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How To Be Creative At Any Age
I am a student of creativity, even did postgraduate work in the field; however, no creativity theory, class or book taught me more about creativity than a little old lady I met half-way around the world while working in Southeast Asia.
It all began the moment I stepped off the plane in a remote island in Indonesia. As I made my way across the tarmac, I noticed an older woman wearing a batik moo-moo and a pair of running shoes. She was holding two coconuts in one hand and a machete in the other.
“Welcome to Manado”, the woman called out to me. “I’m Gayle. I’ll take you to your new home; but first, try the best drink in the country,” she said as she sliced off the tops of each coconut. “Drink up.”
I took one of the coconuts but, I must admit, hesitated to “drink up.” Gayle saw my hesitation and inserted a straw into the top of my coconut, “There you go, that will make it easier. First lesson in this country,” she said. “Coconut water is clean and readily available, a good thing in a country lacking proper water sanitation facilities. If you don’t like the taste, learn to like it. It’s called surviving in a new environment.” She motioned me to follow her.
I managed a smile and sipped at the coconut water. Minutes later, she was weaving a jeep through traffic while pointing to the mountain that loomed before us, “See up there, that’s where you’ll live. Probably the most spectacular home you’ll ever have,” She said cutting off a jeep.“It’s not everyone who gets to live on the side of a volcano.”
“A volcano?” I questioned. “Sounds risky!”
“It could be, but ol’ Kalabt hasn’t erupted in 500 years; so I say, ‘only worry when it’s necessary’. Anyway, worrying is overrated!” She laughed right out loud.
Then, without notice she cranked the steering wheel to the right and swung the jeep onto a dirt road scattered with chickens, goats and three boys playing ball. “Let’s get lunch.” She stopped the car in front of a small house. As we entered, a young girl greeted us with a warm bundle of something wrapped in shiny green leaves. She pointed to a small wicker table across the room. The floor was hard packed dirt and I was surprised how clean it looked. Ironic, I thought.
Gayle plopped down at the table, “Meet the all mighty banana leaf,” she said, holding the leaf packet up to me. “Use it as a plate, wrapping paper, umbrella or toilet paper, whatever you need it to be. In this country it’s man’s best friend.”
I stared at Gayle as she continued raving about the banana leaf, but I silently wondered how I could eat whatever was inside. Gayle, satisfied she had sold me on the leaf, unwrapped her leaf package exposing a mixture of cooked vegetables covered in a brownish sauce. One look and I was sure I couldn’t eat it.
“Today’s lunch, Gado-Gado, vegetables topped in peanut sauce,” she said pointing to the mixture. “This is goooood stuff”, she took a big bite with a large spoon. “This is a national dish and super healthy. You’ll get used to it for a host of reasons. Suspend judgment and try it”. I followed Gayle’s instruction. I tried it and she was right, it was good.
Over that meal, I learned that Gayle was a retired AT&T worker, had 5 grown children, and an ex-husband who had ‘hightailed’ it off with a younger woman. And to top it all off, he took their savings and sold the house out from under her.
“Wow,” I said between bites of Gado Gado, “I think I would have sued the old guy.” “Yes, that’s what everyone said; but, I figured I didn’t have that many years left. I knew this was a wrong that couldn’t be righted. So, I took on the mantra, ‘This too shall pass.’ Then I applied for this job of teaching foreign university professors’ children here in this island paradise,” she said.
“I think that is a total cop-out,” I said right out loud. Gayle seemed more and more clueless.
“That’s what it might look like,” she answered. “I’ve never regretted the decision to come here.” She paused and looked out the window, “And what’s really exciting, three of my grandchildren have spent the summer with me. Life can’t get any better than that! I even taught them to scuba dive in Indonesia’s world class coral reefs.”
As we finished our banana leaf lunch, we headed for my new home. “I’m not much into advice giving,” Gayle said. “But before you disregard the mantra ‘this too shall pass,’ try it. It will open doors, peoples’ hearts, and transforms the way you live.”
“It just sounds so passive,” I said. “Time will tell,” is all she said.
Before long I was settled into the routine of teaching. Gayle lived across the lawn in a thatched roof bungalow. On weekends, Gayle’s house was abuzz with activity and laughter as Indonesian and expat children came to play with her vast collection of Legos. Several times a year Gayle arranged exhibits of the children’s creations. Then, when the holidays rolled around, her house was once again open to children and adults alike, as she hosted parties, soirees, and what she called ‘cultural exchanges’.
