Real Life in the Real World—Brofisting with Noelle Stevenson

Today, there are a lot of reasons to be excited. Firstly, today is the official one week countdown to Halloween (yesssss). Secondly, my interviewee and fellow-blogger, Claire Suellentrop, has graciously posted a guest post penned by yours truly over at General Overachiever (also yessss). Thirdly, I am finally finished with midterms (read: sane again). Finally—more importantly—I get to post a most superbly awesome interview. Superbly-awesome. Superbly. Awesome.

Of course, I thoroughly enjoy every one of my interview sessions with self-described creative types. Each interview provides me with insight, food for creative thought, and motivation to get out, get down, and get creative. However, today's interviewee is a special kind of a big deal. Not only has she proven herself one heck of a prolific digital artist, she has also achieved the sort of Internetty fame with her Broship of the Ring series that the rest of us on Tumblr can only salivate over.

Unbeknownst to her, she also happened to maybe-sort-of change my life a little bit.

No, seriously.

Her fabulous doodles, her hilarious animations, and her inspired work on the Tolkien parody, the Broship of the Ring, really resonated with me. I saw her art and just had to know how she made illustration look so effortless. Without her, I am convinced that I would have never bought that Bamboo Wacom tablet and started desperately trying to learn how to draw digitally. So, I must take a moment to thank her.

Thank you, Noelle Stevenson, for inspiring me to draw, and draw, and draw. I've learned a lot from you, and you're one heck of an artist.

Without further ado, let's take a trip with the Bro-meister herself, shall we? Ladies and gents, allow me to present the highly creative, digital artist extraordinaire, Noelle Stevenson. 

Name: Noelle Stevenson

Age: 19

Location: Baltimore, MD

Occupation: Aspiring illustrator

Primary Modes of Creative Output: Drawing, comics, writing

Self-Description: Art student, overly dependent on caffeine, short hair and a shorter attention span.

1. Do you consider yourself to be a creative person? What is your personal description of creativity and/or What are the characteristics of a creative person?

I do consider myself a creative person. In my mind, a creative person doesn’t just accept the world as it is; they are always thinking of how it was made, or how to make something out of it. Maybe you see a lady with a funny hat on the bus and wonder what her story is, or buy a hideous dress at the thrift store because you want to make a skirt out of it, or watch a movie and you just have to draw the main characters. The world can always be different or better, and what’s already there always has a story to tell.

2. You're one heck of a digital artist and the creator of the Internet phenomenon, The Broship of the Ring. Could you tell us a little bit about how you come up with concepts for your art?

It’s pretty instantaneous most of the time. I’m a fast-paced artist and I tend to act on whims. So the Broship of the Ring happened when I was watching Lord of the Rings, and I must have had some glimmer of inspiration that said, “What if they were modern-day bros?” and that was enough to get me rolling. That’s generally how it happens; I think of something I want to draw, and then I think, “okay, but they have to be wearing cat pajamas, and they have to be dancing.” There always seems to be that second part that just comes out of left field. It’s hard to explain exactly.

3. What is the coolest/weirdest artistic project you've ever completed? Interesting/humorous stories from the life of Noelle?

Well, being at art school, I’ve done some pretty weird art projects before. One time I bought a bunch of bras at the thrift store and went around putting them on trees all around campus. I don’t remember if I had a concept or anything. I think I just wanted to mess with my teacher. One time in my Sculptural Forms class I attempted to teleport a peanut butter and jelly sandwich across the room. It was foundation year, and weird stuff like that happens a lot, since we have to take classes we don’t really care about. In the illustration realm, I did a piece once that was a massive battle between zombified Edward Cullen and Jacob fan girls. That was fun.

4. Have you always been interested in art? What made you want to go into art as a profession? It's a tough world for artists out there!

I guess it was really obvious from the start that I was artistically inclined. I was one of those kids who always got art sets for Christmas, and my dad would bring home stacks of paper from his business that were printed on one side and blank on the other, and I would cover them with drawings and comics. I loved crayon time at school. So I guess I’ve just always known I was going to be an artist. I don’t feel right when I’m not drawing, so I can’t imagine doing anything else.

