The past couple days in class, I love how we've been sparking creativity by using limits and frames. For instance, on Friday, when we had to tell pieces of our story from the point of view of a specific persona, that imposed certain frames--and certain limits/boundaries, because that's what frames are, I guess--on what we could do. The limits, though, have the paradoxical effect of opening up creativity. Same thing with the shoe-string activity today (and with the stick activity last week). I don't know why this works, but it's pretty cool. It engages problem-solving, I suppose, so it makes you ask questions you wouldn't otherwise ask, which gives you answers you wouldn't otherwise get.
There are some interesting ideas about creativity and limitation here: http://blog.ted.com/can-limitations-make-you-more-creative-a-qa-with-artist-phil-hansen/
Anyway, I want to adopt now, as part of my process, a phase where I throw in some weird frame--a prop, a persona, a point of view--and see what comes of it.
Also, for those who took the Institute with Shonaleigh--I think that maybe Midrash 2, 3, and 4 are all about this. That's most of the process!
I keep coming up against my own oppositional nature. The stronger the frame or structure the more I get sparked in opposing directions. It's an interesting challenge trying different ways to approach.
ReplyDeleteGood connection with the Midrash exercise I didn't think of that the mask could be a glimpser.
This is why paintings with restrictive color palletes are often the most striking!
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