Creativity and Skill

Really interesting essay on the link between creativity and skill by Berys Gaut - essentially an argument that the two are intrinsically linked. Possibly I thinking it's so fascinating because I agree with this premise wholeheartedly.

After four years of undertaking a design degree, and spending a good deal of my life making things, I personally would deem my most creative works as those stemming from an understanding of the techniques I was using at the time, and perhaps outcomes utilising a technique in an unexpected way. This has evolved over time, however... when learning a technique, such as beading or embroidery, I wasn't doing anything but following a pattern or instructions from a book - I might have been creating something, but the act of simply producing something was not 'creative'.

The argument that "the core capacity involved in creativity is skill", writes Gaut, is a "long philosophical tradition, stretching from Plato to recent times." From Plato's Phaedrus:

'if any man come to the gates of poetry with out the madness of the Muses, persuaded that skill alone will make him a good poet, the shall he and his works of sanity with him be brought to nought by the poetry of madness, and behold, their place is nowhere to be found.'

...Or if you prefer, works that are deemed creative by their very nature (such as poetry) are not able to be generated using a formulaic approach and have any value as a highly creative work. There was (is?) a belief that creativity is something requiring a spark of inspiration, perhaps a touch of madness. But is this perhaps the distinction between skill and genius, 'genius' somehow encompassing the ability to generate something original, inspiring, and able to stand the test of time.

I've yet to re-read the essay, so there's a lot of thinking, understanding and interpreting to still do. But the concept and opening quote really grabbed me, and I think a study of the interplay between creativity and skill is extremely relevant to looking at creativity in fashion design. It is an industry which relies heavily on skills, such as pattern drafting, draping, sewing, etc... At one extreme, there is no creative thought associated with the skill of being able to copy a design and produce a pattern from it. But at the other end of this spectrum, a deep understanding of a skill (eg. embroidery) might allow it to be utilised creatively, in a way that has not been done before.

More on this later (much more, probably)...

Reading: Serious Creativity

Oh, the idea of the different coloured thinking hats really tickles me. I'll be going into more detail on this article later. Right now the thing that is standing out to me the most is I might need to make a distinction between creativity and creative thinking. This raises a number of questions, too!

Edward de Bono proposes that anyone can think in a more creative way by using lateral thinking skills. But can you make someone more creative? Are there certain dispositions - genetic or otherwise - that make one person more creative than the next? And could these thinking techniques be of use to those already out there being creative and creative?

Reading: Poincaré's 'delicate sieve': on creativity and constraints in the arts (Paisley Livingston)

Fascinating article on the nature of inspiration, insight and how this ties in with creativity. A lot of it confirms what I have been thinking anyway, and wrote about in my post this morning. Although it focuses upon the processes of mathematician Henri Poincaré, rather than those of a fashion designer, there are many universal processes that apply to a variety of fields... many parallels that maybe drawn.

Without further ado, here be some very interesting points:

• "Poincaré famously reported that some of his best mathematical ideas simply popped into his head while he was on holiday and not consciously doing mathematics...

'...Disgusted by my lack of success, I went away to spend a few days at the seaside, and thought about entirely different things. One day, as I was walking along the edge of the cliff, the idea came to me, again with the same characteristics of brevity, suddenness, and immediate certainty...' "

• Article is not espousing the idea 'that genuine creativity is largely if not not entirely a matter of sudden, involuntary illumination or insight', but rather that 'creative achievements are often the product of different sorts of interacting psychological processes, including the stages of preparation, incubation, insight, and revision that have become commonplace in the literature on creativity.'

• conditions preceding flashes of insight should be that of a 'period of conscious work' in order to set in motion what Poincaré referred to as la machine inconsciente (the unconscious machine).

• 'inspiration must be accompanied by conscious effort: unless the researcher or artist makes a prior selection of the elements upon which the mind is to operate, the search will be too open ended and will most likely be fruitless as a result.' (This is exactly what I've been saying about how we operate as fashion designers - inspiration as constraint in order to narrow the field and generate a lexicon of design elements from which we can create a collection).

• Idleness might not actually be idleness - the times when an artist (or designer) sets aside their work in order to pursue other interests, when their minds are not consciously occupied with their work are still beneficial in finding solutions or insights. The 'unconscious machine' has been set in motion...

• "the key to innovation, be it conscious or unconscious, cannot simply be the application of 'a tremendous power of attention'... Having said this, however, the solution to how to be more creative is not to 'assume that the unconscious mental process' can identify new information or combinations. It seems that a mixture of hard work, research and then reflection is key. (This, I suppose, is something that we've always been told as students, but it is great to hear the why behind this!)

• "Invention consists precisely in not constructing useless combinations, but in constructing those that are useful, which are a tiny minority. To invent is to discern, to choose." (LOVE this - a beautiful way of expressing the process of refinement).

• All up, "... artistic creativity often arises from a multi-faceted process involving hard work, periods of idleness, unconscious cognitive activity, and episodes of inspiration, appreciation, and revision."
  

So... yeah... maybe this is the answer to the question I posited at the beginning of the semester, which was why do I get sudden thoughts/inspirations when I'm in the shower? It really does seem as though relaxing and doing something different helps sort out problems.

What I am left wondering though, is whether or not the knowledge that 'periods of idleness' can assist in maintaining the creative processes will help or hinder it. Perhaps it would come down to a matter of personality. Would telling yourself that you need to stop in order to interpret and process ideas stress you out? Or could you be comfortable in the knowledge that it will probably be beneficial?

