Creative Something

The value of cultural contrast and imagination.

Thu, 11 Mar 2010 06:38:00 -0700

If you’re struggling to be creative, here’s some good news.

Two fairly new studies on creativity have released their findings. The results from these creativity experiments ‒ while not entirely surprising ‒ can be helpful if you need a little creativity boost.

One study finds exploring contrasts and commonalities between cultures helps unlock creativity – news that would not surprise Picasso, who was strongly influenced by African art. The second suggests seeding the imagination is as simple as allowing yourself to think like a 7-year-old.

During the first study, participants were asked to re‒write the classic “Cinderella” fairytale in their own way, specifically for Turkish children.

The participants were split into groups, one group which jumped right into the work, another group which was shown a 45‒minute presentation of American culture through photos, videos, and movie trailers, another group which was shown a presentation of Chinese culture, and yet another group that was first shown a presentation of both American and Chinese cultures back‒to‒back.

At the end of the study, researchers found that participants who were able to compare and contrast the different cultures produced stories that were full of creativity and imagination.

Angela Ka-yee Leung of Singapore Management University describes five studies that show “multicultural experiences can provide a valuable cognitive resource for creative thinking.”

For the second creativity study, participants ‒ 76 college undergraduates ‒ were asked to write what they would do, think, and feel if school was canceled for the day.

Half of the participants were asked to pretend that they were “seven years old.”

At the end of the second study, researchers found that the group who imagined they were seven produced higher levels of originality in their papers than the control group.

Looking at practical applications, the researchers suggest games and “guided imagery exercises designed to facilitate a childlike mindset” could help foster originality in both the classroom and the workplace.

If you’re looking to inspire your creativity, try contrasting the differences between cultures or pretending like your a child again. Two ideas that are proven to help you be more creative, and both of which are mentioned in my upcoming creativity book: Unstuck, the book.

As a note: if you’re curious how these studies graded creativity ‒ which is no easy task, in my opinion ‒ they used a version of the Torrance Test of Creative Thinking.

Photo by Sweet Trade Photography.

8 million portraits.

Wed, 10 Mar 2010 10:13:12 -0700

One afternoon he put a bag of popcorn in the microwave and ended up sketching all 310 kernels, one at time in descending order of size for a book called “Every Piece of Popcorn,” not that he sold many copies.

Jason Polan is putting every New Yorker on paper.

That’s over 8 million people, drawn on a sheet of paper in a notebook barely larger than your phone. Why is Jason Polan sketching out every New Yorker he sees? Why would a man spend a few hours of every single day to draw people ‒ whom he has never met ‒ into a notebook?

Jen Bekman, who runs a SoHo gallery as well as the website 20x200, thinks Polan is drawing for the sake of creativity. Polan is sketching because it’s something to do, a way to think different. Bekman says:

He reminds us by what he is doing every day that New York is place where you can choose to be bored but don’t have to be.

The same could be said for any place in the world, and anyone. You can choose to be bored, but you don’t have to be. Get creative.

"I try to make the photos feel less like my life and more like my memory."

Tue, 09 Mar 2010 14:07:18 -0700

“I try to make the photos feel less like my life and more like my memory.”

- Jonathan Harris, digital artist.

U of T gets David Foster Wallace Archive

Tue, 09 Mar 2010 08:56:18 -0700

U of T gets David Foster Wallace Archive:

Adding to its collection of archives by literary heavy-hitters such as Norman Mailer and Don DeLillo, the University of Texas’ Ransom Center has acquired the papers of the late David Foster Wallace, author of the massive 1996 novel “Infinite Jest,” several collections of short stories and powerful literary journalism.

Some great news for the University, and the general public as well. “Infinite Jest” is on my list of books to read this year, if you haven’t read it yet you should add it to your list as well.

Motivation Monday: the absolute best of "But does it float"

Mon, 08 Mar 2010 09:36:49 -0700

If you’re looking for a little creative motivation today, all you have to do is ask yourself one question: does it float?

But does it float is a remarkable web gallery of creative goodness, to say the least. Curated by two gents that go by the names Folkert & Atley, the web gallery features posts in a peculiar fashion: often using a quote or famous insight as a title, followed by a few photos or images by a featured artist or creator or thinker.

To fuel your creativity this week, and to demonstrate exactly how incredible the But does it float gallery is, I’ve gone ahead and picked out several of the absolute best articles. Take a look and be inspired:

“For the world to be interesting, you have to be manipulating it all the time” – Acoustic listening devices developed for the Dutch army as part of air defense systems research between World Wars 1 and 2.