5. What are your primary creative obstacles? How do you deal with them?

As I mentioned above, I’m a pretty spontaneous artist. That works for me in a lot of ways, since it’s usually not hard for me to find inspiration and I work quickly, but it also means that I have trouble committing to long projects. I have so many ideas, but they seem to always come out in spurts and only hint at something bigger, when I’d really like to make a full-length comic or write an illustrated novel or something like that. It means that lot of ideas have kind of just died out or never reached their full potential, which is frustrating. I’m working on it, though. Art school helps. Having someone tell me to do something always motivates me, so most of my long projects were done for class. I need to work on motivating myself, though.

6. What is a recent moment of victory in your creative life?

Recently, it was sitting back at 7 am after a night of nonstop drawing, with only 2 hours until class starts, and realizing that I was really proud of the piece I made, and that made the night of lost sleep worth it.

7. What do you think counts as a creative success for you? and/or What do you hope to achieve creatively?

I want to get my stories out of my head and into the world! I want to always make things and have fun making them, and for other people to have fun looking at them. And if I could support myself doing that, then I think that would be all the creative success I’d need.

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Now, if that doesn't get you off of your proverbial creative tuckus, then I don't know what will.  If you'd like to learn more about Noelle or take a gander at her lovely art, head over to her blog, A Girl And Her Demons, or take a stroll down her Tumblr at How Are You I'm Fine Thanks.  They are certainly worth your time, so go have a peek!

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Real Life in the Real World—A Chat with Claire Suellentrop

Last week, when I interviewed design power-house, Paige Smith, I talked a little bit about the ability to get things DONE. Follow-through is important! Honestly, creative ideas are a dime a dozen. Why? Because humanity is full of wishes, wants, and desires. And, almost any wish begets a creative idea. The idea “I wish I could fly,” for example, inspired many a “Creative Type” to draft plans for flying machines throughout the centuries. But, it was follow-through and task commitment that brought these machines to life (and it was failure that led them to try again). Task commitment. Remember that. That's an important buzzword in circles concerned with theories of Creativity.

Now, all that rambling is just my way of saying that I happened to run across another creative individual with excellent follow-through: Claire Suellentrop from General Overachiever. As the title of her blog might suggest, this girl has got a lot going on! She keeps her own, regular blog, dabbles in design, and even started her own literary magazine. More importantly, she manages to keep up with it all!  How does she do it?  Let's find out.

Name: Claire Suellentrop

Age: 21 (for just a few more weeks—weird)

Location: South Orange, NJ

Occupation: Student, writer, graphic designer

Primary Modes of Creative Output: Writing, photography, playing around in the Adobe Suite

Self-Description: The polite phrase to describe myself would be “wide array of interests.” The more direct phrase would be “mild ADD.” I enjoy moving from medium to medium; graphic design, culinary experimentation and copywriting all get my gears turning. This may be why my longest-running project is Cannoli Pie, an online monthly literature magazine.

1. Do you consider yourself to be a creative person? What is your personal description of creativity and/or What are the characteristics of a creative person?
   
   I happily call myself a creative person, and I believe a great number of people are more creative than they give themselves credit for. They just don’t acknowledge their own ingenuity because their talents don’t fall within the most common creative outlets—i.e. painting, drawing, photography or other fine arts.
   
   A creative person is essentially someone who assesses a situation with a fresh eye. This may lead to a work of art, an invention or simply an original way to solve a problem. In a house of four girls, I’m the only one with a distinctly “creative” major; however, I’ve come home countless times to discover that my business-oriented roommate has rearranged the furniture and given our place a lovely new look. I may be the one handing in posters and web banners as homework, but when it comes to decorating, she totally takes the cake!
   
   
2. You're a self-taught designer. You also started your own literary magazine. In other words, you're quite the pull-yourself-up-by-your-bootstraps kind of gal. Tell us about what you do!
   
   First of all, I’m flattered—thank you! I do…too much  But that’s mainly because I get overly excited about trying new things, which makes it difficult to stick with just one or two hobbies.
   
   Cannoli Pie is one of my biggest creative projects, which I co-edit with this writer. I also run General Overachiever, a blog whose name originated as the placeholder title on my business card. A then-future-employer noticed it, thought it was hilarious, and the term just stuck.
   
