Contemplating Creativity
Why is it that we have to grow up and lose so much of our creativity. Lose is the wrong word because it is always there, but as we get older and learn the ways of the world we put up barriers that restrict our thinking.
This picture is of my daughter Emily. She grabbed a box of chalk and attacked our driveway. She was drawing everything from scribbles to a map of the house. She drew these crazy shapes that made me think of an armada of blimps on the attack and when I said that she laughed at me because in her mind it was nothing of the kind.
When I talk with the kids they often say “wouldn’t it be cool if….” I’ve caught myself a couple of times explaining why an idea wouldn’t ever work and then I stop and have promised myself that I would never do that again. Why should I put up barriers in their minds already when I know eventually some will come anyways and I’d rather see them continue to think the fantastical. We need more people like this in the world don’t we?
So how do you keep your creative edge? Some believe that creativity can come from anywhere. I do believe that it is in all of us, but many are scared to ever let it out to play for fear of “stupid ideas” or “people laughing at me.” Those have got to be the two worse reasons NOT to be creative. I always wondered how the girl or guy who first through out the idea of a pink bunny rabbit banging on a base drum felt in that meeting. Talk about a silly idea that people would laugh at. Who is laughing now though right?
Ever since I got back from SXSW I’ve been thinking a lot about my personal creativity. About how to stretch it. Take it out to play more often then I have been.
When I was little if you were to ask me what I was going to be when I grew up I always said an artist. I was constantly drawing and creating stuff. In one sense I guess I still do that. But, I haven’t painted or doodled much lately and I need to do that. I love to create with my camera and my audio, but I want to do more.
What do you do to stimulate creativity? Do you do anything?
Personally music and being outside stimulate mine. Combine the two with an iPod and a walk in the woods or around the urban jungle and the juices get flowing for me. I also find it in the most unlikely of places. A book, television show or even the once in a million commercial might get things going. Playing a video game with Dylan a few weeks ago sent me off on a tangent of creativity when he went to bed. I got an annual report in the mail last night that while wasn’t at all what I thought it was going to be it got me thinking.
I also have items I can always go to. Some would include:
- Colma by Buckethead
- Rebel Without a Crew by Robert Rodriguez
- Any Tarantino movie
- Behind the scenes videos with David Fincher
- Rules of the Red Rubber Ball (thanks again Whit)
- Dr. Seuss books
- My Cathedral of the Pines
Do you have the equivalent of creativity comfort foods that you can go to when you need them? I can’t be the only one.
I feel better getting this blog post out. It has been rattling around in my head since I took this picture of Emily. I thought about making it into a podcast or even just an entry in my paper journal, but wanted to brain dump here to get other people’s thoughts.
Depends on the application. I’m a big fan of some of the Star Wars movies, and there’s a ton of music that’s effective, but more often than not, I use a focus lens for creativity, something I learned from one of my teachers in the martial arts. We had this exercise once, we were only allowed to use our right hand and in only one formation, plus footwork, to defend against a variety of attacks. By focusing down to just that one application, we got real creative in dealing with all sorts of situations using one tool.
I find the same to be true for creativity in general. If you tell me that I’m only allowed to use one focal length or one microphone, and generate the best results I can, that will force me to think outside the box.
Wonderful blog post, C.C. — and that photo is perfectly-captured bliss.
I’m a writer, so many of my creative comfort foods are books:
~ “The War of Art” by Steven Pressfield: Straight talk about creativity, and how to kick down the obstacles we create for ourselves
~ “On Writing” by Stephen King: Written for writers … but not just for writers. Inspirational, BS-free insights on the creative life, and how to embrace it, run with it, and excavate the storyteller within
~ “The Stand” by Stephen King: Still my favorite novel after all these years. I read it annually. Epic stuff, high stakes, emotionally investing. My paperback of this is well-loved indeed.
~ “E.T.” by Stephen Spielberg: The wonder of childhood, masterfully captured. Reminds me that anything’s possible.
~ Friends: Not the show … the actual people. The best resource with whom to brainstorm, and engage in creative thought. I call it “playing.”
I think it’s not so much losing creativity as we grow older, it’s losing the feeling that creative expression is worthwhile. Work, money, family pressures establish themselves as more important, while the “trivial” explorations of creative expression are sent to a corner to sulk.
