Art of Creativity

This will be my first journal entry of probably many more throughout my 2 years at Digital Media Arts. The topic of this entry is as the title states, the "Art of Creativity" by D. Goleman and P. Kaufman.

While reading the article I immediately began to agree with many of the opinions stated by the various researchers, psychologists, etc. The first paragraph mentioning how our brains think of solutions to problems we've been fumbling over for days at the most peaceful, solitary moments such as a jog. Throughout my life I have found many of my creative moments (especially for school projects..a couple of days before it's due) to come at the most unexpected moments and usually when I am alone, asleep or listening to certain genres of music.

Unfortunately I am one of the people that is affected by the over-thinking process and worrying too much over what other people think. There have been countless instances, even to this day, where I do not draw when I want to, or give up to quickly because I get frustrated with myself and then begin to think, "Nobody will like this. I suck at drawing." I am too afraid to make my own mistakes for fear of criticism, which I shamefully admit that I cannot handle very well. I take everything far too personally and am very emotional, which in turn completely affects my creative process whether it's for my own entertainment or school. I find that when I am assigned an exact task and I put my mind to it, my hand does exactly what I want it to do, but if I am given such open terms to an assignment or favour, I end up getting lost and worried, thus stunting my creative flow. I myself play soccer so I do understand the part where the peak of creativity was compared to the "white moment" in sports. At times I have become so focused on a project that I do not even realize that time has flown by. It is outstanding when it actually happens, but as I keep mentioning, for me to bring myself to that position is quite a battle.

I grew up in a very creative household, especially from my father's side of the family. My grandmother is a painter, an ambidextrous one at that, and my father is an architect. Although my dad did end up being strict and sometimes critical regarding the accuracy and such of my drawings while I was young, both my parents thrilled on my sister and myself to do whatever creative things we liked. Drawing grew on both of us and we have been since our very early years. I have become more computer savvy then the rest of my family so taking the DMA course has turned my creative road to a different path than my sister or father, but I feel that being in an environment with so much art around us whether it be traditional, musical or even the art of dancing has helped me grow creatively and hopefully this program will now help me further.

Another very worthy part of the article to mention is the "open-ended time" paragraph. I am a procrastinator, but I honestly have began to notice that I only end up doing projects last minute because that is when I get the best ideas. I could have a month to think of a design for something and I usually end up wasting that month fussing over every detail, wondering what exactly will be expected and if my teacher will like it, what I want to do, how I should do it, and every other possible question in the book. In the end, when I am beyond frustrated to the point where I don't even want to think about the project anymore, I end up getting this amazing idea that just lights up my creative energy. Although I do well with having specific instructions for a project, I find being pressured on the time aspect, which although necessary in school, actually stunts my creative process. I've learned since being a child with the help of my parents that just flooding my room with the various things that intrigue me, especially video games, comics, artwork, and even small things like my favourite colour end up helping me think up ideas without any interruptions or limitations.

In the end, this article has actually helped in giving me some ideas as to how I can let go physically and mentally about my insecurities and just let my creativity flow, whether it comes to looking at where and how I see water everyday (which I think I'll do, I really love water and end up using it as a theme in much of my art), to allowing the people close to me to help me get going and do the work they know I am capable of doing. Digital Media seems to be a program that will not only allow my mind to expand and be able to accomplish so much more with my talents, but to focus on the areas that I truly enjoy and find a path that I can continue on with all my heart, soul and mind. I need to be brave and change small things around me, look at things differently and actually let my mind bring out the many ideas that I know are being held back by my silly doubts.