Political unrest in Indonesia cut short my time, so within two years I was back in California and Gayle was living in the mid-west, near her children. But, those two years working alongside Gayle changed the way I looked at everything. Gayle had taught me life is what you make it. There is unending love, happiness, and creativity in the world. I learned that everyone has creative and leadership capacity. It’s our job to discover and develop it!
“That’s our God-given task, to discover our potential and share it with the world,” that’s what Gayle said. If she said it once, she said it a thousand times. It wasn’t until later, as a wife and mother, that I realized just how much of a creative genius Gayle was. When I began my postdoctoral work in creativity, I noticed that every creativity expert or theory I studied reminded me of Gayle.
Psychologists of the mid-twentieth century tried to tell us that our creative spirits fade as we grow older, but findings from new research show us that our creativity doesn’t fade. Those living longer today prove this to be true. For example, Lucille Ball didn’t begin her acting career until she was 41. Colonel Sanders launched KFC after he was 65.
Think back to when you were 5 years old, your innate creative spirit was alive and thriving; however, along the way many of us lose touch with our creative self through education, work, and life in general. It’s understandable, not inevitable. It’s by our trying to be what society expects from us that we drift away from our creative selves. Research shows us we can reconnect with our creative self. We can all BE A GAYLE.
Just in case you haven’t had a Gayle in your life, here are some simple ways you can reconnect with your creative self, whatever your age:
- See with fresh eyes (even if your eyesight is fading)
- Suspend Judgment (for at least 5 minutes)
- Have a YES-AND attitude (Say YES AND instead of NO BUT)
- Laugh each day (the crisis of today is the joke of tomorrow)
- Don’t be afraid to fail (we learn more from our failures than our successes)
- Try something new each day or week (big or small – just something new)
- Embrace with an open mind, heart, and will (Be present with what is happening)
- Make friends with someone from another generation (You just might learn something)
- Forgive (forgiveness makes us become learners instead of judgers)
It’s neither complicated nor rocket science –- if a little old lady half-way across the world can do it, we all can.
So, when faced with problems, stress, and unhappiness, embrace Gayle’s mantra “This too shall pass” and try one of the above suggestions. Live the life God intended you to live.
Be a Gayle and let your creative spirit soar – the world is waiting.
Image by pdbreen
Karen is an Educational Psychologist with a doctoral degree in Creativity, Innovation, and Leadership. When she's not busy being creative at home, you can find her teaching others to be creative at work. Karen is co-founder and director of Florida Hospital's Innovation Lab, in Orlando Florida.
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Applying the Techniques of Film & TV to Visualisation
This one hour session will focus on providing an overview of leading film techniques, and how you can stand out from the crowd by applying these to your visualisation work. Attend this webinar to learn the latest techniques for becoming a visualisation professional and see how the powerful toolset of the 3ds Max Entertainment Creation Suite can help you achieve your creative vision. The session will also include time for Q&A.
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Meet the Experts: Inside the Right Brain of The Artery VFX
Join special guest, Vico Sharabani, ECD/CEO (aka Right-Brain) at The Artery VFX, as he explores how the new workflow in Flame Premium 20th Anniversary Edition workflow has affected his daily life as a visual effects artist and supervisor.
Renowned for his expertise in 3D, and with a portfolio that includes commercials for Nike, Mercedes, and AT&T, music videos for Coldplay, Rihanna, Nicki Minaj, and Kanye West, Vico will share how he is taking advantage of the new open workflow between the Desktop, Timeline, and Batch in Flame Premium to create stunning visual effects.
Vico will also show how he uses the new library structure and applies new organizational principals to his projects in Flame Premium to work more efficiently.
Join us for this informative webinar and see how Vico is adapting to the Flame Premium 20th Anniversary Edition.
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Art Evolution: The history of art in ten steps
Art is a form of expression and it is intimately connected with the human evolution and the history of humanity. Therefore it is subjected to a constant change and motion. That’s the reason why art in the past and nowadays is indispensable for human entity. The following infographic explains the development of art history in 10 steps.
The infographic introduces the different artistic movements, starting with cave paintings, the earliest traces of art, over the ancient Greece, famous for their architecture and sculpture, presenting the epochs Gothic, with the representatives Giotto and Pisano, the Renaissance, with Rafael and Botticelli and the Baroque, with Rubens and Rembrandt.