Keeping expression at the forefront takes hard, conscious effort, but the key for me is play. I do not have kids, yet my wife and I at home play almost constantly, from scrabble to late-night, sleepy Uno, to pointless conversations, daft voices (and noises), and silly songs and poems about the sofa, bananas, or the little fly that buzzes my screen around 5pm every evening. With kids around, this kind of freedom to express has got to be a lot easier.
Do something just plain silly, just for the sake of it, every single day.
One of my best techniques is to find someplace where I can’t be distracted. Believe it or not, I love taking flights because it’s one place where there is very little outside stimulation. This lets me listen to all the thoughts that have been buzzing around in my head; the ones that couldn’t be heard above all the other distractions. Same goes for waiting rooms, baths, standing in lines, etc.
Writing is my creative medium of choice.
Most of my creative writing is done only for myself, family, and friends. That gives me a great amount of freedom to try things that would be frightening to put before an audience of strangers.
As it is, I like writing poetry, hiaku, flash fiction, short stories, creative non-fiction, and various pieces that start but never get finished.
I’ve been fortunate to also have writing responsibilities professionally. While those aren’t quite as creative, they’ve given me a chance to put my work before other people.
Even writing to my blog gets my creativity going because I get to tackle problems that I’m facing. There may already be answers in the blogosphere (or even MSM) but writing about them gives me a chance to internalize the problems and solutions. I find that very valuable.
As a tangent, I love dabbling in video. Mostly just doing home videos right now, but it’s something I would like to explore more.
Dude, that’s a really good post.
You certainly have it correct when you say “we get older and learn the ways of the world we put up barriers that restrict our thinking”.
So is the secret is to keep looking and interacting with the world through the innocent eyes of a child?
I have to admit I do try to do that, and do try not to get caught up in politics or other bull-shit and try to remain open-minded striving to accept and talk to EVERYONE, no matter what their social status, personal slant, or how they look or interact.
I get accused of chatting to anyone on the street, but I find that is where the realness of life is for me, I’ve never understood how some people can be so arrogant and not talk to people based on their own perception of social status, snobbery is a pet hate of mine.
Who said we have to grow up anyway? Fear is at the heart of your argument here CC, people become fearful to think without the reins, or scaffolding..
How do we remove the fear?
One way is not to not give a crap regarding how you THINK people perceive you, harder in practice I know, but I do think that is one crippling trait many people fall into.
C.C. You make some really good points about creativity (in fact, you’ve inspired me to do a post of my own). I do have creative “comfort foods”: Driving, reading screenplays of films I’ve truly enjoyed, daydreaming, certain kinds of music, doodling, and people watching.
I’ve just gone back to the world of freelancing after having spent 3 years in a creativity stifling job. Now that I’m free, I’m having a difficult time readjusting and tapping back into my creative power center. As adults, we do have a harder time just letting go and being creative. For me, it’s not for fear of doing something stupid, because as you point out, sometimes the stupid is what becomes great. It’s usually that I’ve either lost myself, or - more often - that i have too many ideas that don’t get fleshed out. I get distracted pretty easily. I also get bored easily.
Many times, what it really takes to get my juices going again is a change in my lifestyle. It doesn’t always have to be a major change, but just enough to get me out of a rut.
Creativity is such a subjective idea that it’s difficult to make generalizations about what will and won’t work. That’s why some people are very successful creatives and some aren’t. Some are just better at encouraging it along.
Ok, i’m going to save the rest of my points for my post. Be well C.C.
On another applied note.
I often construct assignments for some students where we purposefully limit the options available to them.
Students have to work to a very constrained brief where the tools they have available are far less than they’d normally have. You could make a comparison here with how the grandfathers worked with limited tracks and old analogue equipment, George Martin, or Tom Dowd, for example. These guys really had to dig deep to find creative solutions for their recordings.
Now a days it’s all too easy to use heaps of tracks and plugins, and “fix it in the mix”, essentially being spoilt for choice.
So limiting choices and constraining parameters is my advice.
I play Dungeons & Dragons every other week with a group of friends I have been playing with on and off since college.
Role playing games - not computer ones mind you, but ones where you sit face to face with real people and play - force you to interact in ways you never ordinarily would. In thinking about solutions to situations in the game, you can often reveal parts of yourself you might not use, or even knew existed.
