How To Teach Creativity...
Here’s the point
No One has to LEARN to BE creative because all of us ARE naturally creative.
Babies & Kids naturally do creative things like...
create figures from mashed potatoes
draw on the walls with crayons
name teddy bears/barbies/toys
have imaginary friends
make up games
build forts
play dress up
make an airplane out of napkins, etc…. you get the point.
None of this stuff is Michelangelo or Shakespeare BUT IT IS Creative!!
More often than not it also involves looking at the world from a new perspective. To adults it oftentimes appears that kids are doing something out of the ordinary. But to kids, it seems perfectly normal to draw on a mirror with lipstick or paint the dog with magic markers. They are seeing a reality in front of them and finding a way to shift it into something different or seemingly better… That’s Pure Creativity!!
It’s perfectly acceptable to them Until…..
- Mom starts saying – Don’t do that! Eat your Dinner!
- Dad says - No More crayons because you destroyed the living room
- Big Brother says - You’re weird, Imaginary friends don’t exist , duh!
- Big Sister says - That game you made up is SO uncool
AND
That’s when that little creative spark starts to diminish because the people around us have now begun to set rules of what is ‘right’ expression and what is ‘wrong’ expression.
Yes you should eat your dinner and respect both the family pets & home but…
Here’s What Happened in our little heads….
We used our imagination and created something novel (we thought it was brilliant!!)
But Then…..
Someone told us our expression was wrong , or even worse someone flat out said it was Awful, or we got punished for it :(
So, over time we started to cramp those little ideas and we ceased to express them. The result is that we stop noticing those creative instincts or we suppress them altogether.
These experiences in life, as well as surviving trauma, can block both our creative & physical voice. Even things that might seem less significant like not being heard, or people telling us to shush or that we can’t ________ {fill in the blank} can have huge impact.
(notice seem is in italics – unfortunately, these messages & situations are not insignificant to our creative flame)
So? What can we do NOW to begin re-igniting that flame?
1. Recognize and Release the things that block our creativity
No One has to LEARN to BE creative because all of us ARE naturally creative.
Babies & Kids naturally do creative things like...
create figures from mashed potatoes
draw on the walls with crayons
name teddy bears/barbies/toys
have imaginary friends
make up games
build forts
play dress up
make an airplane out of napkins, etc…. you get the point.
None of this stuff is Michelangelo or Shakespeare BUT IT IS Creative!!
More often than not it also involves looking at the world from a new perspective. To adults it oftentimes appears that kids are doing something out of the ordinary. But to kids, it seems perfectly normal to draw on a mirror with lipstick or paint the dog with magic markers. They are seeing a reality in front of them and finding a way to shift it into something different or seemingly better… That’s Pure Creativity!!
It’s perfectly acceptable to them Until…..
- Mom starts saying – Don’t do that! Eat your Dinner!
- Dad says - No More crayons because you destroyed the living room
- Big Brother says - You’re weird, Imaginary friends don’t exist , duh!
- Big Sister says - That game you made up is SO uncool
AND
That’s when that little creative spark starts to diminish because the people around us have now begun to set rules of what is ‘right’ expression and what is ‘wrong’ expression.
Yes you should eat your dinner and respect both the family pets & home but…
Here’s What Happened in our little heads….
We used our imagination and created something novel (we thought it was brilliant!!)
But Then…..
Someone told us our expression was wrong , or even worse someone flat out said it was Awful, or we got punished for it :(
So, over time we started to cramp those little ideas and we ceased to express them. The result is that we stop noticing those creative instincts or we suppress them altogether.
These experiences in life, as well as surviving trauma, can block both our creative & physical voice. Even things that might seem less significant like not being heard, or people telling us to shush or that we can’t ________ {fill in the blank} can have huge impact.
(notice seem is in italics – unfortunately, these messages & situations are not insignificant to our creative flame)
So? What can we do NOW to begin re-igniting that flame?
1. Recognize and Release the things that block our creativity
- Acknowledge those little voices that tell you something shouldn’t be or isn’t good enough
- Promptly Ignore them ;)
2. Experience exercises & activities that enable you to connect more deeply with your creative voice
Just to clarify…..
Not painting on the family dog is a humane issue and using paper instead of the living room walls is just a silly society politeness issue
(BUT? maybe you are a budding graffiti artist?!?!)
And on a side note my older brother, who is now a neuro-surgeon, did color the dog once with a pink highlighter – not the entire dog, just her ears….
Point is you Don’t Need to learn Creativity – we are ALL creative!!
Just sometimes experiences block our childlike, innate & natural expression
Seek out resources like Voga, Classes & Workshops that will encourage you to, in the words of singer/artist, Laura Love, “Let your Freak Flag Fly!”
Wishing you Love, Light and Boundless Creativity
Meredith
- My favorite is Journaling!
- Study your chosen craft
- Experience creative events – concerts, movies, museums, etc as well as NEW activities & genres
- Surround yourself with peeps who support and believe in you
- Avoid people say there is only way to do something and that’s the only right way? That’s anti-thetical to creativity!!
Just to clarify…..
Not painting on the family dog is a humane issue and using paper instead of the living room walls is just a silly society politeness issue
(BUT? maybe you are a budding graffiti artist?!?!)
And on a side note my older brother, who is now a neuro-surgeon, did color the dog once with a pink highlighter – not the entire dog, just her ears….
Point is you Don’t Need to learn Creativity – we are ALL creative!!
Just sometimes experiences block our childlike, innate & natural expression
Seek out resources like Voga, Classes & Workshops that will encourage you to, in the words of singer/artist, Laura Love, “Let your Freak Flag Fly!”
Wishing you Love, Light and Boundless Creativity
Meredith
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