Creativity is a way of life or a life style or interacting with the world according to the book ‘Wired to create’ by @Scott B. Kaufman and Carolyn Gregoire (2015). The authors say that creatives have a tendency to be open minded, imaginative, intellectually curious, energetic, outgoing, persistent and self-motivated regarding their activity. This gives them a greater sense of well-being and personal growth.
People who set aside time in their lives for their creative side have more of what is called ‘creative potential’. Just the act of creating increases the person’s creative abilities. They derive enjoyment from the act of creating therefore they tend to get MORE creative ideas. Having time to take risks in their creative endeavor, personal reflection, daydreaming and inner exploration help people their unique purpose and identity. Kaufman and Gregoire have identified ten habits of ‘creatives’. These habits foster the creativity lifestyle that they love.
Imaginative play is the first trait that creatives all possess.
Play is essential is creativity. Play is considered a way to make sense of the environment in that children, in particular, rehearse their life, conquer fears or what they wish for. According to Kaufman and Gregoire play allows skills like planning, problem solving, organization of diverse content, language development, divergent thinking, curiosity, tolerance and general social skills. All play supports learning.
This is the time when, as an artist, you try new techniques, figure out what works and what doesn’t, choose what works for you and continue in your art practice.
Kaufman and Gregoire say that playing and seriousness need to be combined for the best results. Play gives us resilience, the ability to work through hard projects at work and thus increases your performance. Increased performance and play makes us happy. Who wouldn’t be happy if they managed to solve problems at work then go home to play or even have play time at work. Kaufman and Gregoire add that adult life does not allow for enough time to play. We live structured lives without time to daydream, imagine and play.
As an artist, how can you integrate more play into your practice?
Can you give yourself one day a week or a month to just play with media, ideas or other artists?
Can you pick up a brand new medium and try it out without reading the instructions or taking a class on how to use this material?
Can you bring yourself to the Reuse Centre to find something to make art with that you have never used before?
Can you put big pieces of paper on the floor and paint for fun?
Make a list of things that you could do. Every once in a while, pick one of these ideas and play.
Here are some links about creativity you might also want to see:
https://creativesomething.net/post/149747194420/creativity-is-not-art
Documentary Film:The Creative Brain by @David Engleman
Or, you can take my creativity class on Udemy.com – A creative lifestyle
I hope this helps you.
Doris’ website: www.dorischarest.ca
I have creativity courses and art courses online at: https://www.udemy.com/user/dorischarest/
For more information on mixed media by Doris Charest:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCltBfqSMAK0OOWeXaKGud6Q?view_as=subscriber
https://www.facebook.com/dorischarest
https://www.pinterest.ca/dalinec/
https://www.instagram.com/dorischarest/
https://www.udemy.com/user/edit-profile/
https://www.skillshare.com/user/dorischarest
All photography and artwork by Doris Charest
Thanks for reading, and please do recommend, like, share, comment, etc. Thanks.
Till next time …