In one of the two games we play - I’m a cleric of Zeus, a religious zealot dedicated to wiping out all evil. In the other game, I’m a rogue - a sneaky, but still good master of picking locks and sneaky combat. In both cases, playing these characters lets my imagination run wild and it even lets me see how taking risks can lead to either amazing results or disaster.
–*Rob
Music is my primary creative comfort food. What type of music depends on my mood and can range from Slayer to Dvorak(New World Symphony is my favorite). Music works best when I’m riding my bike along the river or through the UB trails here in Buffalo, NY. Lots of thinking gets done then, not to mention the healthy workout.
Books also work to get creative juices flowing, especially when I’m thinking of new business ideas. Sometime reading just a few paragraphs in a business or marketing book can get me several pages of notes in my journal as I really think about what I’ve read.
Playing with the kids has become a good outlet to get creative thinking going as well. A young child’s imagination is the most spectacular thing. My 1 year old daughter Teagan can turn anything into a telephone!
Like you, I draw a lot of creativity out of nature, music, and those times when I allow myself to simply relax. Not allow the schedule and the stress of the world to creep in.
I often get a rush of inspiration as the seasons change (especially in the spring… fitting as today is the first day of spring). No longer trapped inside the house I can find those times to break away and let my mind rest.
In a way, at least in my world, that constant rush and to-do list has pushed creativity further and further away. Creativity becomes an unfortunate victim in the “always on, always something to do” busyness of our lives. I don’t have time to be creative. I analyze creative thoughts and push them away until I have time to let myself be creative. That time never seems to come, or when it DOES come, I’ve forgotten what prompted the creative idea.
Have you ever just sat in silence? No iPod, no TV, no visual stimulation. Just sit. It can be an uncomfortable feeling. “I should be doing this. I can’t forget about that.” We’re so geared to DOING that we can’t allow ourselves to simply let go. That’s why I love heading out to nature. I CAN let go and allow creativity to come back. Its those times when I’m not DOING that I get the most done.
1st Colma, such an atypical buckethead gig, is great.
2nd “On Writing” by King, was my writing guide when I went through my “I think I want to be a writer” phase, it still rocks.
Last, for me, what works best is prayer and meditation. Not rote prayer that frankly sometimes I wonder if it really does anything. But real looking at the sky and talking to God, like Rev Tevye does in “Fiddler”. In my experience God is a great listener and a wonderfully non-judgmental (no matter what my over zealous ignorant evangelical cousins think) sounding board for ideas. He even makes some good suggestions when you really learn to listen.
I second Chris Hambly’s recommendation of “limiting choices and constraining parameters.” Paradoxically, I find total empowerment stifling–I become like a train that’s jumped the tracks and can’t think where or how to move. Whereas a challenge like “what can we do with this” is stimulating. (Is it surprising that I sometimes consider MacGyver my patron saint?) And I suspect that most of our creative people have gotten their impetus from the nature of the envelope they were pushing against.
CC:
Your creativity is on amazing display in the photograph. You’ve artistically achieved some thing beautiful through your lens of some beautiful art created by your daughter (who you helped create).
That’s a boat load of creativity right there. You should rest now.
Best always,
- Peter
Wow! I’m psyched to see the reaction to this little brain dump of mine.
Already I’ve got new books I need to read and tactics I need to try and the comment about MacGyver made me smile since that was my favorite show growing up. I use to keep a MacGyver box in my basement where any broken electronic would go so I could take it apart and try to make something fun out of it.
Thanks for that, CC.
You’re giving me a chance to coalesce some bouncing thoughts myself. After a long, long break from it, my garden occupied my time last weekend, and it was one of the most self-nurturing things I’ve done in ages.
There’s nothing like repetitive physical activity to get your mind wandering. And as a bird-watcher, I can’t bear to listen to anything during those times than the sounds of the garden all around me.
And that’s when I do my best creative work, which seems to be design, in the broadest sense - putting together plants, thinking about rearranging things in the house, and even (for lack of a better term) social design, by thinking about people I’ve met along the way and how they really should get to know each other.
For me, it’s all about enrichment and listening to voices everywhere.
-L.
I find I write to the same music, over and over. The three albums by the Hold Steady are just such great inspirations, no matter what I am working on. Songs as storytelling, to the highest level possible. They always get my creative juices flowing.