“I’m too sad to tell you” – Dutch/Californian artist Bas Jan Ader was last seen in 1975 when he took off in what would have been the smallest sailboat ever to cross the Atlantic. He left behind a small oeuvre, often using gravity as a medium, which more than 30 years after his disappearance at sea is more influential than ever before.

“A man provided with paper, pencil, and rubber, and subject to strict discipline, is in effect a universal machine” – Drawings by Jorinde Voigt.

“Morphologically disturbed” – Cornelia Hesse-Honegger, scientific illustrator and science artist, …has collected, studied and painted morphologically disturbed insects, which she finds in the fallout areas of Chernobyl as well as near nuclear installations.

“Education is the acquisition of the art of the utilisation of knowledge” – Prints by Derek Faust.

“Geometry does not teach us to draw these lines, but requires them to be drawn” – Bridget Louise Riley (1931) is an English painter and one of the foremost proponents of op art.

“Now we are aiming our technologies inward where they will start to merge with our minds, our memories, our metabolisms, our personalities, our progeny, and perhaps our souls” – Generative drawings by Leonardo Solaas.

“The human mind delights in finding pattern—so much so that we often mistake coincidence or forced analogy for profound meaning. No other habit of thought lies so deeply within the soul of a small creature trying to make sense of a complex world not constructed for it” – Photography by Jürgen Bergbauer.

“Our brains are no longer conditioned for reverence and awe” – Paintings by Lesley Vance.

What does it mean to be creative?

Fri, 05 Mar 2010 09:08:31 -0700

Being creative means solving a problem in a new way. It means changing your perspective.

Being creative means taking risks and ignoring doubt and facing fears. It means breaking with routine and doing something different for the sake of doing something different. It means mapping out a thousand different routes to reach one destination. It means challenging yourself every day. Being creative means searching for inspiration in even the most mundane places. It means you’re asking stupid questions. It means creating without critiquing. Being creative means you know how to find the similarities and differences between two completely random ideas.

Being creative means you’re thinking.

Artwork by Sylvia Park.

Artists take over doomed market estate.

Fri, 05 Mar 2010 07:24:56 -0700

Artists take over doomed market estate.:

You’ve got to watch this inspirational video today.

More than 75 artists have moved into a condemned housing block in north London, transforming its empty rooms and flaking walls into vibrant works of temporary art. On the eve of their public show – which lasts for one day only before the bulldozers move in – artists and former residents give us final, lingering look around.

What happened to Aha!?

Thu, 04 Mar 2010 08:44:45 -0700

Remember that great idea you had last Fall, just before the trees became naked and you locked yourself inside your home for the winter? What happened to that idea?

You were doing something not very important and then that idea suddenly struck you. “Aha!”, you exclaimed. You convinced yourself that it was a remarkable idea, an idea that would surely change the world. The more you thought about that idea, the better it became. You practically danced at the thought of how great that idea was.

You must have spent at least a good, solid hour thinking about the potential of that idea.

Who could blame you? That idea, that one you had last Fall, is brilliant!

Err, it was a brilliant idea, anyway. But something happened to that idea. Work or family or friends or other projects got in the way and you very quickly forgot about how great that idea was. Sure, you still think about it from time to time, but it’s just not the same.

What happened to that idea?

More importantly: what happened to that feeling you had when the moment of “Aha!” occurred? That brief moment when that old idea and the problem it solved occurred to you felt incredibly good, didn’t it? So what happened to that feeling of sudden inspiration? The trees are about to grow new leaves and it’s been months since you thought about that idea and the moment it occurred. How can you get that feeling back?

Are you even trying?

Photo by Kito von Visceral.

The feeling that something is missing.

Wed, 03 Mar 2010 14:21:18 -0700

The feeling that something is missing.:

Kanye West wrote a little something about creativity (read it here). While the original post isn’t incredibly easy to ready, the fine folks over at Put This On have reposted a much easier to read version of Kanye’s post right here.

The gist of what Kanye thinks of creativity is summed up in the last few lines:

For me the hardest thing is to ‘just’ agree and that is what sparks creativity, the feeling that something can be better, the feeling that something’s missing. The feeling that something’s needed.

If you’re looking for something to fuel your creativity, something to make a difference, all you have to do is find things that you think could be improved.

So, what opinions do you have of things that you think could be better? What is something that you feel is needed?

Why you should buy art.

Wed, 03 Mar 2010 09:31:43 -0700

Why you should buy art.:

Access to contemporary art is often restricted by high prices, including my own, that put it out of reach of the majority of people who love art…Art, in many ways, is a luxury commodity and the larger question remains, “what is enough?”

I love this print by William Powhida. It’s selling out quickly so if you want a copy you’ll have to act fast! As of this writing there are only 370 or so 14“x11“ prints left for $50 each.

Brian Rea has a lot to fear.

