The Importance of Nurturing Creativity in Young Minds
Life can be passed as a routine, or lived meaningfully; the choice is entirely ours. What does it mean to be creative in all that we take up in life? Can all of us be creative or is creativity inborn? The article takes us on this intriguing journey.
Arvind Dhondphalec is working in an alternative school named The Peepal Grove School. His interest is in working on developing the use of senses using creative exercises to understand self better with the help of ‘Nature’–one of our finest teachers.
Creativity is intelligence having fun – Albert Einstein
We have our own perception regarding creativity. Thinking creatively is a very interesting process. It has the potential to keep our intelligence alive and save it from getting stagnant.
But can creativity like other aspects of our being be nurtured? So that it can be understood better and help improve our lives. Can there be exercises which help to nurture creativity?
I remember one of the many exercises I generally enjoy doing with teenagers. Since I come from an Arts background my exercises also revolve around it. In this particular exercise I ask the participants to draw their friends from a very different perspective. One has to sit in front of one’s friend and observe his/her face and then try to draw it from the front side in their own way. After the drawing is finished I ask them to divide it into four parts from the centre. Then for each part different mediums can be used, like pencil, color pencils, water colors or oil pastels. Before coloring they have to think of designs, forms or patterns. With this each part will look interesting. One can think of four different real, fictional or imaginary characters as a reference to develop four different parts of the same face.
Whenever the exercise is going on I have observed certain things. When one is drawing his/friend one generally connects to the subject immediately. I insist that the participants don’t have to worry about their skills of drawing or painting. It also helps them to create their own designs or patterns. One gets a chance to use different media in a single artwork. It gives the student a chance to incorporate his/her favorite character in the drawing and in the end it becomes his /her own visual expression. There are many creative practices happening in one exercise. This is about creativity from the perspective of art.
Creativity is one of the most important phenomena in human life. We belong to a society where creativity is generally associated only with Art. But one feels that creativity is essential in every walk of life. That is the reason it becomes very important to understand creativity better. When I try to understand it, it makes me think that a scientist cannot become a scientist without creativity. A mathematician cannot become one without creative thinking. This thought helps to broaden the understanding of creativity.
Creativity helps one change one’s perspective towards life too. It can suggest amazing solutions besides leading us towards positive thinking. This helps one look at problems as opportunities for creativity. It also helps one accept situations as they are.
We tend to remain in our comfort zone and try to avoid coming out of it. Creative thinking makes us come out of our comfort zones and take action. There can be times when creativity can give you sleepless nights because it does not accept the obvious solution. It always keeps pushing you to go for the better solution.
That’s the reason why Henry Matisse said: “ Creativity takes courage.” It also makes you stop making compromises with situations or with yourself.
It is important to nurture creativity, also because it helps you to come out of the fear of being ‘wrong’ or of ‘failing’. And for me, this is one of the important aspects of creativity.
I feel that creativity is the fundamental need of time. Creative thinking has to be encouraged and practiced from early childhood itself. If we see the works of great people who have made a difference in this world, we can understand its importance. It is because of creativity that designers can design, architects can visualize and make beautiful constructions, scientists are able to discover, film directors make memorable films and writers leave a lasting impact with their work. In other words, creativity is not only vast but also a deep phenomenon.
When we are able to observe ourselves, we can easily see that when we create something we become happy. Creativity leads to happiness. The creative approach towards whatever we do, adds happiness to it. When something is done creatively, the process gives a sense of fulfillment to us. It’s like celebrating the action of doing. When I’m saying this, what I mean is that it is not necessary that somebody has to become a painter or poet or writer to be creative. One can start with small daily actions, provided that we do it in a new way or differently. It can be as small as folding a blanket in the morning, preparing tea or coffee, arranging the shelves, trying different arrangements and utilizing the available space in the living room. These small things done differently also increase our awareness about the surroundings and we start respecting the daily useful actions and things that we did not notice earlier.
Being creative is also about enjoying every bit of life. As far as students are concerned, creative thinking can help them look at studies from a different perspective than in the same boring routine or just mugging it up.
It’s also important to introduce creativity or creative thinking to young minds in schools or colleges. The main reason behind this is that it leads the individual towards thinking in his/her own unique way. I think the reason why Henry Matisse says that ‘Creativity takes courage’ is because it is like a journey towards an unknown territory. And that is why when we introduce creativity to young minds, they need support both from teachers and parents. It is very important that this process is understood by teachers as well as parents. Once they start understanding the process more they will support the child. It can be started on individual levels or in small groups.
What I’ve started is sharing it or working on it, with small groups. It has to be done with care and proper observation. It is my observation that it happens slowly but definitely. Most importantly each and every one of us has the potential for creativity. With the help of creativity we can reach the ultimate goal of human life i.e. the fullest growth and freedom of the soul. In my own creative way I feel I must encourage and help cultivate the creative potential of whoever I come in contact with.
This article is published in The New Leam, FEBRUARY 2017 Issue( Vol .3 No.20) and available in print version. To buy contact us or write at thenewleam@gmail.com
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