[…] Contemplating Creativity: Managing the Gray […]
Last night I went to my Annual Subdivision Homeowners Meeting. Within five minutes I found out that the Subdivision website has been unattended for two years! I didn’t even know there was one. I quickly volunteered and I was told that I have complete creative control. I (and my wife Patty) have so many ideas, I can’t wait to get them out and on to the web. Where’s my sidewalk chalk?
[…] to Ed Roberts for sharing this great post from CC Chapman (of Accident Hash) via Google Reader! This really hit things on the head for […]
My perspective on this is that as we grow older, and that the weight of responsability progressively crushes us, our creative side slowly goes numb…
It depends on many factors of course.. If you do not have a job that requires creativy, and are loaded from 6 in the morning to 9 in the evening, even the effort of trying to be creative requires a supreme act of will.
The problem with today’s North American society is that most people have too much, or decide to put too much weight on their back, and unfortunately, in many cases, this is slowly killing who we are.
CC, wow…great post. I have some thought on this as well that I don’t think anyone has touched on so far. My main inspiration or creative generator is “awareness”. We go through life every day with tons of crap on our mind. These are the things that keep us from our inner child, and childish thinking. I think the fact is that any of us through awareness and opening of the mind would be really surprised what we see every day that we would otherwise miss with our heads buried in work and stress.
That being said, I meditate. I use meditation to connect to that inner spirit. I use it to connect and “listen” to what my subconscious mind is telling me. I will be very honest in saying that I have never had an artistic block of any kind. I just allow the ideas to flow to me. I also believe that there are no bad ideas. Many artistic types are worried about criticism, and failure to achieve what they see in their mind. This fear is useless and if at all possible…throw it away.
So to wrap it all up. I use “everything” to inspire me…from a rock on the beach, to JC Hutchins book, to my daughter playing in the garden. Don’t be afraid to look around you and be aware. Thank you for tis post CC.
Keith
Starbucks. Plain and simple.
Well, most coffee shops will do, but there’s something about the well-researched hypnotic background of a Starbucks that lets the world just sort of disappear and lets my mind flow on its own.
I wrote most of “Beer & Coffee” in coffee shops. I wrote most of “Goodbye Planet Earth” at Espresso Joe’s in Smyrna, TN. I wrote about 300 pages of my novel at the Nipper’s Corner Starbucks in Nashville. Honestly, that’s really all I ever need.
That and sunlight. Sunlight helps.
Pax,
Matthew
I couldn’t agree more. Creativity’s enemy is anxiety over what others may think of you. Free your desire to care about other people’s opinion of you is and let you be you, not what you think others want you to be. For me, creativity comes from two places… Fear and Rage. Fear that I’ll die before any of these ideas can be plucked from the static inside my head and Rage that the world is so generally unenlightened that I feel it’s up to me to help chip away at that great stone until we can make it look like something other than… well, a stone.
Music has always been part of what keeps me inspired but now, art of almost any kind will get my wheels turning. Art that is sincere in its purpose and is derived from some kind of meaning or theme. Most of what passes as art is just a depiction of something and may stimulate, but not resonate. But art with a meaning, art that comes from a true expression of creativity (like Em’s drawing above). That resonates with me and inspires me to continue to let go and continue to strive to get back to that blissful release of unencumbered creativity. When I hit those moments from time to time, it’s like a drug and I am addicted to chasing that feeling. That’s why I create.
Thanks for the wonderful post, sir. I especially love the photograph - very inspirational.
My most powerful creativity comfort food is the music of Enigma. When I was a teenager, that was the music I would listen to whenever my family took a trip down to the Wallowas of Oregon. It’s a place where gnarled canyons meet snow covered peaks. Whenever I listen to that music, it brings me back to that place and helps me to extract my creative juices.
Other creativity comfort foods for me are instrumental music, Miyazaki movies, Terry Pratchett books, and viewing photography/ artwork.
I agree with your statement that “as we get older and learn the ways of the world we put up barriers that restrict our thinking”. I actually did a drawing back in highschool illustrating this exact thought. Personally, I find that when creating, the urge to not experiment creeps in. I am pretty sure I didn’t have this when I was a kid. I don’t know where this tendency… this fear, of not creating, experimenting, or unleashing your creativity, because you feel like it won’t be good enough or it won’t be accepted came from. Is it something that we just develop as we mature? Or is it more of a result of adult society?
