Week 5

Last week:

I was able to Create a Product related to my subject (Birds!): A painting of a Junco.

My next intent was to select another Medium for Expressing my Perspective of a different Bird in our yard.

This week:

I realized that delivering a new Creative Product requires beginning the Creative Process again. As a result, I’m going to reflect on what I’ve learned about Creativity so far and figure out where to begin again.

I have discovered further Aspects of Creativity… and realized that I would like to frame some Aspects a little differently.

Considering Creativity as a Whole

Aspect and Creativity

It’s been interesting to consider the concept of Aspect (the directions from which one can look at something) early in this exploration.

It’s the first concept to appear multiple times – initially, when I began looking at my Subject (Birds!), and now, when reflecting back on Creativity as a whole.

As it turns out, the Creative Process is just one of many Aspects to looking at Creativity as a whole.

Overall, many Aspects I’ve encountered so far fall within the commonly accepted Aspects of Creativity (“The Four P’s“).

• Person
• Process
• Place
• Product

During my first walk through this process, I have discovered further Aspects of Creativity (such as Pacing & Progress) and realized that I would like to frame some Aspects a little differently.

👨🏼‍🎨 🏔 ♻ 🗺 🎇

Agent , Context, Creation

Agent:

I would like to reframe the traditional Aspect of “Person” within Creativity instead as the Creative “Agent”. This framing allows for more flexible interpretation, where the source for Creativity could be anything taking Agency that results in Creation.

Agency is likely from Middle Latin, meaning “action or intervention, especially such as to produce a particular effect.”

With this framing, acts of Creativity can occur naturally like rainfall off of mountains carving a river, or they could occur with intent like a person painting a Junco onto a canvas.

Context

I would like to also reframe the traditional Aspect of “Place” instead as “Context” for Creation. This framing allows for the consideration of a broader array of conditions that provide the landscape for Creativity to occur.

Context is borrowed from Middle Latin meaning “the interrelated conditions in which something exists or occurs“.

Considering the Context for Creativity allows for the exploration of the interrelationship between geography, culture, zeitgeist, architecture, and beyond to understand the conditions for Creativity.

Creation

Finally, as mentioned last week, I’d like to look at the Output or Outcome of Creativity simply as a “Creation” rather than a “Product”.

I consider a Creation to be something that has been brought into existence and will try to avoid the association that “Product” maintains with consumption.

I expect Creation and Outcome will likely be more closely associated over time.

The Creative Process

Interestingly, the only Aspect of Creativity that I agree with the common framing for is the Creative Process.

Currently, I understand there to be the following steps within the Creative Process:

• Choose a Subject
• Explore it’s Aspects
• Choose the Medium to Express those Aspects through and Establish Constraints
• Apply the Aspects to the Medium to produce the Creation
• Iterate on the Process and/or the Creation

This means that walking through the Creative Process for the second time requires me to choose a Subject, which I’ve already done (Birds!).

I have also already established a Constraint – to apply a different Medium to each different Bird in our yard until I run out of new Birds or decide to move on from the broader Subject of Birds.

🔈 💬 🔈

What Next?

For this second iteration, I am going to narrow the Subject and explore the Aspects of a specific Bird from our yard: the Downy Woodpecker.

Next week I expect to be able to share the Aspects of the Downy Woodpecker that I have discovered that pique my interests and may have applications within different Mediums.

Please share your thoughts on framing the Aspects of Creativity or if you think of any other Aspects of Creativity that would be worth exploration.

Otherwise, see you next week!