   When not engaged in these projects, you can find me copywriting for a few local periodicals or catching up on the newest music in the indie/alternative world. I manage a weekly specialty show called the Campus Buzz on 89.5 FM WSOU, so keeping up with music news is a big part of daily life.
   
   
3. What has been your favorite experience as a self-made editor? Interesting stories?
   
   Coolest experience: seeing my work both open for public viewing and taken seriously by those who submit to the magazine. It’s awesome to have this outlet through which Stephen and I can sharpen our respective skills, while simultaneously giving writers and visual artists all over the world a way to do the same.
   
   Though this isn’t actually a story, one of the most interesting aspects of editing is seeing where submissions come from. We’ve had creatives send us work from as close to home as New York and as far away as Sweden. We just have to wonder—how are people like that finding us? So crazy!
   
   
4. You're also quite gifted in the realm of creative writing! What do you do to stay inspired and motivated in this area?
   
   Now you’re just being kind! Of the editing team, Stephen is definitely the creative writer—i.e. poetry, flash fiction, etc. But on the rare occasion that I do jot something down, the inspiration comes from reading. Always be reading! Seeing others’ work (and this holds true for any creative field) is a fantastic way to discover new techniques and get ideas flowing.

5. What are your primary creative obstacles? How do you deal with them?
   
   M.O.T.I.V.A.T.I.O.N. Although I revel in the thrill of moving from project to project, carrying the load can get tiring at times. I wrote a brief post on this once, to which I received some great tips on getting over the exhaustion slump.
   
   
6. What is a recent moment of victory in your creative life? (this can be as big as getting signed to as small as writing a song... personally, I'm still reeling from the fact that I filled an entire sketchbook in a little over one month)
   
   Being asked to write for The Aquarian, where I currently submit one to two stories per month, was incredibly exciting. It was the first time a hobby—my blog—had tangibly paid off. A friend and fellow writer saw that I had potential and invited me to join the staff.
   
   
7. What do you think counts as a creative success for you? and/or What do you hope to achieve creatively?
   
   There’s a fantastic quote by Ira Glass, part of which reads “For the first couple years you make stuff, and it’s just not that good. It’s trying to be good, it has potential, but it’s not. But your taste, the thing that got you into the game, is still killer.”
   
   Creative success, for me, would be to push past the “not that good” stage, to move my writing/design/etc. from “fine, this will work” to “wow, this looks great.” Because great is what reaches people—it’s what matters. Vague, but that’s what I’m working for.
   
   I’d really love to achieve independence through the use of creative skills. Self-employment (which will probably mean keeping my fingers in several different pies for a long time) would be incredible. The flexibility and discipline that required of that lifestyle would, I believe, be great motivation to keep the mental wheels turning.

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Now, that's what I call task commitment (even if the tasks are quite numerous). Claire certainly inspires me to try to stay focused and follow through on my projects. She inspires me to keep blogging, keep writing, and keep designing. I hope your short time with her does the same.

Reverse Brainstorming

Last week, I touched on the subject of brainstorming whilst discussing ways to improve one's Creative Fluency.  Now, brainstorming is probably something with which you are fairly familiar.  I would wager that if you were to wander down memory lane far enough, you would come across rudimentary examples of brainstorming in your 4th or 5th grade classroom.  It probably looked something like this (click) or this (click).  Got it?  Remember drawing those little clouds with your main idea written in the center?  Yep.  That was brainstorming.

Unfortunately, you will also probably remember that this method was used almost exclusively for paper topics.  And, if you were anything like me as a kid, you probably also found it annoying to complete.  Because, really?  When I was in the 5th grade, I didn't need a brainstorming session to know that I wanted to write my first research paper on the Loch Ness Monster.

Don't get me wrong.  These days, I am a champion of the brainstorming technique!  This is a great, tried-and-true way to drum up ideas.  There are, however, alternatives to the traditional brainstorming methodology.

In his book, Conceptual Blockbusting, James L. Adams briefly discusses a technique called reverse brainstorming.  Although this idea is ingenious, it is also astonishingly easy: think backwards.  You simply ask the question "What should I NOT do?"  According to Adams, once you ask this question you will reveal kinks and problems that are already occurring.  (e.g. question: "How can we sell LESS coffee and drive customers AWAY from our business?" answer: "Be too aggressive. Ask too many upsell questions.")

