The Problem of Creative People?

People often ask me at the art festivals, "How long have you been painting?", "Where do you think you got your creativity?" I usually say, "I think everyone is creative in their way."

I have to give RafiandKlee.com credit for helping me understand these questions more clearly. They have allowed my thoughts to gel on this subject.

As I understand it, everyone is born creative. We all have that ability. How you choose to hone that creativity is up to you.

Very interesting is convergent and divergent thought. WE NEED BOTH. What is divergent thinking? Divergent thinking generates as much information, ideas, and solutions as possible. Think quantity over quality—this type of thinking is about gathering information, coming up with ideas, and creativity. It's a free-flowing form of thinking where no idea is off-limits, and the goal is to generate multiple paths forward. Rafi and Klee call it a brain dump. My son Matthew often calls it spit-balling. I love the term spit-balling because it is a creative expression of the term.

What is convergent thinking? Divergent and convergent thinking are on opposite sides of the same coin. Where divergent thinking is about discovering, convergent thinking is about defining. You've gathered plenty of information and ideas; now is the time to focus on systematically synthesizing, organizing, and categorizing everything to arrive at a well-defined solution.

Creative people often lean heavily toward the divergent side. And here's where the problem comes in. If, over and over and over, one is taught - "This pencil is used to write." Then, eventually, the spit-balling side of your brain gets pushed to the background. If you hone your divergent skills, then the possibilities are endless. Children are brilliant and born into this. This is how things are invented and created. Taking what is there and doing something different with it. So, encourage that creative, imaginative part of yourself and cherish it. Who knows what you might create next?

The above photo is from MakeMyDay on YouTube. Would love to know your thoughts on the subject. Lemme Know, Genia