Recently, I was on the Art of Education’s podcast to chat about my favorite topic, Creativity - duh.
Towards the end of our interview, I was asked, should other pursuits stay separate from art making, and we let that creative pursuit stand on its own?
Which sort of stumped me.
Considering that I have a shocking belief that Creativity is more than visual artworks.
As an art educator, I feel that students’ talents and habits are exactly what they should be exploring and expressing. Why not tap into that intrinsic motivation? Here’s where Flow State Psychology has been so key in my teaching career - what if I could get my students’ engaged the same way I’ll wake up at 4:30am on a Saturday to go snowboarding in Colorado?
Because some of my first flow experiences were snowboarding, playing in my childhood woods, and drawing endlessly in my sketchbooks.
Flow is a state of mind in which a person becomes fully immersed in an activity.
That’s what I want students to feel when they are in my classroom. Helping them connect those similar feelings outside of the classroom - that’s what helps them see themselves as creatives.
Art making is (one) of my vehicles to Creativity. Teaching students how to draw or paint is a way they can try it out, but ideally I want them to connect to their own experiences with Creativity, whatever that looks like. Let’s face it, most of the time the response from people when they find out I’m an art teacher is “well I can’t draw a stick figure, I’m not Creative!”
Which breaks my little art teacher heart and makes me want to scream out that Creativity is so much more than your ability to produce an art project. Just because drawing is difficult for you does not automatically take your human creativity away.
Creativity, to me, is fun, drawing in my sketchbook, riding my bike, snowboarding culture, design, making my friends laugh, writing postcards to loved ones, connecting learning for my students, dancing at a silent disco, and more.
It’s way more than art making. It’s way more than art making for you too.
What does Creativity look like for you?
Creativity is _________________.
Now, go do it.
happy creating,
slu