Obviously, this technique is primarily used in the business world.  I, however, feel the artistic community could benefit from reverse brainstorming, too.  I feel that the question, "What is the most cliche thing I can do?" is incredibly pertinent to those attempting to forge ahead and push the boundaries of Creativity.  Say, for example, I wanted to come up with a really creative Halloween costume.  I might ask the question: "What is the most cliche thing I could dress up as for Halloween?"

Good.  We have a starting point.  Now that I have a lot of fairly run-of-the-mill ideas, I can work on getting creative.  In order to get creative, we use several standard creativity-generation techniques:

1.  Combine two (or more) of our "bad" ideas (remember when I talked about that?)
2.  Find the common denominator and do the opposite
3.  Pick a category and try to transform members of that category into something unique

For example, we could (1) combine the "sexy" category with the "dead" category and create a "Yummy Mummy" (e.g. Ace bandages and gauze with a swimsuit worn over it).  Or, we could (2) find the common denominator (e.g. animate objects/"living and/or undead" things) and go in the opposite direction (e.g. inanimate objects).  For this category, I came up with (a) a pinata (b) the Little Teapot Short and Stout (zombie version), and (c) a ghoulish iPhone.  Finally, we could (3) pick the pop icon/cartoon categories and transform it into something (sort of ) unique (e.g. the Nickelodeon/SNICK logo, a classic television theme song, or Shark Week). 

See?  Next to no one (probably) will have the same costume as you if you go as Shark Week.  More importantly, absolutely no one (most likely) will have the same costume as you if you go as SEXY Shark Week.

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Give reverse brainstorming a try.  It won't disappoint!


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Real Life in the Real World -- Paige Smith and Her Bag of Tricks

Ever wonder how some people manage to be so gosh-darn productive all the time?  I sure do.  I've been trying to crack that code for years!  I certainly manage to have boatloads of ideas, but I rarely manage to pull more than 25% of those ideas into something cohesive and tangible.

Thus, I find it fascinating (every now and again) when I stumble upon a true powerhouse, Renaissance character.  I hope you know what I'm talking about here?  I'm talking about that person we "Creative Types" all envy.  That certain unique someone who not only manages to excel in many and varied areas of Creativity, but also manages to excel in Productivity.  The type to get things DONE.

Yes, this week's interview is with a woman from whom we could all learn a thing or two about upping productivity, following through, and being generally fabulous.  She is extremely talented, highly skilled, and quite prolific!  She also happens to have glorious fashion sense.  Without further ado, allow me to introduce small business owner, costume designer, pyro-thespian, and all-around creative-type: Paige Smith!

Name:  Paige Gardner Smith
Age:  47
Location:  Trussville, Alabama
Occupation:  Bookseller / Business Owner (PageBook Media)
Primary Modes of Creative Output:  Costume Art / Theatrical Fire Performance
Self-Description:  I’m a house divided.  I’m a single mother of four, business owner and full-time retail associate during the week, but on various weekends, I travel around the country exhibiting, teaching or promoting ‘Costuming as Art’ within the costuming/cosplay community. (Want more? Visit Paige's Website)

1. Do you consider yourself to be a creative person?  What is your personal description of creativity and/or What are the characteristics of a creative person?  
   
   
   Yes, I do. I define human creativity as the need/ability to construct solutions, responses and or inventions that go beyond those answers/responses that are typically available to fill a functional or artistic void. The characteristics that define a creative person would surely include the active response to these voids with solutions born from the creative process.
   
   
   2.  You design and build (amazing) costumes (specifically steampunk costumes).  How did you first find your way into this intriguing and unusual creative field? 
   
   
   I’ve always been an energetic costumer and fan of anthropomorphic art.  As a student of history and costuming art, the Victorian Futurism of Steampunk was a natural attraction for me.  My venture into creating Victorian Automatons within that genre has been an expression of tweaking human response to slightly inhuman appearance –  a sort of ‘left-of-center’ human mimicry.  (See this article published in B-Metro Magazine for full details on this journey.)
   
