Joe’s comment made me think that we should maybe begin with defining what creativity means to us, as we clearly have different interpretations of the word. I went back to the data I gathered for a collaborative, HEA funded project on creativity in 2010. I examined the perceptions and experiences of two groups of university students, (a) creative and performing artists, (b) students from any other discipline (Willis, J. (2010a) Becoming a Creative Professional. Full report available at: http://creativeinterventions.pbworks.com/w/page/27822835/Becoming-a-Creative-Professional).
Here are what the creative artists associated with the term ‘creative’ in their professional context:
· creativity enhances level of professionalism and amount you can contribute
· creativity makes your work original
· creativity (as teacher) can inspire students to be creative
· being able to cope with range of situations
· think quickly and find solutions
· pick and mix from various perspectives
· curiosity, experimentation; explore ‘more than the obvious’; ‘thinking outside the box’
· be open-minded
· responsibility
· organised and calculated
· self-confidence
· make bold choices
· sensitivity
· ‘get the consumer thinking’
· understanding artists/performers and working with their needs
· moving in an expressive way
· understanding others and other cultures
· express emotion through the instrument
· self-discipline
· self-motivation
· emulate people’s feelings and attitudes towards life
· know your technical abilities
· provoking a response from the audience
· despite politics, respect integrity
· manners and courtesy
· dedication, commitment
· flair
· ambition and resilience
· ability to compromise
This comprises a diverse range of personal dispositions, but one or two pick up the idea of commerce.
Kevin asks what I mean by intellectual creativity. This is hard to define as I think the cognitive process is involved in whatever I create, be it analytical research, finding patterns in data, writing a poem, arranging a display of flowers, imagining and fabricating a piece of embroidery, designing a photo album etc etc. They all start with an image in my ‘mind’, may draw on experience, fantasy, sensations, emotions …
Here are what the creative artists associated with the term ‘creative’ in their professional context:
· creativity enhances level of professionalism and amount you can contribute
· creativity makes your work original
· creativity (as teacher) can inspire students to be creative
· being able to cope with range of situations
· think quickly and find solutions
· pick and mix from various perspectives
· curiosity, experimentation; explore ‘more than the obvious’; ‘thinking outside the box’
· be open-minded
· responsibility
· organised and calculated
· self-confidence
· make bold choices
· sensitivity
· ‘get the consumer thinking’
· understanding artists/performers and working with their needs
· moving in an expressive way
· understanding others and other cultures
· express emotion through the instrument
· self-discipline
· self-motivation
· emulate people’s feelings and attitudes towards life
· know your technical abilities
· provoking a response from the audience
· despite politics, respect integrity
· manners and courtesy
· dedication, commitment
· flair
· ambition and resilience
· ability to compromise
This comprises a diverse range of personal dispositions, but one or two pick up the idea of commerce.
Kevin asks what I mean by intellectual creativity. This is hard to define as I think the cognitive process is involved in whatever I create, be it analytical research, finding patterns in data, writing a poem, arranging a display of flowers, imagining and fabricating a piece of embroidery, designing a photo album etc etc. They all start with an image in my ‘mind’, may draw on experience, fantasy, sensations, emotions …