Wow; what an unbelievable week. First my wife and I spent some time helping our professional color lab at a convention in Tucson, Arizona. Then we proceeded to drive through Arizona, searching out some interesting photo ops along the way as we spent a few days in Southwest Utah photographing and doing research for possible future workshops.
So what does this have to do with creativity? It was interesting to participate in ‘creative’ ventures while on this trip, but just as interesting to watch others around me and see creativity alive and well in others.
What sparks your creativity? Does your surroundings help your creativity or hinder it? I live in a very flat area (eastern North Dakota), and many people don’t see anything that would spark creativity around me. Funny thing is, I sometimes agree with them. Then I have to look harder, look closer than usual, to find interesting things that would help my creativity.
So my first point this week is no matter where you are, there is SOMETHING that should spark your creativity. If you’re a painter, look closer at sunsets and sunrises for interesting color that’s not in your normal palette. Look at close-up details in objects around you for inspiration. If you’re a writer, seek out people that have character, or find interesting facts about your area that might spark either a fiction or non-fiction article or book. Keep lots of notes and you’ll always have something to build on.
Now I don’t want to leave out any aspect of your life and creativity. I’m working on 3 different CREATIVITY programs at this time, and a couple are meant for a certain type of artist; but the last one is meant for everyone. So that brings me to my second point this week; THINK CREATIVITY IN ALL AREAS OF YOUR LIFE!! That might be something as simple as motivating your children, to convincing your company or co-workers that an idea you have is worth pursuing. Some of the most ‘creative’ ideas have developed out of desperation or in pursuit of sanity. And some of course have happened by accident.
A couple examples I can think of right now are velcro; which was more or less an experiment that didn’t work. Being a child of the 60’s and 70’s, I still can’t believe vehicles have seat belts, and more recently; they have video players or TVs in them. (Now don’t get me wrong; we need them for safety.) What happened to riding in the back window of the car looking up at the sky? Or entertaining yourself with car bingo or making up your own games as you rode down the highway? As you can see, we have pushed a lot of our creativity onto the emerging technologies; hoping they will not only entertain us, but also educate us. To me new technology is not a bad thing; but it definitely can be a block to creativity.
So take a look at your family, your job, your social connections, your education and your physical and spiritual sides of your life. Be creative in all that you do; and spread the CREATIVITY amongst your family and friends.
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