78 – Creativity *

Special thanks to Resa for providing the photos. Resa is in the Canada and I encourage readers to visit her at 1) Graffiti Lux Art & More, 2) Art Gowns, and 3) her professional site. Please tell her I sent you and feel free to comment on her images here. Resa’s work is copyrighted by Resa McConaghy.

Click the video above for 2 minutes of background waves while reading.

I like walking on the beach. It’s good for the mind, body, and soul – and refreshing on my feet.

Creativity is a powerful word – so are related words create and creative. These words of similar meaning, but create is the verb, creativity the noun, and creative the adjective – but today I think of these words as a collective.

My first thought is about those creative with their hands – sewists, quilters, crafters, 3-dimensional artists as potters, sculptures, woodworkers, and others. These are not my strengths, but people can learn these skills.

To some, creative people can draw and paint. Whereas some people are naturally gifted with this skill, but nope again, not my strength.

I think of an art teacher who once told me that anyone can learn to draw because there are four things to do – draw straight lines, draw curved lines, establish the proper proportions between them along with the correct angles. His words opened the world of drawing to me because I could now see the world through a different lens – a world that I did not know.

Did that improve my creativity? Oh yes, but I still don’t draw well because I didn’t practice, yet, there are times I look at something in terms of straight lines, curves, proportions, and angles – and yes – I see them!

Creativity and expression are two artist aspects, but they are different. However, some artists are very creative with their expression.

One aspect of creativity is the ability to think outside the box. A different way that others don’t. Now that is something I can do. While some see the solution as choices A, B, or a compromise of the two, creative thinkers are the ones discovering a new solution beyond those choices.

An architect told me that he has to have at least one architect in his office that is creative in his designs. Not necessarily abstract or modernistic looking – but one finding a creative solution that meets the client’s wants and needs. A skill that not all architects have. But for those who have visited La Sagrada in Barcelona, Spain, Gaudi’s creativity is unique.

Sometimes architects are ahead of their time – but as time moves on, those designs transition into the mainstream. In some cases, even out of date.

Design engineers think ahead about future generations of their products. That would be true for a vacuum cleaner – but also something as complex as a jet engine. Creativity is an essential ingredient in innovation and improvement.

For scientists as Albert Einstein, Sir Isaac Newton, and countless others, thought outside of the box to develop their laws and theories. In general, physicists have a knack for creative forward-thinking.

Trade workers as carpenters and plumbers are always problem-solving. They face problems daily requiring a creative solution – and they seem to do it.

The creativity of musicians is impressive. Mozart composed music with many notes that can be too busy for some to hear. Think about how many types, styles, and genres of music that creative musicians have created through the ages.

Creativity is also a gift for writers and poets. The creativity they share through novels, short stories, poems, and more.

I think about Albert Einstein explaining logic taking us from point A to point B – but imagination taking a person anywhere. Said another way, whereas imagination can go outside the real world, creativity is imagination at work in the real world. So if creativity relies on imagination, does imagination rely on creativity?

Let us not forget nature’s creativity. It’s changing shapes and designs to optimize efficiency. I see the designs, shapes, and colors in the shells on the beach that I walk. The creative ways different organisms capture food. After all, not all beaks and bills of birds are the same because they are specialized for different purposes. Yes, nature’s creativity at work.

I think about the left brain-right brain concept. Each of us favors one side over the other, but each side is within each of us. Everyone has creativity – so the question is, How will it emerge? After all, creativity can show itself in many ways – even the unexpected.

All of us have a creative side – but do we use it? Do we develop it? Do we recognize the creativity of others? Then again, creative is what creative does.

Unlike the beach that I walk, creativity has no boundaries. Nonetheless, I enjoy walking on the beach because it is good for the mind, body, and soul – and refreshing on my feet.

See what other bloggers have written about creativity

• Perspectives on Creativity (essay)
• Creativity (essay and photo art)
• Creativity Takes Courage (essay)
• Does Lockdown Stifle or Encourage Creativity? (essay and paintings)
• Creativity (poem)

Next Post: Brain – Tuesday 25 May @ 1 AM (Eastern US)

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