SPARK

Happy New Year! You made it. Welcome to 2026.

Let’s light a SPARK!

A few years ago I attended an education conference in New York at the Metropolitan Opera.

One of the facilitators of the conference, Susan Blackwell (actor, singer, writer and  podcast producer of the “Spark Files”), introduced the concept of keeping a “SPARK” file in your phone.

It’s super simple. Create a note in your phone, label it SPARK and start filling it with anything that catches your interests. Do it right when you think about it so you don’t forget. That way future you can come back to the file anytime for inspiration and artistic direction.

Susan explained a SPARK can be anything that peaks your interest, motivates you to create, entices you to act, fuels your artistic fire.

If it fits the criteria…write it down!

A spark can be a catalyst to create something new. It’s important to catch them and collect them!

If something (anything) resonates with you, awakens your senses or gives you pause in your day- that’s a SPARK! Did it perhaps make you laugh or cry- SPARK! Do you want to learn more about the thing you heard about -SPARK! Did a quote sound like something you think or feel but have never had words for- SPARK! Did something inspire or challenge you -SPARK!

I loved this concept (Thank you, Susan Blackwell!) and from that moment on have kept a SPARK file in my phone. Such a simple solution for those fleeting moments you don’t want to forget - and let’s face it, would forget if not captured right away.

A SPARK can be a quote from a book, a link to a song, a picture, meme. Poem, book, joke, story. A SPARk could be places you want to visit or things you want to research … anything you find interesting really. A SPARK makes you feel ALIVE and resonates with you.

I think of collecting SPARKS like how my kids  collect nature while hiking. They enjoy gathering little pieces of nature in a bag. A twig here, a leaf there. A piece of moss and little shell. A tiny flower. A pebble.

After our hike, they take the bag of nature treasures home and spread the contents out on the table. Sure, it looks a mess-at first. BUT give them some glue and paper and markers…

Voila! Never before seen art is born.

Create your SPARK file today. Collect your curiosities and treasures. Enjoy the “hike” and in time spread the contents on the table. This might lead to something grand.

The potential to create Art only YOU can create.

You can't use up creativity. The more you use, the more you have. -Maya Angelou

With all my heart,

MS Amedee