Very interesting discussion and comments.
To be free from the grip of the “everyday world” is my definition of freedom. And if you are truly free, you can be creative because you allow yourself to be so. The definition of creatity is subjective to what makes you passionate.
What a great post - and a perfect picture that shows exactly what creative happiness looks like!
This is my first time finding myself here and I’m so glad I have!
Clearly you hit a note here with lots of folks. In my case, I had to do a lot of shifting of my creativity, because I have (had) LOTS of right brain activities. Thing is, I get paid for a mix of left and right, so I had to find a way to pare down some of what I do.
My big dream now? To open a business practice that teaches grownups how play drives innovation and business solutions.
For me, it’s really all about getting out of the house. I like to open the big wooden gates, then my friends and I tie a virgin to this altar outside and a big monkey (yeah, BIG) comes out and takes her into the woods. Then the ideas just flow. If that doesn’t work, sometimes watching the Discovery channel will set my mind a-racin.
[…] I did a brain dump called Contemplating Creativity on Managing the Gray and people seemed to really connect with what I was saying. I had to get it […]
Creativity begets creativity…. when I need a bit of a creative boost I just plug into my League of Creative Superheroes. Friends, family, podcasters, twitterakians… I have been fortunate to create a league of friends that are infinitely more creative than me! I often tap into that font of creativity when I need a boost!!!!
While I’m at it… I want to invite (re-invite?) everyone to listen to C.C.’s creative journey as he shared it with me at Ink ‘n Doodles Creative Workshop ==> http://tinyurl.com/2hl26v
It will definitely help you get your creative on and gives us all a different insight into C.C. Chapman.
I go for a swim at the beach, go for a jog, an action flick, some yoga, watch a sports game live, listen to some classical music while reading anything….watch discovery channel
That guy on Man versus Wild is nutz! talk about learning new tricks to survive outdoors.
Great article…
Last week I gave a presentation to my sons third grade class. If you want a really good dose of “creatality” spend an hour with some nine year olds…
http://www.johnmwillis.com/other/seven-core-competencies-for-third-graders-podcast/
Hey C.C.,
great post. Here is what works for me:
A Change of Seasons by Dream Theater
Back to the Future Pt 1 or 3
A train ride without laptop, just with my little black notebook.
Thanks for the inspiration.
sebastian
wow,
inspired post and some really good comments going on here.
for me taking the time to make a proper latte is a good way to kickstart the brain, and as stated by others - at least for taking photos - constraints work wonders (lots of photo podcasts and sites with assignments to borrow)
in terms of books I have this nifty little set of “brain ticklers” that was included in Business 2.0 magazine way back when, that poses a lot of what-if scenarioes to get you going (or there is always short stories - Escape pod among others)
Yes, CC. I’m glad you said it. Creativity is the lifeblood that keeps our lives from becoming the dull grey things of socialized television. Its imperative that we keep our creative juices flowing, and equally important to take action when those juices are flowing. All too often a bolt of inspiration will hit me, when I’m reading an article,story, the Bible (The Bible has really been getting my creativity flowing lately, because I have been trying to read between the lines of the old stories we all know, to see what they are actually trying to say, understanding the parables from a historical context while trying to separate the true meaning from all the connotations and baggage that comes with being raised in a predominantly Christian society.) etc, and I won’t do anything. I’ll just feel that great feeling that is inspiration quickening my heart and making me smile, but I don’t get up and do what I need to do. Lazy. That’s a goal of mine, to take action when the lightning strikes, cause sometimes I can hold onto it, but other times if I let it pass, its gone baby, gone. Like Samuel Taylor Coleridge and “Kubla Kahn”. For example the other day I was walking my dog and this big truck drove by spewing fumes, so what did I do, I stuck my nose in a fresh dogwood blossom, to not only give me a whiff of its sweet goodness, but also to cover up the foulness of the truck…and then it hit me. A new design for gas masks, shaped to resemble overturned flowers so that the outside of the flower is facing out, and the inside of the flower is the part of the mask you breathe, just a thought. Great post CC, thanks for getting me thinking.
I think you can find creativity in just about anything. I also turn to the books of Dr. Seuss. My addition to the list would be The Muppet Show and other Jim Henson projects.