   3. What is your creative process like as a costume designer?  Do you plan things out on paper first, or are you more “hands-on” with your approach? 
   
   
   For costumes, I typically do sketches, less as patterns and more to generate new ideas.  The ‘recycling’ of vintage and cast-off items into most of my costumes entails that there is a lot of hands-on experimentation with these items and various art mediums before the piece is actually crafted.
   
   4. What are your primary obstacles as a designer? How do you deal with these blocks and/or obstacles? 
   
   
   My biggest obstacles are my own limits with useful talents like welding, mechanics, leather-working.  But I’m overcoming these obstacles one at a time as I seek other artists and craftsmen to teach me enough of their skills to incorporate them into my ‘toolbox’ of “things I can now do.”
   
   5. Where do you usually look for creative inspiration?
   
   
   I am always looking at natural objects with an eye toward bending it into the ‘slightly unnatural’.  I have found that the human eye/mind is accustomed to certain structure.  When that structure/shape is altered – only slightly – it generates an uncomfortable response and/or a need for closer study.  I’m looking for common objects that can be altered in ways that invoke that discomfort and curiosity in observers.
   
   6. What is a recent moment of victory in your creative life?  
   
   
   One of my costumes (with gear and mask) was selected for a 5-day Exhibition in Atlanta – I’m stoked that it was selected from big field of top designers!  I’m also the director of one of the biggest Steampunk events in the country (The Steampunk Exhibition at DragonCon in Atlanta).  This event showcases some of the best genre builders and artists in the country. Over 1000 people stood in line for 2.5 hours this year to get a peek inside the event.  I’m pretty stoked that TOR publishing took note of this year’s SPEX and mentioned in via their social media channels recently. (LINK to the original story) 
   
   7. What do you think counts as a creative success for you? and/or What do you hope to achieve creatively? 
   
   
   A creative success for me is when I craft something I can’t wait to show/wear.  The response from peers/public is secondary to my own satisfaction with the piece.  Creating something that makes it all the way from conception to premiere with my vision intact, is a success. 

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If you weren't ready to get up, get out, and get moving before, I'm certain that Paige has inspired you to do so!  I am continually bowled over by her abilities as a costumer and impressed by her gumption to get her work out there.

If you'd like to learn more about Paige and her work, visit her Costume Website.  I'd highly recommend a visit.

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Apologies

Many apologies for the lack of post today.  I took some time off to rework a few minor details on the layout of the blog and to work on some school work.  I will have some quality postage for you all later this week.

In the meantime, a big thanks to CheekyPinkTulip for her suggestion that I "hang" pictures on my back porch.  I took her suggestion and came up with a really neat image!  Props to Maria.

Please stay tuned for more of our regularly scheduled programming.

10 Ways to Practice Creative Fluency

 This will make sense when you read #8 below

Good Monday and Happy Autumn to you all.  Before I get into the meat of this post, I'd like to thank all of you who gave me (and my piece) a vote during Emily Suess's Writer's Week.  Your efforts paid off!  I came in second place!  I could not have done it without your help, so thank you!

Now, today I had planned to bring you a plethora of links and exercises designed to increase and augment your Creative Fluency.  Unfortunately, there doesn't seem to be an awful lot of websites out there that aren't related to elementary education or geared towards teachers.  What about adults?  What about the lifelong autonomous learners out there looking for good resources?

For those of you who are not familiar with the idea of Creative Fluency, this concept falls under the larger umbrella of Creative Thinking.  Generally, Creative Fluency is defined as an individual's capacity to generate many ideas without a lot of hiccups in the process.  

To visualize Fluency, think about how you brainstorm or make a list when coming up with, say, Halloween costume ideas.  You might write down the obvious answers first (e.g. ghost, witch, black cat, or this year's top pop icon).  However, the more you list, the stranger (and more creative) the list is likely to become.  For instance, you may think of costumes that center around plays on words (e.g. Laurie Skelton becomes Laurie Skeleton), concepts (girls dressed up as boys), odd-ball video game characters (e.g. Tetris blocks).  The examples given, by the way, are all costumes I saw last year.  Two of my best friends dressed up as "boys," which meant they went as a Rooster and a Stag.  Clever, huh?

