creative thinker's: a love story

A friend of mine at school was very good at art. It seemed inherent, as his father was good at art, therefore seemed to run in the family. It kind of made me like the idea as well, so at Sixth Form I walked into the art class and asked if I could do art as a subject. The teacher, Miss Parker, allowed me to join the class, but after some weeks took me to one side and politely told me that I would not make it as a creative person and I should think about leaving the class and doing some other course. I wouldn't accept this, and with several other similar comments from family and teachers alike, I set out to prove them wrong. I guess in a way I have. Also saying that however, I have always had the feeling that I could be artistic. Still today I get up and want to create. Sometimes more than get breakfast, or sort the house out. I say this little ditty at the start as I wanted to mention perseverance.

If I had listened to my art teacher, all those years ago, where would I be? Would I be happy? Would I be in a job I didn't like? Who knows. All I do know is that I stuck with it, and today I think I am pretty good at what I do. Anyway, many years along this path I have come to understand a few things about life and so aim to share them as examples of how I have seem the importance of things in this development. I don't disagree that creative people need to work hard at what they do. I always show my students my first drawing that I did in class, and the reason behind my art teachers obvious pessimism in my skills. I try my best to practice at these skills as much as I can. Maybe for practice, maybe for a development of a personal project or commission. What I also have found, in the ten plus years of teaching people is that somethings are missed in this development and that it can help to have them pointed out.

I don't think I am alone in this. Many of the exemplary people I quote and use and remark on all have aims to see how certain factors can aid in personal development. When I was asked to teach the Creative Thinking section of the course of study at the college I am at now, I loved the challenging aspect to feel that some of this knowledge, some of which I learnt myself at my masters level, could be put across to see how 'thinking' in a creative environment can be of great use. It is not a new thing. Aesthetics has always been a good vehicle to make the mind see things in a different way. After all, the expression, "A picture speaks a thousand words" has aided me several times in class when even the most articulate statement is not enough to describe a point of view. More recently I have done reading (mentioning no names) about the affects on education through social development and the we have evolved.

The first time we scratched art on a wall, it was a form of communication. There was a need to express a notion of something in the mind, and that ability was converted in art form. One aspect I use in my teaching is Aesop. The story of the Crow and the Jug of Water. It is a work of art; in the sense it is a moral tale that tells a story. So is literature. However, there is a depth to the story, to allow people to see the puzzle in the moral tale. When you think about it as well, almost all puzzle related activities have design as a key. Without it the auditory version would be a weak variant and ever so more confusing. So the notion of art and thinking has been around for thousands of years. Maybe in a audience based role, but still there. Today, as art becomes more and more carbon copies of itself and originality of design is flagging to follow trends, then the aid of thinking is a useful tool.

The big issue is where is the limit to what the artistic mind can do and needs to do and can hold in terms of theoretical assistance. One simple thing I say to my students on their arrival in class is "Did you drink orange juice today?" Just a simple aside. However, there is evidence to show that orange juice drunk (not eaten) can stimulate brain activity. Now brain activity is not only necessary to do mathematical equations, it is also necessary to stimulate the right side of the brain too. Lying down to try and come up with an idea (much as Einstein did) is another humorous statement added to the class to make a point that creatives are not only ever going to be good at something if they push themselves at using a pencil. There is a depth to every component in our lives, and luckily most people don't dive into those depths. They simply get on. However, as an example, we eat to create fuel. We sleep to recoup, etc. However there is a function in our biology that limits and regulates all this. Children eat more sugary food as they grow as the body converts it to carbohydrates, etc. to give them the energy, as the body takes a lot of energy to actually physically stretch upwards to adulthood.

Thinking, and thinking practice in design is not for everyone. However, it should not also be disregarded. Now that same art teacher years ago, and subsequent theoretical teachers have introduced the history of art, Marx's essays on Art, and many other themes that at the time seemed to a young student not of worth. Today, I fascinate at this knowledge and can see its value, as much as my failings in biology class, even though didn't make me into a doctor, have given me rudimentary knowledge of the body (my body) to understand somethings. This is what knowledge is. The striving to understand things. When I now sit down and draw an icon for a company, I try to embed those thinking notions into my routine, sometimes it works sometimes it doesn't (but that is said of most things I guess) and I really think I would be wrong in not giving the opportunity to the next generation. Knowledge can be dismissed when learnt, but if never learnt could handicap an ability.

art

So going back to the start point, what I have noticed in reflection of my attempts to aid in teaching through some theoretical knowledge is the acceptance and gratitude of some, and the belligerence of others to such knowledge. Like most things it is not for everyone. Some students just want to jump on a computer, and have an adversity toward a pencil as well, but that is a tool that is (in my honest opinion) necessary as a creative. Why isn't the tool box a little more open to accommodate other tools that can aid in the improvement of one's skills. After all, that is what it's all about.