Discussion Post I submitted for my Atlantic University TP5150 Course – August 11, 2020
Many of the personality traits and characteristics concerning creativity we encountered this week resonated with me. I found particularly enlightening Eric Maisel’s “ten personality traits,” which he mined from “creativity literature, from the biographies and autobiographies of artists, from my conversations with artists, and from my work with artist clients” (2007, p. 27).
His seventh trait, “Self-Direction,” described my communications career and my spiritual journey perfectly. He notes that creative people “possess unrestricted inner permission to explore every available avenue” (2007, p. 38). From the time my dad bought me the supplies I’d need to build a darkroom in the basement at 13, to my decision to pursue a career in public relations and communications, and more recently, my self-taught videography and website design capabilities have all been self-directed. Most times I’m not sure where I’m going to end up, but I do know the path I want to take at any given juncture.
Nancy Andreasen’s list of personality traits found in “the creative individual include openness to experience, adventuresomeness, rebelliousness, individualism, sensitivity, playfulness, persistence, curiosity, and simplicity” (2005, p. 30). A desire to go it alone and make my own path certainly encompasses a great deal of individualism, something I’ve considered essential in my life. I’ve also had a healthy dose of rebelliousness along the way, just ask my teachers and bosses who have the pleasure to work with me. As I tell people, there’s a reason I’ve worked for myself for most of my 35-year career!
I also find “Unconscious Thinking,” as Robert Weisberg described it (2006, p. 92), a key element to creativity. Examining Poincare, Weisberg notes that “Illumination is the sudden appearance in consciousness of a creative idea or solution to a problem when one has not been thinking about the matter consciously – an Aha! Experience” (2006, p. 93). I know we’ve all experienced “aha moments.” Since pursuing this Master’s and particularly this course, I’m more aware of them in my life. Some appear in dreams or when I’m driving. Other times they happen in the shower or when I’m watching a movie or television series on an entirely different topic.
It occurred the other night when I was watching a spy show. Earlier in the day, I was contemplating producing a video for my new photography & videography services website and I was searching for a theme I could use to tie it together. I gave up on the storyboard after a while and put my mind in neutral as I watched a show. Suddenly, an idea popped into my head. I’ve recently purchased a drone to do aerial photography, so my video will have an “airplane” theme. The opening line is, “Look up in the sky, it’s a bird, no, it’s a plane…Is it Superman?! No, it’s a drone, and it’s what I use to get awesome shots for your business.”
The video will open with shot of the sky, and the drone’s sound will be part of the audio track throughout the whole piece. The drone will come down to eye level, and that’s how I will first appear as if the drone camera is filming me and shooting the entire video. (It actually won’t be, since I’m not sure I’m that adept at using it yet, but the drone track will give the impression that’s what’s going on). I’m going to end it with the drone landing. It’s still work in progress, yet I have something to work with thanks to my “Aha! Experience.”
References
Andreasen, N. (2005), The creative brain: the science of genius, New York, NY: First Plume Publishing
Maisel, E. (2007), Creativity for life, Novato, CA: New World Library
Weisberg, R. (2006), Creativity: understanding innovation in problem solving, science, invention, and the arts, Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.