Don’t Break the Chain: Secrets to Staying Creatively Limber with Mary Jo Hoffman

When Mary Jo Hoffman, author of STILL: The Art of Noticing, committed to posting a picture a day online, the process became so addictive (and beneficial) that the chain remained unbroken for more than a decade.

During the process, Mary Jo learnt that wild constraints lead to wild creativity, process is more important than product, and reconnecting with nature has value beyond measure.

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'Wild constraints lead to wild creativity. The tighter the constraints, the more creative you're forced to be.'
Mary Jo Hoffman

For Episode 1 of We Need to Make Things I chat with Mary Jo Hoffman @maryjohoffman about staying creatively limber, valuing process over product and committing to the chain, among many other things!

In 2012 Mary Jo began a project which involved taking a photograph of found nature against a white background in a minimalist style. She posted the results every day on her blog, STILL. The chain remained unbroken for more than a decade. 

Mary Jo’s beautiful book STILL, The Art of Noticing is out now.

This episode is full of Mary Jo’s wonderful wisdom including:

👉 How to start (and maintain) a daily project
👉 The importance of shutting down your inner critic
👉 The power of process, and the value of constraints
👉 Why you need to keep moving to find your own style

Enjoy!

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