“As creator and innovator, one is required to prove the commitment to one’s pursuits, the power of one’s will and courage to create. After a while reality relents and you are allowed to cross the threshold into new creation.” That is a quote by Jean Houston, who notes that being a creator often includes barriers, [...]
These wonderfully inspiring and insightful comments by dancer, choreographer and teacher Martha Graham (1894-1991), refer to many of the themes of the TalentDevelop sites – such as intensity/excitability, motivation, identity and self-regard, self-criticism and insecurity about creative work, and other topics that impact us as creative people, and may slow down or shut off our [...]
Laurie Anderson is one of my favorite multitalented artists, with creative skills in many directions. Here are some highlights from her Wikipedia profile: She is an American experimental performance artist, composer and musician who plays violin and keyboards and sings in a variety of experimental music and art rock styles. Initially trained as a sculptor, Anderson [...]
[Also see Embracing Our Creative Abilities and Inspirations as Gifts - Part 1] This idea of viewing our talents as gifts reminds me of the book “Enjoying the Gift of Being Uncommon,” by Willem Kuipers. In a section of the book titled “Is it a Gift to be Uncommon?” he writes, “Giftedness refers literally to [...]
Pinterest is “A content sharing service that allows members to ‘pin’ images, videos and other objects to their pinboard. Also includes standard social networking features” Over the past few days, I have been having fun setting up my account and adding stuff. Take a look at my 11 Boards (collections of images and links). This [...]
How can we successfully hold on to the creative thinking and passions we had earlier in life? Ken Robinson and many other writers and leaders warn that too many children are having their intellectual and creative abilities eroded by educational institutions. We may find inspiration to be more creative in art classes and writing workshops [...]
Video: Where Ideas Come From: The Cognitive and Brain Bases of Eureka! Moments Mark Beeman, Neuroscience Northwestern University “How does the brain produce those sudden moments of creative insight? Most creativity occurs over extended periods of time, making it difficult to elucidate the critical cognitive and neural processes. But sometimes, while at an impasse about [...]
“I just thought making movies was something done by geniuses, and I was very clear that I wasn’t one of those.” Jane Campion When “The Artist’s Way” author and creativity coach Julia Cameron has asked people to list ten traits they think artists have, their responses have included: “Artists are broke,” “Artists are crazy,” “Artists [...]
“To assume, then, that such diseases usually promote artistic talent wrongly reinforces simplistic notions of the ‘mad genius.’” Kay Redfield Jamison In an interview for NPR radio, science writer Jonah Lehrer commented, “One of the surprising things that’s emerged from the study of moods…is that putting [people] in a bad mood — making them a [...]
By Cynthia Morris I have encouraged creativity for years, believing that it is essential to all of us. I know that the creative impulse is important, and now I have a greater sense of exactly how vital that is to all of us, right now. Creativity is not a feel-good, optional quality to cultivate, but [...]
“I have always spent most of my time staring out the window, noting what is there, daydreaming, or brooding.” Joyce Carol Oates One of the themes that prolific writer Jonah Lehrer develops in his upcoming book “Imagine: How Creativity Works” is that daydreaming can enhance creativity and innovation. Einstein was expelled from school (in 1894) [...]
“What would be truly surprising would be to find that sound could not suggest colour, that colours could not evoke the idea of a melody, and that sound and colour were unsuitable for the translation of ideas…” Charles Baudelaire A simple definition of synesthesia is that it is a “crosstalking” or overlapping of sensory experiences [...]
Some five hundred years ago, mood disorders were considered to be based on an imbalance in four body “humors” or fluids – yellow bile, black bile, blood, and phlegm. Too much black bile was thought to cause ‘melancholy’ and ‘madness.’ In her article “Clinical Depression Then and Now,” Patricia Waldron, M.D. noted, “Dürer’s energy and [...]
How do intelligence and creative ability interact? Do we get more creative with more intelligence? Dean Keith Simonton, PhD thinks “Intelligence is purely a cognitive construct. Creativity on the other hand, I see as being much more complex.” Like other writers on creativity, he makes a distinction between “little c creativity” and “big C creativity.” [...]
“It was just a story I wanted to tell. Writing it was an expression of my own coming out. Getting it out there was willpower, feeling this is a universal story about identity and it has to be told.” Writer and director Dee Rees is referring to her movie “Pariah” – about a lesbian teenager [...]
What inspired me to write this post was seeing a number of large-scale prints of the work of Maggie Taylor (and other exciting images by photo artists) in the Digital Darkroom show at The Annenberg Space for Photography (Los Angeles, CA, December 17, 2011 through May 28, 2012). Her work is so evocative – rich with [...]
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Site author: Douglas Eby, M.A./Psychology, is a writer and researcher on the psychology of creative expression and personal growth, especially for high ability adults. He is publisher of the Talent Development Resources series of sites.