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How To Find And Do Work You Love
Scott Dinsmore's mission is to change the world by helping people find what excites them and build a career around the work only they are capable of doing. He is a career change strategist whose demoralizing experience at a Fortune 500 job launched his quest to understand why 80% of adults hate the work they do, and more importantly, to identify what the other 20% were doing differently. His research led to experiences with thousands of employees and entrepreneurs from 158 countries. Scott distilled the results down to his Passionate Work Framework - three surprisingly simple practices for finding and doing work you love, that all happen to be completely within our control. He makes his career tools available free to the public through his community athttp://LiveYourLegend.net
In the spirit of ideas worth spreading, TEDx is a program of local, self-organized events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience. At a TEDx event, TEDTalks video and live speakers combine to spark deep discussion and connection in a small group. These local, self-organized events are branded TEDx, where x = independently organized TED event. The TED Conference provides general guidance for the TEDx program, but individual TEDx events are self-organized.* (*Subject to certain rules and regulations)
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TURN YOUR DOODLES INTO LASTING MEMORIES!
Any self-respecting artist owns a sketchbook; some even use them occasionally. Not very many artists use one regularly for much beyond doing small sketches or value studies for larger studio paintings. I was in the same boat until I discovered how valuable a sketchbook could be.
I was taking a trip to Italy. I knew I wanted to do some small paintings while in a culture so rich with art—a trip of a lifetime! I had been doing plein air painting, but I knew I could not carry much while traveling abroad. So, I bought my first watercolor sketchbook and a pocket-size watercolor set. I was so enchanted with my little watercolor sketches and had such a rich experience creating them that I knew I had found a new expression for my creativity.
That first little sketchbook sparked a curiosity and excitement to explore where a sketchbook could take me. Not wanting to wait until my next vacation, I bought another watercolor journal and began to use my sketchbook when I went out to do plein air painting. The smaller setup and format worked well, and instead of a bunch of small, loose sketches scattered about the studio, they were bound and easily accessible for reference.
As my love for the sketchbook experience grew, and since I knew I had not invented the wheel, I began looking for books on the subject. I was pleasantly surprised to find a wealth of information and materials for the "art" of keeping a sketchbook "journal." The more I used my journals in different ways, the more personal and important they became to me as an artist.
Over the next several months I'd like to share with you my journey and the different ways you can incorporate this experience into YOUR life. I call it an experience because the very act of using them is intentional. These journals are personal, they are motivational, and they are therapeutic. They are, in effect, anything you want them to be. They are an experience you can pull off the shelf and relive. They are an art form in themselves, and I think you will find that these small but powerful tools will affirm and strengthen your voice as an artist.
Have I piqued your interest? Let's get you started! Your journals will grow with you, and in time you will find a brand or type of journal that works best for you, but for now, keep it simple and inexpensive.
1. Select your sketchbook
Go to your nearest art or craft supply store and find either a hardbound or spiral-bound Sketchbook. It will need to allow for some experimentation with water-based paints or ink, so it's best if the paper has some weight to it.
Lighter weight paper, usually 65# for drawing, will not give you the broadest use. Find a sketchbook with paper at least 90# in weight. Watercolor sketchbooks are even better at 140#.
As for size, I like them to be small enough for my purse. An 8x10 can be opened and used as large as 16x20 on two pages. The selection is endless, so don't get carried away or spend a lot. This first sketchbook will be a learning tool.
You will also need a pencil and eraser for your journaling.
2. Decide on a medium
If you already have a preferred medium, start there. Mine is watercolor.
For now, use what you have. I will discuss colored and watercolor pencils, ink, watercolor, water soluble pencils, and crayons in a later article.
Pastel pencils and even oil pastels or oils paints can be used, but I don't use these because they take too long to dry and smudge when the book closes.
3. Make it happen!
For the next few days, I'd like you to record simple things. Every few days, add a drawing (with or without color) done in less than 10 minutes. Just enjoy the process.
Next month, I will begin with the “hows and whys” of travel journaling. Since we are heading into the summer and many of you will be vacationing, let's get you journaling those travels right away!
The following month we will explore the more frequent uses of a sketchbook, such as daily journals used to record whatever you fancy and to enrich your artistic voice in an everyday setting.
We will also look at idea journals, where we’ll explore how far to take hobbies, projects, and ideas for larger finished works.
The fourth article in our series will cover more personal journaling. In this article, I will share how and why you should record memories, personal milestones, and dreams.
