You Are Creative!

June 28th, 2012

“All children are born artists, the problem is to remain an artist as we grow up.” — Pablo Picasso

 


Pictures I took at the UC Berkeley Botanical Gardens when I played Creative Hooky earlier this week

Here’s the thing about creativity: we all have it.

There are those who make their living as artists, and those who are artists but don’t make a good living and have to waitress on the side, and there are those who apply their creative skills to corporate jobs, and then there’s Martha Stewart and legions of homemakers just as crafty, and there are those who consider themselves “right-brained” and those who consider themselves “left” and those who don’t know what I’m talking about right now.  There are those of us who spent $80,000 getting a useless degree at art school and those who didn’t go to school at all and just figured it out, successfully (touché).

But no matter which niche we place ourselves in, we all have the capacity to be creative. Creativity is a state of mind, not a gene. We can choose to squelch it and ignore it, or we can choose to encourage it and cultivate it in ourselves, and in our children. It’s all a matter of priority.

Personally, I think creativity is one of the most important things that define us as humans. And beyond that, creative expression is a powerful experience that everyone should have on a regular basis. We might not all have time to sign up for a weekly watercolor class, but doing something creative doesn’t have to be time consuming. Sometimes, it’s just taking a sec to change your perspective on a situation. Or try a new condiment on your cheeseburger.

So with Creative Truth or Dare—a new project that is so very close to my heart right now—I set out to give people creative assignments that would be do-able for them in their own unique and varying lives. And the response I got was so inspiring.  I started this project to try to recoup a little cash lost in a compulsive (but worthwhile) raincoat splurge. But Creative Truth or Dare has quickly turned into something much deeper than a profit venture for me and, hopefully, for those who have participated.

You can visit the Creative Truth or Dare Facebook page to see some examples of things participants have done to fulfill their assignments. Now, keep in mind that a lot of my friends are brilliant, innovative, inspiring, creative artists at heart, so I did get a lot of pretty impressive stuff back. But I also gave assignments to my friends who are busy, single working moms and allegedly “uncreative” corporate 9-5ers. So if you’ve been considering playing Creative Truth or Dare, please don’t let the genius of some of these shares intimidate you. After all, I’m 100% confident that there is a future creative genius inside you too. But just to be sure, I’ll give you something that I promise will work for you right now.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

 

In the meantime, I’ll leave you with this:

(If you don’t see the above video, go straight to Ted.com.)

I think I have shared this video before, but it’s one of my all-time favorites, a TED Talk by the dashing Sir Ken Robinson, a British educational reformer who champions the cause of creativity in our schools with wit, smarts and debonair. If you’ve never seen it, it’s worth the next 20 minutes of your life, I promise.

Share Button

2 Responses to “You Are Creative!”

  1. branain says:

    Great post. Creativity is not just a state of mind, it’s a way of interacting with the world. Possibly, that’s because I was a clown in a former life. When someone says, “Take a seat,” there are so many possibilities for how to respond.
    But it goes beyond the obvious comical expression. When you look at a tree, what do you see? A tree? Or a place where two lovers can reconnect after years of separation? There’s so much out there that goes beyond the clichéd TV and movie knee-jerk responses to the world.
    The Creative Truth or Dare is a great idea! (Which means I should get my butt in motion and do it…lol)

  2. mteague73 says:

    Great post, Joslyn.
    Having spent the last 4 years in an actively anti-creative corporate environment, I have seen my creativity dwindle to it’s nadir, this past year. For me, it’s like a muscle, use it or lose it, and getting to spend time with creative people, like I did last week and this week, has been rejuvenating and I have been much more creative.

Leave a Reply

Back