My only studio class this semester is 3-dimensional design. I recently read a chapter in our text for the class that discusses cultivating creativity. In those times when I feel completely uncreative and inadequate, I need to remind myself that I am creative. Mostly because I have all seven of the characteristics of creative thinking (or at least I think I do):
1. receptivity: being open to new ideas and experiences
2. curiosity: the willingness to research unfamiliar topics and analyze unusual systems with a sense of delight
3. wide range of interests: includes a broad knowledge base with a variety of components
4. attentiveness: the ability to pay attention to seemingly minor details
5. connection seeking: the ability to find similarity among parts that are dissimilar, unrelated or contrasting
6. conviction: valuing existing knowledge
7. complexity: the ability to combine both the rational with the intuitive
Do you consider yourself creative??
Sunday, August 27, 2006
Tuesday, August 08, 2006
Book Freak
People that know me well know that I love to read (yes, I'm an admitted book freak). Part of the reason is that growing up, we were always encouraged to read and I often saw my parents reading a book. In fact, before my mom died, she had read approximately 25 books each year. Amazing. I'll get there one day...I read a statistic from Dan Miller (www.48days.com) who stated that if you read 10 pages a day for a year, in one year, you will read 20 books. That's really attainable! My goal for this year is 15 books. As of today, I've read 11 so far this year.
As I was reading a book (how ironic) I learned of a web site called bookcrossing.com, which basically encourages giving back to the world at large, one book at a time. You join the web site for free, receive a number for your book, then put a book plate with the number in the cover and leave it--anywhere. When someone picks up the book and reads it, they then go to the web site, log in the book's number, write a journal entry on what they thought of the book and then they pass the book on to another stranger. You can track your book to see where it finally ends up and what the people who found the book said about it. HOW COOL IS THAT! That's changing the world, one book at a time!
So, even if you don't want to be a part of bookcrossing--READ. It can take you places you never thought possible and you don't even have to become a book freak.
As I was reading a book (how ironic) I learned of a web site called bookcrossing.com, which basically encourages giving back to the world at large, one book at a time. You join the web site for free, receive a number for your book, then put a book plate with the number in the cover and leave it--anywhere. When someone picks up the book and reads it, they then go to the web site, log in the book's number, write a journal entry on what they thought of the book and then they pass the book on to another stranger. You can track your book to see where it finally ends up and what the people who found the book said about it. HOW COOL IS THAT! That's changing the world, one book at a time!
So, even if you don't want to be a part of bookcrossing--READ. It can take you places you never thought possible and you don't even have to become a book freak.
Monday, August 07, 2006
N.O.W. - No Opportunity Wasted
I just finished the book "No Opportunity Wasted" (NOW)" by Phil Keoghan, host of the tv series "The Amazing Race." That is definitely a book on the list of "Must-Reads" for everyone.
The premise behind the book is to create a list for the life that you want. You can accomplish this by the steps he outlines in the book:
1. Get rid of the excuses
2. Face your fear
3. Get lost
4. Test your limits
5. Take a leap of faith
6. Rediscover your childhood
7. Shed your inhibitions/express yourself
8. Break new ground
9. Aim for the heart
I was so incredibly inspired by this book, but realized that I have already started my "List for Life" which includes skiing in the European Alps and learning to crochet (among like 100 other things). Yet I know that my list will continue to grow as I do.
Here is one of my favorite parts of the book in the chapter "Rediscover Your Childhood:"
Kids don't bring this kind of baggage to their life experiences. They're wide open. They look around and see fresh opportunities everywhere. They're constantly surprised. Some of this is just a matter of inexperience (everything really is new to them, so of course they find it more interesting), but some of it is attitude and perspective. It's how you choose to view the world, and how you react to it. The writer Franz Kafka said, "Youth is happy because it has the ability to see beauty. Anyone who keeps the ability to see beauty never grows old." But how do you keep seeing beauty? It may sound obvious, but the only way is to open your eyes--wide. Look hard, and long. Artists and writers have sometimes spoken of trying to see the world through a child's eyes, which really means looking closer at things, studying and admiring details, as if you're seeing something for the first time. This is a great exercise for all adults, not just artists. Try looking at your own backyard that way, and you'll notice things you never saw before.
I always want to see things in a new light, so I am going to exercise this by looking at things as if I am seeing them for the first time. I am refusing to let no opportunity be wasted! How important it is for us to keep ourselves with "fresh eyes"--it may be just what we need for that added inspiration.
The premise behind the book is to create a list for the life that you want. You can accomplish this by the steps he outlines in the book:
1. Get rid of the excuses
2. Face your fear
3. Get lost
4. Test your limits
5. Take a leap of faith
6. Rediscover your childhood
7. Shed your inhibitions/express yourself
8. Break new ground
9. Aim for the heart
I was so incredibly inspired by this book, but realized that I have already started my "List for Life" which includes skiing in the European Alps and learning to crochet (among like 100 other things). Yet I know that my list will continue to grow as I do.
Here is one of my favorite parts of the book in the chapter "Rediscover Your Childhood:"
Kids don't bring this kind of baggage to their life experiences. They're wide open. They look around and see fresh opportunities everywhere. They're constantly surprised. Some of this is just a matter of inexperience (everything really is new to them, so of course they find it more interesting), but some of it is attitude and perspective. It's how you choose to view the world, and how you react to it. The writer Franz Kafka said, "Youth is happy because it has the ability to see beauty. Anyone who keeps the ability to see beauty never grows old." But how do you keep seeing beauty? It may sound obvious, but the only way is to open your eyes--wide. Look hard, and long. Artists and writers have sometimes spoken of trying to see the world through a child's eyes, which really means looking closer at things, studying and admiring details, as if you're seeing something for the first time. This is a great exercise for all adults, not just artists. Try looking at your own backyard that way, and you'll notice things you never saw before.
I always want to see things in a new light, so I am going to exercise this by looking at things as if I am seeing them for the first time. I am refusing to let no opportunity be wasted! How important it is for us to keep ourselves with "fresh eyes"--it may be just what we need for that added inspiration.
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