No matter how expert we become, we need to continually relearn how to play as a beginner.  Thus we recover the innocence, the curiosity, the desire that impelled us to play in the first place; we discover the necessary unity of practice and performance.  Not only is practice necessary to art, it is art. You don't have to practice boring exercises, but you do have to practice something.  If you find the practice boring, don't run away from it, but don't tolerate it either.  Transform it into something that suits you.  If you don't think the result is very good you have the power to change it.  In any art we can take the most basic and simple technique, shift it around and personalize it until it becomes something that engages us.  Exercise of technique is not boring or interesting in and of itself; it is we who manufacture the boredom.  Improvisation can have the same satisfying sense of of structure and wholeness as a planned composition.  But there is a case to be made for the opposite side.  There is a time to do just anything, to experiment without fear of consequences, to have a play space safe from fear of criticism, so that we can bring out of our unconscious material without censoring it first.  In this way we can try new things and throw them away as many times as necessary  Practice gives the creative process a steady momentum, so that when imaginative surprises occur they can be incorporated into the growing, breathing organism of our imagination. -Stephen Nachmanovitch From out of my study of historic shadows this past week a clear face and figure has emerged.  Working with this hand crafted M4 character base I shall go forward towards the final portrait of Spartacus. To my eyes he does bear a passing resemblance to the actor currently portraying Spartacus, though this was never my intention.  Just the same, there he is, stepping forward out of mystery and legend of the ancient past. If you are interested in the development of this character the image below will take you to Shadow Studies: "Who is Spartacus?"    Supplemental: For those who have been following the Spartacus series, there is wonderful news breaking today: Whitfield Wins Cancer Battle Spartacus: Blood and Sand star Andy Whitfield has beaten cancer - and is "raring to go" back to work on the cable series. The actor, who plays gladiator slave Spartacus, was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma earlier this year, resulting in a delay in production on the second series of the show. Whitfield has now been given the all-clear after months of treatment - and he has already begun training to get back in shape for the physically demanding role. Whitfield stated, "After the initial shock - I was a healthy young man and had no idea that this could happen - it was frustrating that the first season was ending on such a high note and we could've been rolling into season two. I've had time to heal, figure things out and spend time with my family." Whitfield is due to resume filming the drama in October.