As you can see, there are as many applications for the sketchbook journal as there are people who use them. I want to show you how versatile a sketchbook can be and inspire you to fill volumes of journals with your personal vision and voice. Let the journey begin!
Michelle is an artist/writer living and creating in Columbus Ohio. To see more of her work visit her blog, Living a Creative Life, or visit her website.
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The SIGGRAPH Technical Papers
The SIGGRAPH Technical Papers program is the premier international forum for disseminating new scholarly work in computer graphics and interactive techniques. SIGGRAPH 2013 brings together thousands of computer graphics professionals, 21-25 July 2013, Anaheim, California, USA. Learn more at www.siggraph.org/s2013.
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RailClone 2 Demo Reel
RailClone is a 3DS Max plugin for parametric modeling based on custom geometry parts, definable by the user, and a set of construction rules. This new concept of modeling lets you to build complex and realistic structures for Architectural Visualization, Civil Engineering, Industrial and Interior Design.
RailClone 2 Demo Reel from iToo Software on Vimeo.
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Must Have Tool For All Architectural Illustrators
LightTrac is a must have tool for all outdoor Architectural Illustrators. Quickly determine at what time and location the light conditions are perfect to shoot your subjects outdoors. The elevation and angle of Sun changes throughout the year depending on the location, date and time of day, LightTrac calculates the elevation and angle of Sun or Moon for any date & time, for any place on earth and plots it on top of a satellite map. Armed with this information and with an extremely easy to use interface, you can now plan your photoshoot even several months ahead of time and position yourself at the right spot at the right time for the perfect shot.
Whether you are a landscape or Architectural Illustrators, a wedding or sports photographer you will love what LightTrac has to offer.
LightTrac is not just useful to photographers, but its also useful to architects, real-estate buyers, solar panel owners/installers, gardeners, travelers or for any outdoor person interested in knowing any info about the Sun or the Moon.
Features
- Scout for new locations using a map for the perfect sunlight angle or for a backdrop with a rising/setting moon
- Find Angle and Elevation of Sun for any location and time
- Find Angle and Elevation of Moon for any location and time
- Find Sunrise, Sunset and Twilight times for any day
- Find Moonrise, Moonset times for any day
- Search locations by address, city or zipcode
- Save multiple locations and switch between them easily
- Does automatic timezone detection
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5 Great iPad Apps for Architects
An iPad might not replace your laptop or home computer, but that doesn’t mean that you can’t get some work done on one or have a little bit of creativity time. Let’s look at some apps that you might find fun or useful.
1) Autodesk® FormIt – Free
Autodesk FormIt is a fantastic app for being a free offering. FormIt is Autodesk’s answer to programs like Rhino and especially SketchUp. If you have an afternoon, you can learn this app. If you know SketchUp, it will take less time than that. FormIt comes with a plethora of tutorials to get you started, let’s you do your BIM on satelite images, and is easy to use. You can also sync your files with in the cloud with Autodesk® 360 and Revit. For free, this app seems like a great choice.
Autodesk® FormIt – itunes.apple.com
2) Procreate – $4.99
While not necessarily geared towards the architectural community, Procreate is a great app for doing simple, to very complicated sketches. It’s a great tool to have around so that you can ensure you can get your ideas onto your iPad before you forget them and they are lost forever. The app is easy to learn, and reasonably priced at $4.99. It does feature some in-app purchases, however, they give you a lot of tools out of the gate so that they don’t nickel and dime you. I would also recommend a stylus with this app.
3) Architizer – Free
Architizer is an online forum for sharing architecture pictures and information. While I found the website somewhat interesting, the iPad app seems to be a much better fit for the content. The Architizer iPad app allows you to scroll through numerous pictures of architectural installations. When you tap on a picture, the app gives you information about the building, the designer, the location, and other information. The app reminds me a lot of pinterest or flipboard, but for the design of buildings. You can also share what you find through twitter and other forms of social media.
4) Morpholio – Free
Morpholio is the portfolio for the modern person. Instead of carrying around a giant folder featuring your work, you can now display it using your iPad. Not only does it help you organize your work, you can also share it, follow other architects, and create layouts. It’s a great way to showcase who you are and what you do.
5) iDraw -$8.99
iDraw is a great tool for making vector images. While not as robust as Illustrator or some of Autodesk’s offerings, it works great for the iPad and is a great jumping off point for ideas. iDraw also works well with Dropbox. The app also seems to be updated frequently, making for a better and better product.
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