfully recreate himself in his sixties, culminating in his commission to design the Solomon R Guggenheim Museum in New York.
While during his career he pioneered organic styles of architecture that included both the Prairie and Usonian styles, in his last two decades he reinvented himself as a modernist architect, successfully taking on the young guns of the day in their own style. When most people were winding down in a downward spiral, FLW harnessed more and more creative energy and become more expansive. He died a few days short of his 91st birthday day, after falling ill while on the Guggenheim construction site. I would love to have met him, but our lives only overlapped by 45 days.
The idea of reinvention is close to my own heart. As a recovering architect, I have spent the last decade extracting myself from the practice of architecture, reconnecting with my painting practice, learning about and establishing myself as a writer and a speaker to become a visual storyteller. It has been an exciting whirlwind of exploring ideas and stories, making new connections, shedding old identities, of new challenges and opportunities around different technologies, media and markets.
I am currently curious about a phenomenon I call Founder-Seekers. People who have been successful in their chosen paths, either founding businesses or establishing highly successful careers, but at some stage beyond the halfway mark, seek something more. Some people reinvent themselves in place, others start something new. Sometimes it is about giving back or just finding a deeper meaning or purpose. More often than not, it is my observation that these changes involve some kind of creative expression and practice, whether that be in an artistic sense, or in the broader application of creativity.
If you have reinvented, or are in the process of reinventing your career, I would love to hear your story.
Or if you have an urge for a major transition in life but are a bit stuck, maybe you would like to hear my story.
What goes around comes around in the whirligig of a creative life.
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I am a speaker, writer, artist, and recovering architect.
My Talk BOLD, BRAVE and a bit QUIRKY is all about reinvention.
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