The Psychology of Creativity By Summer Tessneer he thing that makes life so endurable is that it can be reinvented by the individuals who experience it. With creativity in their arsenal, they examine everyday situations from entirely new perspectives, improving upon the culture and quality of people’s lives. Experts say that before someone can access their full potential for creativity, they must be encouraged to indulge in it. “When I teach drawing, the first skill I try to communicate is close observation, and I think that's the breakthrough skill of creativity,” Stephanie Jung, an Amarillo College art professor, said. Taylor Burton, a graphic design major, said that Jung’s drawing 2 class has helped her explore her creative ability. “This class and Stephanie Jung are great at helping me tap into my creativity,” Burton said. “I’m introduced to new techniques, new mediums and thoughtful prompts. So far, I’ve really enjoyed the pareidolia project. This is where we start with a layer of something light like watercolor, add layers or use different mediums on top, and let the piece tell us what it’s going to be, based on what we see.” In this class, students are responsible for cultivating their own ideas and allowed to make whatever they like. “I’ve grown in my creativity by being able to explore new materials, use the outdoors as inspiration, and be
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more imaginative with our assignments,” Burton said. “It hasn’t been just a ‘draw what’s in front of you’ class, but more of ‘choose what you feel like drawing’ class. And that helps me to be more creative as a whole.” Dr. Deborah Harding, a psychology professor, said creatives have a willingness to struggle and stretch themselves, to think and imagine without limitations. This produces captivating ideas. “The biggest thing that a creative person has is they aren't afraid to fail,” she said. “Creative people are okay with making mistakes, with screwing up, with trying something new. They have the ability to think outside the box. They don't automatically reach for the easy thing. They will struggle with a problem and think of other ways to solve it than the most obvious thing.” According to Alan Kee, a psychology professor, the essence of creativity is original, valuable ideas. Before these ideas can manifest, one must nurture their creativity. “A certain level of aptitude is necessary for creativity. It correlates somewhat with intelligence. In order to be creative, you need to have a foundational knowledge base. You have to have something there to work with. For example, an artist can be more creative once he or she has mastered the fundamentals of art,” he said. Creative people need a healthy balance of the right atmosphere and stimulus to better their ability. “Creative people are interested and
motivated by the work itself and not so much by the extrinsic motivators. They also tend to have an environment of support and challenge by the people around them. They are mentored, challenged and supported,” he said. Jung noted that creativity is often related to intelligence. “The most intelligent people I know are creatives. Creativity is also about looking for patterns. Something that I've noticed about my artist friends is that they are much more aware of patterns in society, patterns of behavior, and where things seem out of place,” Jung said. “Also, it's important to remember there are multiple definitions of intelligence. Our education systems emphasize certain types above others. Tests and ‘assessments’ often have difficulty eliciting or tracking creative responses, and whenever we are ‘trained’ to respond by rote, creativity will suffer.” Jung cautioned against making generalizations about creative people. Nevertheless, she said she sees common traits that most creatives have. “I know creatives that are very shy and reticent, and others that are bold and audacious, or both, depending on the day, but creative people tend to be obsessively observant, and see things other people miss. They think about things other people tend to pass over,” she said. Both psychologists and artists agree that creativity is like a plant. When given enough water, sunlight and room to grow, it can evolve into something amazing.
“The biggest thing that a creative person has is they aren’t afraid to fail.”
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Artwork by Stephanie Jung
Photo by Taylor Burton
Photo by Taylor Burton
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