Today I am proofing and packaging my latest assignment in the EGA ICC I’m taking, The Art of Teaching Embroidery. The subject is Creativity, and it was a fun section. Have you ever explored the creative process objectively? I don’t think I have. Creativity seems natural to me, an innate ability of humans. It’s interesting to break it down into concrete steps:
- We’re presented with a problem or choice
- We gather information about the problem
- We think about possible solutions
- We make our choice
- We act on our choice
- We decide if it was a good choice or not for future reference
How simple and straightforward is that? We execute those steps all the time: What should I have for dinner? What will I do tonight? What color will I make the mailbox?
Lots of people claim they aren’t creative, but I think they’re wrong. I think some exercise more creativity than others, but everyone is creative.
The ghost. Nambung National Park, Australia.
There are things we can do to develop our creativity. Playing, I think, is one of the best. Any type of play, really, but I’m thinking mostly of mucking about with fibers and fabrics, without a specific purpose or desired goal. Sitting down with assorted materials and doing something random with them.
Learning also develops creativity. Every time we learn something, it goes into our arsenal of possible solutions to future problems. The more we learn, the more possible solutions we have at our disposal.
Play and learn. Play and learn. I want to fill my life with playing and learning.
How do you exercise your own creativity?
Categories: Funk & Weber Designs
The book “The Artist’s Way” encourages creative people to regularly take themselves on “artist’s dates”–in other words, to go see an exhibit, shop an artsy shop, or go to a beautiful spot and soak it in–anything to “feed” the artist inside them. I don’t do nearly enough of that, but when I do, I find myself full of ideas for yet another project I want to begin!
I read that a few years ago. I tend to rely on beautiful spots to fill the creative well. Not much in the way of exhibits and shops around here.
Yes, we should all probably do a bit more of this.