Tue, 02 Mar 2010 08:10:47 -0700

Brian Rea has a lot to fear.:

An exhibition entitled Murals that opened at the Joan Miró Foundation in Barcelona last week gave Rea a chance to not only face, but also trace, his worst fears.

Motivation Monday: Through the focus ring of photographer T. Reilly Hodgson

Mon, 01 Mar 2010 07:17:00 -0700

What makes a good photo great?

Is it the subject that makes a photo worth looking at for more than a few seconds? Maybe depth of field has a lot to do with how great a photo is. Does the type or brand of a camera impact whether or not the resulting photos will be good?

For T. Reilly Hodgson, a 22 year–old photographer from good ‘ol Canada, a good photo is a memory captured by the lens.

Recently Picdit.com sat down with Hodgson for an interview (read it here) and went through the nitty gritty with Hodgson’s inspiration. Here’s my favorite snippet from the interview:

I use photos to document my life, sort of a memory building experiment, so for the most part I like to try to just let things happen. I find that whenever I over think my approach or try to affect a moment to make it look better for a photo I am less than happy with the result.

Photography can be a lot of things to a lot of different people, but as a “memory building experiment”? Genius.

There’s something so raw and inspiring about real life captured on film, digital or otherwise. If you haven’t sat down and looked at another person’s life through photos, you’re missing a big opportunity to find inspiration or a little creative motivation.

Take a look at Hudgson’s website, I Want To Punch Your Stupid Face, and you’ll feel like you were there in the moments he’s captured. Fair warning: There is some mature content on Hudgson’s website that is not suitable for children. View at your own discretion.

The Sandpit

Sat, 27 Feb 2010 10:00:00 -0700

The Sandpit:

A day in the life of New York City, in miniature. Absolutely mesmerizing.

Want to win Field Notes notebooks?

Fri, 26 Feb 2010 08:35:00 -0700

We all know that writing ideas down is a phenomenal idea, but getting a high–quality notebook that’s also easy to carry around isn’t so easy. Especially if your wallet is thinner than the money that should be inside of it.

To celebrate the creative crowd that is the readers of Creative Something, we’re going to give away a few exceptional notebooks from the Field Notes shop. Field Notes are… “48–page memo books. Durable. Rugged three–staple, saddle-stitch binding.”

Made by the wonderfully creative people over at Coudal Partners, these tiny books are perfect for the creative savant, student, medical doctor in training, barista, artist, circus performer, world traveler, and really anyone.

So how do you win?

Simply get on Twitter and tweet the following message:

Oh how I love @fieldnotesbrand! Win Field Notes brand notebooks here: http://bit.ly/dj1fJX

We’ll pick a few random winners through–out the entire day (today, February 26th, 2010) and contact winners on Twitter via @yournamehere tweets from @tannerc. No continental constraints, and you don’t have to follow or subscribe to anything to win. Tweet the message and that’s it!

Just our way of saying thanks for being you.

Photo by the one and only Dan.

Where to find creative inspiration online.

Thu, 25 Feb 2010 10:50:09 -0700

Looking for good websites to inspire your creativity? If you haven’t checked out the following websites, you are missing out. Big time.

1. BOOOOOOOM!

Vancouverian (Vancouvian? Vancouverite?) Jeff Hamada started up this little website called Booooooom! a few years ago. The website serves as a community “of people excited to go out and be creative!” and boy does it deliver. Booooooom! has become a daily site to check for me, and if you’re into awesome art/photography/film/ideas then it may become addicting for you as well. Take a look.

2. But Does it Float

But Does it Float is simply an abstract feed of inspiration. Hands down a great website to discover not only great art, but also quotes and questions. Folkert & Atley (the people who kindly curate the website), have done a great job of making one hell of an inspirational website. Get your float on.

3. Hello Bauldoff

While I’ve posted about Bauldoff before, it deserves to be mentioned again. A blog by designer Joe Bauldoff, Hello Bauldoff is packed full of creative awesomeness. Granted there aren’t as many updates as I would like, there are quite a few pages of inspiration to cruise through and absorb. More often than not I’ve found great ideas on the blog, and you can too. Go say hello, and Joe: update more often, will ya?

4. A Time to Get

Recently I discovered A Time to Get, a blog full of… uhm… inspiring things. From words to photos to seemingly random journal entries, A Time to Get is a great blog to subscribe to if you’re interested in things that are worth of your time. That’s really all there is to say about it, so just trust me when I say: you need to take some time to read this blog.

Opening photo by the great Jason DeMarte.

Re-sculpting the real world.

Wed, 24 Feb 2010 11:15:51 -0700

Adam Beane is re–sculpting the world with his own two hands. One look at his portfolio (here) and you’ll see what I mean.

