So what is the creative process? The general consensus it that it is how we generate ideas. One online article I looked at to remind me about the creative process wrote of five stages. The five stages mentioned were inspiration, percolation,preparation, creation, and reflection. All of which do describe components of the creative process. I just think these are worthy of exploration, and I think there is a bit more to it all. My curiosity has me wondering about how the mind uses creativity. I see it as the mind stores information up and we pull it up to use it.
I will start with inspiration. So many things are inspirational. What inspires one of us may not inspire another. What inspirations we have is unique to us as it stems from our own perceived ideas and experiences. We store our ideas in our brains. The brain is like a large filing cabinet! What inspires us, excites us into using what we know and puts us into action using multiple files. The more we do the more information is stored. Big place that filing cabinet!
It seems that once we call up an idea of what inspires us we all of a sudden have a widget or app that takes us directly to our creativity center. It is here that we begin to peculation into action, and we call upon what fits the bill. What works for this or that project. Sometime what we peculate changes the concept we are building on. We may think: “What message can I create if I bend “this” (use the idea) in a certain way.” It is stacking up pros and cons by using known and discovered associations. Sometimes___,and other times___ it seems it is for the sake of beauty or even ugliness. The ying and yang of things, and having found this we know the balance. Is it the balance we are after at times?
The goal? Well it is meant to generate emotions___feelings, thoughts, reactions___. We test drive these with our own responses. We rely on our viewers to respond as we do or perceive they will. Those listening or reading to respond with one of their five senses. Some creative include touch and smell.
Years ago when in college a fellow artist put a cows tongue in a bowl of milk for an exhibition. Need I say more about what happened with this? I doubt anyone tasted it. But to smell we do taste effectively, without smelling we would not taste. Gross? In this case yes!
Reflection, is thought; it is what we can bring into our thought process that we create with. What ever “it is”, is not always meant to be obvious. Sometimes it is meant to be found later.
The viewer or a reader of the written word;who is a viewer as well. (Think on this thought.) The song writer is included here as he is a poet. We all bring what we believe into what we do. Our minds works through touching on associations. We reflect until we grasp on something that will express what we want to convey. We choose which way to go with our ideas. What are we after? What do we want the viewer to understand. What are those possibilities? Success comes with understanding the complexities that exist in all things. Even simple is complex if we dig deep enough.
My interests as an example are: art, writing, poetry, psychology, behavioral science, physics, how music affects us, logic, interpersonal communication, philosophy and art therapy. Over the years I have been educated regarding these interests; either through education or though studies of my own, reading and researching topics. I see these as being things as components that are all connected. Arguments can be made regarding how these can be paired. We just need to understand what each is. Simply equations are made to be followed and they generate ideas. Ideas become creativity. We respond to what we create knowing the likelihood that others will in a similar way.
It took me a while to understand I did bring my interest into my work. I rely on my understanding of how people communicate, think, feel, and the psychology of being human beings. I express this through my art and my writing.
the branch of science concerned with the nature and properties of matter and energy. The subject matter of physics, distinguished from that of chemistry and biology, includes mechanics, heat, light and other radiation, sound, electricity, magnetism, and the structure of atoms.
Physics is an interesting application when it comes to art. There is a connection. The concept of physics to society is importance and generally I don’t think we think of its association with art. But first what do we understand physics to be? It is fundamental knowledge applied in certain technologies which “drive the economic engines of the world. Physics contributes to the technological infrastructure and provides trained personnel needed to take advantage of scientific advances and discoveries.”
My interest is “the physical properties and phenomena of something” ___it is what is known as being “The physics of life.”
“According to constructal law, life is movement that evolves freely, in both animate and inanimate spheres. Alive are all the freely changing flow configuration.” What comes to mind is action art. When we apply action art we become a part of an equation. Our bodies and just how we do the actions becomes a part of the equation. This is physics when broken down. The word physical means “relating to physics or the operation of natural forces generally.” Certain things happen when we take certain actions. The brain is involved in this endeavor as well. It involves probability as well. Likelihood. What happens with paint is randomness. Think of Jackson Pollock. A very creative man. He used his whole body to create on those large canvases. What ever we do involves the mind and the body. The mind sends messages to the body. We are connected to what we do during the creative process. There is a oneness. Take good look at the way action art, abstract art is often created. (Think about the purpose of art movements.) Art Deco takes the eye on a pleasant journey, movement through sight!
You can find the following definition on the internet. “Physics(originated from Latin word Physica which means ‘natural thing’) is a field of science, mainly focuses on matter & energy and the relationship between them. Physics is used heavily in engineering. For example, statics, a subfield of mechanics, is used in the building of bridges and other static structures. The understanding and use of acoustics results in sound control and better concert halls; similarly, the use of optics creates better optical devices.” And then you read: “The Physics of Life. “According to constructal law, life is movement that evolves freely, in both animate and inanimate spheres. Alive are all the freely changing flow configurations and and rhythms that facilitate flow and offer greater access to movement.”
Have you ever spend time with a piece of art because you wanted to figure it out. Have you read and then reread a book which you might not have read but it caught you up in its magic perhaps because of just a couple lines___the food for thought?
Now a leap back in time and a return to other thoughts. Years ago I was part of an artist group put together by a gentleman and his wife, David and Jerry Greenham. It was called The Pro Arts Gallery, and I helped to put the show up, and manned it. One day an elderly lady and her middle aged son came in. There were several well known artist as members. Wally Warren being one. Wally a found object sculpture had brought in a piece that was accentualy an oblique with things attached to it. There was a rake, a flip flop and other things. I recall these because they eventually drew the mother and son in. They came in, and it was the first thing they saw. The mother commented first. “And they call that art!!!!” The sun grunts a response. I simply observe. They worked their way around coming back before this several times. The son then speaks. “The flip flop makes me think of when we went to____ (it was a camp or lake somewhere but obviously a favorite place.) ___that was a lot of fun! I will always remember it!” The mother then responds with a nod and says “Yes! It was____my grandfather had an old rake like that____.” I stepped up behind them, leaning towards them, and said, “It’s working!” They smiled. I think they saw art differently after that.
Wally’s work is interesting in that his mediums. Simple found things, paint, saws, nails, screws, etc. What was found were everyday things that mean something to people when viewed. Personal experiences are tugged at. All senses are tugged at. When I saw the rake on Wally’s oblique I recalled using my father rake to dig potatoes in the garden, and with other things done by my father, uncle and mother. I had my own flip flops, and bought them for my children. There is a certain noise that comes with flip flops and always will. The bright colors Wally used drew in in, like a yellow finch flying across in front of me. I sought to see what “it” was. The I followed this “road map” all over the work. The movements Wally applied to create this piece where physical. The actions he did were to pain, to hammer, to saw or cut the point of the oblique. The bottom needed to be flat. He was apart of the making. It was his creative process.
My area is in art and writing. I understand lyrics as poetry. I do not know fully understand music although I do know it was a part of the surrealist movement.
Pejj Nunes
9/27/2021
Anisette Studios & Shibui Fine Arts 