Eric Maisel: We need grandeur to survive. As everyday creative people and as artists, it is up to us to supply it for ourselves and for others.
But we tend to forget our possibilities and our responsibilities.
We forget that we are grand creatures who have it in us to create. We forget that grandeur is available [...]
James C. Kaufman is a creativity researcher and Associate Professor of Psychology at California State University, San Bernardino.
Here are some excerpts from his Psychology Today blog post “A Creativity Researcher’s Thoughts on the Oscars.”
If anyone gets discouraged about their creative progress in their careers, take heart from Mauro Fiore.
The cinematographer won the Academy Award for [...]
By guest author Matt Cardin.
After having fallen into semi-official disrepute among the mainstream Western literati and intelligentsia for a century or three, the muse/genius/daimon was resurrected and rehabilitated for a new era beginning roughly in the 1990s.
Yes, Jung and the entire field of analytical psychology had valiantly championed the idea of the objectivity of the [...]
How we think about having and developing abilities can have a strong impact on actually using our talents. If we think creative expression has to wait for inspiration from a muse, or that there are only a few “chosen” geniuses with exceptional “gifts” in computer graphics, fashion design, writing novels or whatever – and think [...]
In the preface to a photography book, singer–songwriter, poet and visual artist Patti Smith describes the experience of many creators.
“The artist, in turn, sacrifices his leisure, the pleasure of being vague, of drifting half-present or merging unconsciously with the terrain. For the artist is driven, is one apart, estranged from all save his one eye.
“All [...]
In her Creativity Portal article, You’re Not Mad, You’re Creative, Orna Ross invites us to rid ourselves of self-blame and criticism stemming from misunderstanding our creative abilities. With the help of an insightful self-test, we can revision our past and present experiences, and recognize, nurture and protect our gifts that may otherwise seem disruptive and [...]
You can hoard creative work, keeping it hidden from others, and some people do just that – writing a novel, for example, that remains for years in a closet. But most creators need to risk criticism and rejection to get their project seen or realized. A screenplay doesn’t become a movie by staying secret.
Stephen King [...]
Filmmaker Harrod Blank grew up in the isolated Santa Cruz mountains of California, without a TV and with only roosters and chickens for friends. At 16, driven by a desire to communicate who he is with others, he began decorating cars, beginning with his bland, white Volkswagen.
The resulting car,”Oh My God,” introduced him to [...]
Fear may be a barrier for many of us, getting in the way of realizing our creative ventures. There are probably hundreds of related quotes and articles on Talent Development Resources – here are a few.
“I must not fear. Fear is the mind-killer. Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration. I will face my [...]
Portrait of Pablo Picasso by Irving Penn | 1917-2009
“He didn’t worry about questions of art versus commerce,” said Colin Westerbeck, a former photography curator at the Art Institute of Chicago, which owns a large collection of Penn’s work. “Photography is a mass medium available to anyone. A few geniuses, like Irving Penn, redeem it.”
“There is [...]
The excellent TV series “Mad Men” is a drama about the lives – both inner and outer – of executives, writers and secretaries in an advertising agency in the 1960s. It has garnered numerous Emmys and other awards.
The show was recently profiled in a magazine article. Author Bruce Handy writes that “at its core Mad [...]
“I have things in my head that are not like what anyone has taught me…shapes and ideas so near to me…so natural to my way of being and thinking that it hasn’t occurred to me to put them down…”
From the Georgia O’Keeffe profile page.
Joan Allen plays O’Keeffe in the Lifetime drama premiering September 19, was [...]
From article Late Bloomers-Why do we equate genius with precocity?, by Malcolm Gladwell.
Genius, in the popular conception, is inextricably tied up with precocity—doing something truly creative, we’re inclined to think, requires the freshness and exuberance and energy of youth.
Orson Welles made his masterpiece, “Citizen Kane,” at twenty-five. Herman Melville wrote a book a year through [...]
James C. Kaufman, PhD, is an Associate Professor at California State University, San Bernardino, and a creativity researcher.
His books include :
The Psychology of Creative Writing
Creativity 101.
Topics in the interview include the use of mood-altering substances by writers and other artists; the genius myth stereotype; how the idea of a creative muse impacts creative self-direction, and [...]
It may be a cliche, but the idea of the “sensitive artist” is still basically true. Sometimes high sensitivity may be based on difficult or hurtful situations. Ashley Judd, for example, says she was a “hypervigilant child.”
Continued on Highly Sensitive.
developing creativity, highly sensitive people, emotional intensity, overexcitability, gifted and talented, hypervigilance, Ashley Judd
How do you respond to sensory input?
According to research, some of us are more likely to be augmenters, or have nervous systems that amplify or increase sensory stimulation (which may help explain the trait of high sensitivity), and other people are reducers, who dampen or decrease sensory input, and find a need to pursue stronger [...]
eeing a bio of musician Taylor Swift a while ago, I was very struck by her self-assurance and belief in her abilities from an early age, and her assertiveness to realize those talents.
In fourth grade, she won a national poetry contest with her poem “Monster In My Closet.” At eleven, she went to Nashville to [...]
anxiety relief products, treating stress, gifted people and anxiety, gifted people and stress
The high frequency nervous system of multitalented people is the engine for great creative work, but can also be a major factor in stress.
Intensity and sensitivity – a couple of the hallmarks of people with exceptional intellectual and creative potential – can [...]
Age and maturity can bring a new level of passion, ability and insight for creative expression. There are many examples of people making significant creative projects in middle age and beyond.
[From my article Maturity and Creativity.]
A new Psychology Today magazine article highlights a number of people who make contributions to the arts and sciences as [...]
R. Keith Sawyer on creativity, creative inspiration, psychology of creativity, developing creativity
Bathtub, bed and bus
Washington University psychologist R. Keith Sawyer says of one of the myths of creativity: “Many people believe creativity comes in a sudden moment of insight and that this ‘magical’ burst of an idea is a different mental process from our everyday [...]
Is creativity a universal trait?
Is creativity possible for any of us? Yes, it is a pretty dumb question, but it can be all too easy to take on some form of belief that only kids or “artists” or “professionals” can use their minds in truly creative ways.
In one of his sermons, Reverend David Herndon argues, [...]
From soft winds to software
A flickering candle, the sound of surf, beating drums, psychotropic plants – those can all be seen as early “devices” for altering mental states and consciousness. Now, there is a wide range of much more sophisticated devices, software and smart drugs designed to enhance awareness and cognitive abilities, which may or [...]
Rejected for excellence
Children with outstanding talents sometimes get rewards and acclaim, but many are overlooked, discounted or unsupported. Adults with exceptional talents can also live on the fringes of recognition and contribution to society, some by choice, but often on account of mainstream discomfort with outsiders.
Even those who are called eccentric may want to live [...]
Christian Bale’s tantrums
Acclaimed for his dynamic performance as Batman – such as in the new film “The Dark Knight” – Christian Bale won’t be charged after his arrest for alleged assault on his mother and sister, in part because they didn’t want to press the matter. Bale has denied the accusation.
But according to news reports, [...]
R. Keith Sawyer, PhD is a leading expert on creativity. His books include Explaining Creativity: The Science of Human Innovation, and his research includes business innovation, organizational dynamics in work teams, children’s play, artistic and scientific creativity.
In a Time magazine article, he addressed some myths and other aspects:
Q. So how can the average person get [...]
From his book Toward a Psychology of Being :
Furthermore, all these basic needs may be considered to be simply steps along the path to general self-actualization…
By taking these data into account, we can solve many value problems that philosophers have struggled with ineffectually for centuries. For one thing, it looks as if there were a [...]