The fact that Adam is able to use techniques to create small, photo–realistic sculptures is inspiring. But what really takes the cake is that while his artistic freedom is constrained by the companies he is hired to sculpt for, he still uses his talents and creativity to create stunning details on these miniature models.

Enjoy Adam’s portfolio, then head over to DangerousInk.co.uk to read an interview with Adam himself.

Jazz music increases creativity.

Tue, 23 Feb 2010 10:51:57 -0700

Jazz music increases creativity.:

When jazz pianists are improvising riffs, their brains act much more like the dreaming brain, with inhibition turned down and creativity cranked way up

Thanks Liz.

Motivation Monday: Today, everyday.

Mon, 22 Feb 2010 11:04:00 -0700

In any experience, if you are sensitive enough to see it, there will be something someone says, or two things that line up in a certain way, or the light hitting something as it does, and you will find that one small gesture contains the full essence of the thing, and then you can throw away everything else and just keep the gesture, which is like the jeweled nucleus that is small and sparkly, reflecting back the rest of the thing in its many glassy facets.

That is a quote directly from a remarkable project by creative thinker and inventor, Jonathan Harris.

The project, aptly titled Today, is more personal than public, at least in its purpose. Since August 27th, 2009, Jonathan has been taking a photo every day and uploading it to his website. Each photo is accompanied by a brief story or description.

Why should you care about the day–to–day adventures of a seemingly random guy?

You’ll have to start at the beginning of the project to really get a feel for the valuable story that is unwinding on Jonathan’s project. What appears to start as a personal journal quickly evolves into an inspirational story of creativity, the meaning of life, lost love, and ultimately finding value in every day things.

Take my word for it: this project isn’t just a series of photos and captions, it’s an evaluation of things that the average person would overlook.

Jonathan doesn’t simply see a log sitting in the middle of a dried up lake bed, instead he sees an arrow positioned by destiny, pointing him in the direction he should go. The things Jonathan encounters, like the repetitive symbol of the Owl, aren’t just events, they’re meaningful in the most peculiar ways.

After browsing through every photo in the project you will quickly come to see that how Jonathan sees the world is much different than an average person. His creativity and imagination are incredible tools that he uses to find purpose in even the most mundane things. His descriptions of events and how he relates them to wider things are at the very least inspiring.

Head over to Today and look for yourself, but be warned: you will find creative inspiration there. You will be changed.

Colin Bisset is inspired to do nothing.

Mon, 22 Feb 2010 08:08:00 -0700

Colin Bisset is inspired to do nothing.:

And that’s the point of boredom, isn’t it? Wasn’t Newton sitting underneath an apple tree staring into space, and Archimedes wallowing in the bath, when clarity struck? In my own insignificant way, I think I have always understood that doing nothing is the key to getting somewhere.

Pause for creativity.

Tue, 09 Feb 2010 07:24:33 -0700

Have you ever been driving down the road, or gone for a run, or taken a walk, and suddenly found yourself struck by creative inspiration?

Better yet: have you ever sat in the shower and discovered, almost randomly, a solution to a problem you had on your mind?

These moments are called creative pause, a term that was possibly first coined by Edward de Bono, a brilliant physician, author, inventor, and creative thinker. De Bono, however, isn’t alone in feeling or understanding these moments of creative pause.

Professor Lajos Székely, a writer and historian, once explained that creative pause “…is defined as the time interval which begins when the thinker interrupts conscious preoccupation with an unsolved problem, and ends when the solution to the problem unexpectedly appears in consciousness.” (Source: CameronMoll.com)

Over on her blog, Liz Danzico describes moments of creative pause which occur while in as “[the] whitespace between busy and quiet, between public and private, making room for thoughts.”

The moments of life where our mind is free to wander from idea to idea, free of constraints or worry, are when creative pause occurs.

Going for a drive, or a run, or a walk, or simply taking a shower or laying around on a Sunday afternoon, are all opportunities for your mind to explore ideas freely. It is during this relaxed exploration that creativity is at it’s finest, when solutions seem to magically appear.

So how can we identify the opportunities of creative pause? Why does driving or taking a shower invoke creative thinking? Cameron Moll has the answer…

Creative pause can occur when there’s little opportunity for distraction from your thoughts, minimal mental engagement is required for the the task at hand, there is white noise – such as the sound of tires humming over the road or water spraying the shower, a change of scenery sets the stage for the unexpected.

Chances are that you’ve had a moment of creative pause in the past. Understanding why it occurs and how you might stir it up in the future means you have an easy way to inspire your creativity.

If you want to be creative: hop in the shower, go for a drive, or take a walk. You may be surprised.