I guess if you were concerned that you were wasting your time in 'relaxing' and not doing anything, then there probably would not be relaxing at all... and this would not be conducive to the desired 'breakthrough'. Perhaps the solution would be to do something like physical exercise, where there would be enough 'doing something different' (and in my case, pain because I am so unfit) to distract from the original task.

The only way to know would be to try these techniques out, and I imagine the results would vary greatly from person to person. If they were found to be useful, perhaps they could be scheduled in, or one could get into the routine of going for a run every time stress was taking its toll. Routine, after all, has been shown to be conducive to creativity.

Reading notes: Artistic Creativity, Style and Brain Disorders

Another definition: "The production of novel, motivated or useful material defines creativity, which appears to be one of the higher, specific, human brain functions."

From a neurological perspective, this article attempts to understand the creative process by studying brain disorders and their effect on creative output.

• "Neurological diseases in artists provide a unique opportunity to study brain-creativity relationships, in particular through the stylistic changes which may develop after brain lesion." (Thought: do these brain lesions affect motor control, etc, which would alter physical appearance in the creative works?)

• Four 'classical' phases of creativity are identified - "preparation, incubation, inspiration and production".

• Psychological mechanisms identified as being behind creativity include replication, redefinition, forward incrementation, redirection, reconstruction, re-initiation and integration.

• Characteristics of creative persons: openness, lack of conventionalism, playful thinking with risk taking.

• "Imagination abilities and integration of dream memories into reality are... features which may facilitate creativity."

• Ability to disengage from 'repressed' and 'controlled' mental processes can be beneficial in producing spontaneous expressions. Sleep and dreams have been connected with the dis-inhibition of brain mechanisms - 'next morning creativity'.

• Interesting definition of 'ambiguity' - "a possibility for the brain to evoke several perceptions, interpretations or solutions simultaneously." (From other readings, a tolerance for ambiguity has been highlighted as a personality trait in creative persons).

• Many areas of the brain are used in the process of creativity - a "complex combination of sensory, cognitive and motor activities" indicate that being creative is engaging the functions of the brain in an holistic capacity.

• "... style is the most personal signature of artistic production, which corresponds to the uniqueness of each individual and each brain."

Reading: Teaching Creatively and Teaching for Creativity (David J. Brinkman)

A straightforward yet clear overview about the different degrees of creativity, as well as how teachers might be creative in the way in which they themselves teach. Despite focusing upon the tuition of musicians, this offered some interesting quotes and thoughts about what creativity is and how the creative process might be supported.

• "Big C" and "little c" creativity - Big C creators are icons in the study of music, little c creators of 'ordinary' creativity... new interpretation of familiar piece of music.

• Personality traits associated with creative individuals: willingness to take risks, tolerance for ambiguity, intrinsic motivation, sense of humour, wide range of interests, persistence.

• "Creativity takes time. Although we may have flashes of insight, it takes time to work out the implications and uses of that insight."

• "Creativity happens when expertise, creative thinking skills and motivation overlap."

• "We can teach and model techniques for generating ideas, for being sensitive to personality traits the might encourage creative expression and risk taking in their work."

• Time needs to be allocated to creative activity. (Have a set routine?)
  

• 'Incubation' is part of the creative process - teaching situations can be structured so that students will recognise the value in allowing an idea to 'simmer'.

• Important for students to have joy and interest in what they are doing/learning.

• 3 facet model of creativity (Sternberg) - intellectual style (note to self: what is this?), intellect and personality are integrated in a creative person. They are also intrinsically motivated, curious, and have a desire to work for recognition.

... though I have to say, not a lot of this is 'new' or unexpected to me. But it is nice to have thoughts on this topic reinforced somewhat.

How to be creative

Came across this really interesting article about how having routine can actually improve your ability to create and think creatively.

The most fascinating part for me was the comparison of routine to hypnosis: "By repeating the same routine every day, all these creators are effectively hypnotizing themselves, deliberately altering their state of consciousness in order to access the 'deeper state of mind' that allows them to work their creative magic. The different elements of the routine become associated with this creative state of mind, so that they can re-enter it by simply repeating the steps of the routine."

The article also referenced the Daily Routines blog, which is filled with entries about the habits of artists, designers, scientists, etc, and how these might contribute to the creative process. The blog is currently on hold, but there is apparently a Daily Routines book out sometime this year. I'll be keeping my eyes peeled!

All of this got me thinking about whether or not I actually have any routines in place to help me be creative/productive... I probably do, but am not aware of them. More likely I have bad habits - working in places (like at the desk by my window), where I am seemingly compelled to be unproductive. From what this article is saying, I've hypnotised myself somewhat... whenever I sit here, force of habit compels me to not do work.

That said, there are places where I do seem to have sudden flashes of inspiration... like in the shower. I wonder if this happens to anyone else? This is something that I have personally attributed to the fact that I'm relaxed... once I've let go of the day a little bit and my mind isn't actually consciously thinking though the things I want to achieve, a lot of stuff often becomes a lot clearer.

Given all of this, I would love to be able to do a little survey of the fashion cohort at RMIT... lecturers and students. Just to find out if people do have habits to get themselves in the creative zone, or if they experience sudden flashes of inspiration (and if so, where and when these occur). Such feedback could hopefully really assist in refining some further areas for research. Although I am spurred on by the BIG(ger) question of 'What is creativity?', I am narrowing it down to a study of how people in creative fields can assist themselves to be more creative. This might cover a range of techniques, be a compilation of interviews (text or film format), or even a study of the interplay between raw talent and habit...

Phew. Was good to get some of those thoughts out. But will stop for the time being, as I don't want this post to be a big wall of text. I think I have stumbled upon a good creative habit for myself, though... writing. My head is currently churning with ideas...