I have decided to feature a new TED talk every Tuesday in the hopes of sharing thoughts and ideas, inspiring others, and hopefully inciting some interesting discussion on my blog. I would love to have you chime in with your opinion on the topics I post.
So lean back, grab your knitting or stitching or oil pastels and join me for a TED talk, maybe it will get you thinking.
This week's topic is Creativity. Does the confidence to create come naturally to you? Or do you work to overcome those little voices that can sometimes bring us down?
Author of Eat, Pray, Love, Elizabeth Gilbert gave this TED talk on Genius, on Nurturing Creativity, and on overcoming fear - the fear of failure. Can we work to eliminate those insecurities by removing our ego from the equation? Listen to one person's theory on how (19min32sec):
Why is it that artists and creative people everywhere are linked to a history of mental or emotional suffering? Will Artistry almost always lead to anguish? Have you brushed up against 'that thing' that makes you feel like you might just have a genius standing over your shoulder? Sometimes I feel like ideas coming knocking on my head, asking me to make them real.
While watching this TED talk, I worked on this:
Did you work on anything you'd like to share?
Did you work on anything you'd like to share?
interesting...i really enjoyed that book...i read it last year. our house is continually in craft mode...as i look around it looks absolutely trashed, but the things that are out are the paintbrushes, cardboard everywhere with paintings half finished on it...a game we're making for haye out of a box, the deco markers....the sewing machine, piles of fabric...the dress form...the christmas decorations. we welcome most of our ideas into our home, it seems. :P
ReplyDeletesomething interesting i learned in anthropology of art is MANY of the different cultures around the world do not really care or focus on the end result of their art...it is more about the creation for them. like...sand paintings etc....some of those take over 40 hours to tediously make, only to be used for a few minutes in a ceremony, and then wiped away.
Mmm, loved it. Whats the name of you creative imp?
ReplyDeleteI will name mine... Goadie
I like the idea of separating ourselves from our works of art, taking the ego out of creating takes away a lot of the pressure to be successful in the eyes of others, and it takes away a lot of the bragging and over inflated self-love that is prevalent in art communities.
ReplyDeleteBut do you think that it might also take some of the motivation out of it? Are you less likely to create if you can't take all the credit? Or do you think it will encourage more people to attempt to be creative because there is less risk involved regarding perceived failure? Hmmmmmmmm
Oh! And my imp is named Chester Fields as he lives inside my couch cushions.
ReplyDeleteHmmm. I see the 'confidence' thing come out most with a final product. Generally, I like them, but there's this 'ohhh.... it LOOKS handmade.' thing that makes me hesitant to gift things to non-crafters. (Most of my crafts are for gifts. Most of the completed ones, anyhow. I think I find better motivation with a deadline, and also a focus in terms of which fabric or paper or paint or whatever to use - I like pretty much everything, but my idea of what others like is a little more narrow...)
ReplyDeleteThere's an interesting shift in a few schools in Calgary from 'the finished product' to 'the process' and there's actually one person who's done their masters (I think?) On display boards and how they're not being used properly - they should display works in PROGRESS, not completed ones. Again, I think, the focus on the process not the product. Which seems to be a slight conflict with the standard western commercial viewpoint....