Creativity is.....

...Persistence.

Being creative is something you work at every day, not just when you feel like it. The true rewards of creativity and bringing something new into existence occur only after you have put in a daily practice of work.

Every morning, for the last several months, I have noticed a spider web attached to the driver's side mirror of my car. The first day I simply swatted it away. But then, to my surprise, it appeared again the next day. I decided to leave it, but with driving and the occasional rain storm or car wash, it eventually falls off. The most amazing thing though is that every morning it is there again. I've come to the conclusion that this is one determined spider. Despite losing it's creation on almost a daily basis, each night this spider spins another web. True creative inspiration.

• What obstacles do you overcome to create?

How Companies Can Encourage Innovation

The debate over creativity in the workplace continues in this article. Workers complain that they don't have opportunities to express themselves, companies pay lip service to creativity, and consultants believe it is what a company needs to survive.

• Which category do you fall into?

New Collage

I realize it has been awhile since I've posted images of my work. But now that I am in creative mode this morning, I thought I'd share some recent pieces.

Here is one I completed as part of a series of small works (postcard size) using fashion and design imagery. I've juxtaposed this with themes of time and memory on a colorful and textured background.

• More to come.

Creativity Cure 8

• Are you working on more than one project at a time? Well, you should be! Inspiration comes in various forms and maybe one of your projects will create a new a-ha in another project. Try it!

Layers

Earlier this week I had the opportunity to check out the latest exhibition at the Heights Arts Gallery. Layers features 11 artists who work in collage and exploit this medium in interesting ways.


(Image Courtesy of Heights Arts)

 Some of my favorite pieces in the show were created by Karin Bartimole. Her collaged books are like mini sculptures. Don't you agree?


(Image Courtesy of Karin Bartimole)

• Check it out before it closes on October 27.

Creative Problem Solving

After reading Jack's Notebook, I've become more interested in creative problem solving (CPS). It's definitely a tool worth checking out for solving problems in both life and work with many applications.

• Check out Win Wenger's techniques.

Competition for Young Inventors

Do you know a creative and innovative student in grades 5 -8? Sealed Air and the National Museum of Education are challenging young inventors to find a new use for Bubble Wrap. Entries are due by November 1 and the grand prize is $10,000.

• Check out Bubble Wrap Fun to inspire your creativity.

Is Creativity Killing the Culture?

That's the question Michael Fallon asks in his article How Creativity is Killing the Culture. Fallon explores the relationship between the rise of do it yourself creativity and what he believes is the watering down of culture. Explaining that as interest increases in YouTube and crafting, audiences for "good art" and "real creativity" decline.

• Thoughts?

Artist Quotes

“Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once he grows up.”

- - - Pablo Picasso

• Learn more about arts advocacy here.

Creativity Cure 7

• Take some time and write a history of your creativity. Think back as far as you can. Did you write a song as a child, draw a picture or just come up with a great new way of doing something?

Wild New Museums

(Akron Art Museum)

As museum budgets and staffs get smaller, their buildings surprisingly expand. Usually designed by cutting edge architects, they are an to attempt to lure visitors through unique design. Unfortunately, it seems like they are all looking the same; glass and steel structures twisted in contorted shapes. Where is the creativity?

Later this month, I'll be visiting the new Akron Art Museum. Stay tuned for my review.

• Check out more new museums here.
  

Jack's Notebook

A friend, who attended a workshop led by Gregg Fraley, lent me a copy of Jack's Notebook. I admit I was a little skeptical about the concept: a business novel about creative problem solving (CPS). After reading countless books on creativity, most of them boring or redundant, I was ready for something new.

Jack's Notebook was just the book I'd been looking for. A cross between Way of the Peaceful Warrior and The Da Vinci Code, it tells the story of Jack, an aimless young man, who meets Manny, a mentor, who teaches him creative problem solving (CPS) which he uses to change the direction of his life.

Fraley outlines the steps of CPS in the introduction:

1. Identify the challenge

2. Facts and feelings exploration

3. Problem framing and reframing

4. Idea generation

5. Solution development

6. Action planning

Then, he goes on to incorporate them into Jack's decision making, which ultimately leads to him starting his own business - among other thrilling adventures.

• What can you achieve using creative problem solving (CPS)?