Like anything else, if you want to improve upon your own Creative Fluency, then practice makes perfect.  You just have to get out there and do it!  The website, Minds in Bloom, has a few examples of exercises to increase Fluency in children that could be adapted for adults.  I've done my best to adapt and make additions to their excellent suggestions below.  It helps if you keep a notebook in which to make lists, draw pictures, or create thought webs as you work to increase your Creative Fluency.  Now, on to the good stuff:

1. Think of many uses for common, household items
2. Generate synonyms for overused phrases or words (e.g. awesome, cool, lame)
3. List unusual Halloween costume ideas (see above)
4. Come up with different ways to arrange the furniture in your bedroom, dorm room, or living room
5. Generate solutions to problems you encounter on a regular basis (e.g. the dishes pile up in the sink)
6. List (or draw!) things common food items could become (e.g. a banana peel becomes an octopus)
7. Come up with clever themes for a family dinner party 
8. Think of many ways one could incorporate an unusual ingredient (e.g. prunes, chestnuts, persimmons) into dinner (e.g. prune-stuffed chicken, chestnuts with cabbage, chilled persimmons and cinnamon)
9. Generate unusual (and fun!) ways to get your daily dose of exercise (e.g. play tug-o-war with your dog, take a walk and gather colorful Fall leaves, dance while you wash dishes)
10. List (or draw) many unusual ways to carve a pumpkin for Halloween!

Can you tell that I'm a fan of October?  This list is decidedly Fall/Halloween-oriented.  However, you could certainly adapt some of my suggestions for other times of the year.  Number 10, for instance, could be applied to this concept demonstrated with particular brilliance over at Momdot.com--many ways to paint a hand!

Well, what are you waiting for?  Grab a notebook and get to work!  You'll be surprised at what you come up with.

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Note: #8 is a list I had to come up with after I brought home loads of persimmons and chestnuts from my grandmother's farm this past weekend.  Prunes?  I just happen to have a box.

Let's Cut A Rug, Shutterbug! (Creative Scavenger Hunt Part One)

Monday, I posted information about my Creative Scavenger Hunt Project.  Today, I give you my first specimens in the form of a brief photo essay (a photo paragraph?).

 

 1.  A person going about something run-of-the-mill in a creative way = Cupcake decor gourmand!

 

  1.  A person going about something run-of-the-mill in a creative way = Cupcake ingestion... gourmand!

 3.  Lookin' for Art in all the wrong places = Sculpture in a parking lot... or John's Vibram Five Fingers?

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Also, as a side note.  Remember when I posted about risk-taking and entering that competition for Writer's Week?  Well, the risk-taking paid off!  I've made the top ten finalists!  But, it's not over yet.  I need to grab the most votes in order to make it into the top three.

So, if you'd like to support some creative risk-taking, help a sister out!  Go vote for Flight of the Tumblebee, on Emily Suess's Blog!  Just scroll down past the winning entries to vote.  

Wish me luck!

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A Creative Scavenger Hunt

Example of creative flexibility. Floorboards become vertical textured background!

If I haven't mentioned this before, I'll take a moment to mention it now: I'm currently taking a graduate course on creative problem solving (which I talked about Friday) for my master's degree.  If you don't know what creative problem solving is, I highly recommend taking a moment to peruse the Wikipedia entry.  It's a fascinating subject!

Even more fascinating than the subject of the course itself are the assignments and projects I have to complete!  Before the end of the semester, I have to 1.) create an invention, 2.) practice a new creative skill, 3.) fill an "idea" notebook, and 4.) complete a creative scavenger hunt.  That's one heck of a creative portfolio in less than four months!  Cool, right?  Who knew one could get so excited about homework?

I'm excited about all the projects, but my creative eye is presently fixated on that scavenger hunt assignment.  The idea behind the hunt is to gather photographic evidence of seven creative "items" from two different environments.  Participants should visit one stereotypically "creative" environment (e.g. an art museum, a fair ground, an art festival, etc.) and one unexpectedly creative and/or stereotypically un-creative environment (e.g. a warehouse, a mattress store, a mega-mall, etc.).  In each of these environments, participants should photograph samples of creativity as per the checklist.  Once samples of each creative "item" have been found, the information should be presented in an interesting and creative way (e.g. a photo essay, a slide show, a music video, etc.).

