Can Animals Be Creative?

(Image Courtesy of the Asian Elephant Art and Conservation Project)

Have you noticed recently that more dogs are wearing clothes? So, it was only a matter of time until animals became artists. Yes, Congo the chimp was famous in the 1950s for his paintings - Picasso even owned one. But recently, other types of animals from turtles to elephants are dabbling in the arts and painting.

Even horses are getting in on this latest art movement! Buddy, the painting pony was trained to grip a paintbrush in his mouth and later using non-toxic paints created abstract works on canvas. Now, he throws the brush on the ground and gravel and dirt end up on the canvas creating mixed-media works. Sadly, Buddy also suffers from a hormonal disorder so profits from his paintings are used for his treatment as well as donated to further research on the disorder.

Can animals be creative? Is art defined by intent or what is produced? All of these animal artists, as expressed through their human companions, are believed to be enjoying the process of creating and and even look forward to the next opportunity to paint.

• Thoughts?

Free (And Not So Free) Art Events

As I've mentioned before, summer, here in Cleveland, is my favorite season for the arts. There are so many festivals and art walks that there is no excuse for not getting out and visiting a least one to see what the local scene has to offer. I promise you'll be pleasantly surprised. Here's a sampling:

June

Murray Hill Art Walk
June 6 -8
FREE

Parade the Circle
June 14: 11 am - 4 pm
FREE

Clifton Arts & Music Festival
June 21: 10 am - 6 pm
FREE

Boston Mills Artfest I
June 27 -28: 10 am - 6pm
$


July

St. John West Shore Hospital Festival of the Arts
July 11 - 13
FREE

Cain Park Art Festival
July 11 -13
$

Chagrin Falls Annual Art Walk
July 17 - 18
FREE

Ingenuity Festival of Art & Technology
July 25 - 27
$

Waterloo Arts Festival
July 28: 11 am - 7 pm
FREE


August

Lakewood Arts Festival
August 2: 10 am - 6 pm
FREE

City Xpressionz Aerosol & Urban Art Festival
August 16
FREE

• See you there!

Do Flower Essences Improve Creativity?

In Greek mythology, Iris connected Heaven and Earth by creating the rainbow thus bridging the real world with inspiration.

Similarly, Iris essence is believed to increase your intuition and enhance creativity, especially if you are feeling blocked. Dr. Edward Bach made flower essences popular through the remedies he developed in the 1930s to help patients with emotional issues.

Today, spritzing iris essence under your tongue or applying it to pulse points daily may provide you with inspiration for your next project.

• Find it here.

Creative Materials for Art

Have you ever thought about what you could use around the house for your art? I'm not talking about traditional materials, but something, well creative. Creativity involves taking the ordinary and making it extraordinary.

(Photo Courtesy of Jennifer Maestre)

Artist Jennifer Maestre uses pencils, which she cuts into small sections and threads like beads to create beautiful sculptures based on sea urchins. She started her work using nails but couldn't get them to create the effect she was looking for. She started looking at other pointy objects to use and found pencils worked best.

(Photo Courtesy Avon Heritage Duct Festival)

Another interesting use for a household object inspired an entire festival. The Fifth Annual Heritage Duct Tape Festival runs June 13-15 in Avon, Ohio. Besides the practical uses of this versatile tape, you can see sculptures and parade floats created using duct tape.

• Can you come up with a new use for a common household product?

Creativity Loses Value

The appeal of creativity has exploded during the last several years, with everyone from schools to CEOs proclaiming its importance. So does this eliminate the value of true creativity if everyone is seen as a creative thinker?

Possibly. Thinking creatively is a skill that should be taught and learned by everyone, but are we also learning how to apply that thinking for every day solutions? Probably not. Most creativity books and classes preach expressing our creativity but few help us to use it constructively.

The Arts Column in the Telegraph (via the Applied Imagination blog) recently explored this topic emphasizing the need to learn more skilled crafts or at least a practical use for creativity as this, not solely ideas has sustained humankind.

• Agree or disagree?

Creativity Quote

This is one of my favorite quotes about creativity:

“When I can no longer create anything, I’ll be done for.” - - - Coco Chanel

• What's your favorite creativity quote?

Design Principles for Self Improvement (Part II)

While I was thinking about this post last night, I was also watching one of my favorite shows, The Big Idea on CNBC. One of the guests was Ty Pennington that hyper yet creative carpenter on those home improvement shows. He talked about how the principles of home design can be used to create our dream life. For instance, he talked about choosing colors and objects for our homes that reflect our personality.

Karim Rashid, a designer and author has a similar philosophy in his book design your self: rethinking the way you live, work, and play. Rashid is best known for his innovative home product, furniture and interior design. Early on, he writes that humans are here to create and that living in such a mass produced world entitles us all to use design, not only to create our environments but also our lives.

Covering topics ranging from life, love, work, and play, this colorful book also includes a section at the end with a yearly guide to getting the most from your life. Despite loving this book and it's advocacy for leading a creative and individualized life, I found it odd that it was also filled with prescriptive lists and Rashid's own strict guidelines of how that life should be lived. Still, it's a must read book to learn how this contemporary creative genius lives and works.

• How are you using design principles in your daily life?