How to be creative

pic found on reddit

There is an almost classic meme from an old American "How to Draw" instruction book.

"How to draw an owl."

On the left, in Figure One, you see a large vertical oval with a smaller circle on top, which is the very first outline for the body and head of the owl. On the right, in Figure 2, you see a highly detailed and perfectly realistic drawn owl.

The joke is that all the intermediate steps, all the details of the process, are missing. How to get from Figure 1 to Figure 2 remains unanswered in this meme.

Almost everyone can draw an oval and a circle. Almost no one can then draw an owl so realistically.

The meme highlights our universal desire for simple solutions. We want instructions and precise roadmaps. At the same time, the meme shows that it's usually impossible to jump directly from A to Z. It also illustrates our impulse to run away from the discomfort we feel when we don’t know exactly how to reach our goal.

For arts and design education most times, the available instructions, just like the owl example, are not enough for steering the process of a project.

Nevertheless, it's important to embark on the journey, to start with Figure 1. Even in the absence of complete knowledge, it's important – metaphorically speaking – to toss our juggling balls into the air, even if it’s still unclear how far they’ll fly, who will catch them, or how, or if they’ll be caught at all.

Our culture is very focused on the result. We rarely pay workers for their process. The finished installation is what counts. At the Olympics, no one cares about the hours of training, only the race time during the event. However, these results are only possible through commitment to the process. 

Susan Kare, who designed the Mac interface that many of us use daily, said: "We can't decide to paint a masterpiece. We can only work hard, think sharply, and put in lots of love and effort, collaborate smartly, and be open to the contributions of others – and then, maybe, there will be an audience for whom our work matters." And so, in the transmission of knowledge, it is important to start somewhere, not knowing what will follow.

I know it takes energy and courage to take a creative, uncertain, and not pre-planned path in arts and design education.

So, I ask the question: How do we stay creative?

Starting is important, even without pre-designed recipes. If there’s one thing we should practice, and you stick, too, it is experimenting. Please try things out, experiment and improvise, and don’t rely on instructions. It’s the same with the with cycling – without instructions, it's actually more fun.

So, forget about precise step-by-step instructions for a moment.

Because I know one thing for sure: If you create a rigid process plan for yourself, whether it's for educational settings, your art, or your career, and always follow the same method, it's a bit like farming a monoculture of corn or soybeans. At first, everything goes great, the yield increases, and you progress quickly – but eventually, the soil becomes depleted, and it turns acidic or tired, and you become sour or tired of the world or yourself. In the end, no one benefits from that.

To stick with the farming analogy: It takes new seeds, weeds, visitors, sun, and rain. In other words: inspiration, feedback, exchange, renewal, and variety.

Look around, stay in touch with what others are doing, consume and create art and design, participate in public events.  Stay engaged. Inspire yourselves.

You’re surely familiar with the morning rituals that are everywhere nowadays. I’m not asking you to meditate every morning, drink smoothies, or exercise – although that probably wouldn’t hurt.

Sstay committed to your creativity. The hard truth is: You're not automatically creative just because you studied at an art college for three, five, or more years. If you do something creative every day, then you are creative. Do something. Do something every day, whether it bears fruits or not. Trust in your practice of doing.

 Yes, I know, there are always excuses. We’re too old, too young, lacking time, lacking money. But the practice of doing – and I really include constructive thinking here – that will save you. You can trust in the doing. Because in the moments when internal and external conditions aren't ideal – and they aren’t, with wars and injustices around us – doing nothing or just repeating the same tired routines won't help. But there's your doing, which you can trust.

A great analogy is comic drawing. How many drafts end up in the "discard pile"? How many get further developed? It pays out to stay persistent, even if the discard pile is always higher than the development pile.

Trust yourselves. Focus on the process. Get others involved. Because when your work isn't centered around yourself, it’s even easier to start. You don't need to work on your star image. Do something for others instead.

We also can't wait to feel creative, to be in a creative mood, to develop a creative practice. Creativity is not just a feeling to wait for; it’s action. The much-desired "flow" in which we become one with our activities, doesn't come by itself. It comes when we start doing. The creative flow comes more likely when we act than when we dream of it and wait for the muse to kiss us. Flow is a symptom of creative work, not its cause.

We all tell ourselves stories in our heads – stories about how we imagine things, how we want them to unfold. Our stories are based on assumptions about the world and ourselves. Our stories shape our actions.

Often, these stories unfold in a way that we repeat what we know to avoid failure and unfamiliar terrain. But if we want to change our stories, we first need to change our actions. The world becomes, as we act.

And don't worry too much about whether your actions might cause friction. To quote Oscar Wilde: "Be yourself. Everyone else is already taken."

Sometimes, the thought of changing other people or situations causes discomfort. Do we have the right to do that? Are our ideas good enough? Do we even have something to say?

Donna Haraway's concept of "Staying with the Trouble" is no longer new, but it's still very relevant. For Donna Haraway, "staying with the trouble" means not giving up when a situation becomes uncomfortable or difficult. It means staying in a situation of uncertainty, where knowledge and expertise are being questioned or undermined. In those moments of uncertainty and fear, if we are brave, we can experience breakthroughs for ourselves and society. It’s about staying engaged in thinking, doing, and being creative. Donna Haraway points out that there are more ways to gain knowledge and insight than standardized methods. We learn to be creative through trial and error, failure, and recombination.

So, what is being creative about? Surely not about comfort. The exact knowledge of how to get from Figure 1 to Figure 2? It takes tension and discomfort. It takes "staying with the trouble." If we only focus on comfort and avoiding tension, sooner or later it becomes boring, and in the long run, nothing comes of it. Growth always requires friction or tension.

You probably all know Ron Weasley, Hermione Granger and Harry Potter. Together with their classmates at Hogwarts, they learn and follow many rules. But the three protagonists are always successful in their adventures - which influence their world - when they build on their knowledge of these rules to break and expand them. This happens in every volume.  

With Harry Potter I set a lame bridge to the owl I mentioned at the beginning.  What do I have to do to get from Figure 1 to Figure 2? What are the steps?

Every rule, every new method, was originally a creative act that broke with what was there before. So play with the methods and rules you know, question them, bend and break them, to expand and replace them.

Here come some pro tipps for creativity:

Creativity is a skill for action.

Avoid feelings of security.

Be yourself.

Listen to your target groups.

Results are by-products of the process.

Have fun.

Be generous.

Do your work and then put it out there.

Don't worry about likes and endorsements right away.

Be friends with stage fright.

Be suspicious of mediocrity.

Learn new skills.

Cause change.