Wanna play along?
Of course you do!

Here's what my professor wants us to find:

1.  A person going about something run-of-the-mill in a creative way
2.  Three examples of creative flexibility (e.g. how many different ways something can be used)
3.  Lookin' for Art in all the wrong places (e.g. art in unusual settings)
4.  Personification and conversation (e.g. give an object human qualities and make it talk!)
5.  Unique and original problem-solving
6.  Quoth the Poet (e.g. something Shakespeare would find pen-worthy)
7.  Quoth the Diva (e.g. something one would find in an R&B or Country song)

The final project isn't due until the end of the semester, but I've already started snapping shots.  This is, by the way, a fantastic idea for brainstorming and inspiration.  Why?  Because it is an exercise in looking at old things from new perspectives and getting great ideas from the good ideas of others.  If you've found yourself in a creative rut lately, this might be just the shovel you need to dig yourself out.

Come on!  Let's go scavenge ourselves up some inspiration.  (And maybe an "A" on that assignment?)

What would you add to your own personal creative scavenger hunt?  Any additions?

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Novel Notes: Of Creativity and Corvids

Although my usual schedule for this blog is a Monday-Wednesday posting, I just had to share this fabulous example of creative problem solving with all of you.

It's no secret that I'm a lover of the scientific family Corvidae (the group containing ravens, crows, and magpies).  They're an incredibly intelligent group of birds with the ability to make tools, to mimic a vast array of sounds, and to recognize themselves in mirrors (self awareness!).  They are also, in my humble opinion, the definitive creative problem solvers of the class Aves.

For those of you not familiar with this concept, creative problem solving is a process whereby a problem is solved using innovation rather than well-established solutions.  Examples of such problem solving are (1) using a paperclip as a replacement for a broken zipper pull, (2) hiding vegetable purees in the meal of a finicky eater, (3) almost any situation involving duct tape.  Think MacGyver, people.

We humans engage in creative problem solving on a pretty regular basis (but perhaps not as often as we should).  We're used to finding alternative means to get something we want.  Want to hear something amazing?  Crows, magpies, and jays can do the same thing!

Just look at this video:



Now, these birds have been trained.  But, there are plenty of examples of corvids doing similarly incredible things in the wild.  Some crows in Japan, for example, have been caught dropping walnuts into busy intersections so that heavy cars can do the cracking for them!

Don't be outdone by a bird!


What kinds of problems have you solved creatively?

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Creativity - A Game of Risk (but without the little plastic soldiers)

Examples of creative risk-taking.

People are scared to get down and get creative.

“Well, that's a bold, generalized statement,” I hear you saying.

But, no! It's true! Think back to those impromptu art activities high school and college teachers sprung on you unexpectedly in English or History class. They asked you to represent something visually—maybe a poster, a collage, or a display board. Maybe you were even provided with paints, glue, and old magazines. Back in kindergarten, these materials and activities would've been met with uncontrollable, squirming glee. In high school? The majority cringe and avert their eyes.

“I'm just not creative,” they say.

Last week, I accompanied my friends to a community art project at UAB's Alys Stephens Center whereby people in attendance were asked to decorate metal tiles with available art supplies (e.g. acrylic paint, Sharpie markers, paint pens, and **spray glitter**). While my comrades and I plunged into the provided materials with unchecked rapture, I saw a lot of creative wallflowers standing in the wings, awkwardly twiddling their thumbs. Many were teenagers, shying away from their peers' artistic enthusiasm. Some were fathers, resisting their wives' urging them to sit and paint with daughters or sons.

“No,” a dad said, irritation in his voice. “I just don't want to!”

“It'd just be a waste of paint!” others said, smiling sheepishly as they waved away a paintbrush.

Of course, these artistic anxieties make sense when one sits down and really thinks about it. A creative act is inherently risky business! In his book Creativity Is Forever, Gary Davis notes that when one engages in a creative act, one exposes oneself to potential failure, ridicule, and humiliation. And, once you've made it past kindergarten, it's likely that you've experienced all of these nasty feelings in response to taking a creative risk.