creativity Archives - TA Training

Never Seen, Never Will

June 24, 2020 By Jane Williams

David Brooks is the inspiration for this week’s creativity exploration. Albert Durer (1471 – 1528) had never seen a Rhinoceros and drew this sketch in 1515 based on a written description by someone who had seen the animal in person. David Brooks then used this idea to create scupltures of critically endangered animals which we may never see, particularly if they are to become extinct.

In this exercise Brooks challenges us to apply this thinking to something we know exists but have never seen, and, probably never will.

I know this exists but have never seen…

Finding something to base my creation on was surprisingly challenging. I wanted to take Brooks literally and create based on something I have never seen, not just in person, but also in images or pictures in books, posters, TV or the web.

This may have been a mistake. It ruled out a lot of the natural world-related things I could think of.

There are many science-related things I haven’t seen either (like a black hole) or skin cells through a microscope. However, these didn’t seem to be hitting quite the right note.

This sent me off in a more abstract direction. Feelings. Ideas. Things I see the aspects of in myself or others but find it difficult to describe or portray. A response, I’m sure, actors will be very aware of.

Does curiosity kill the cat?

Helping my children with their school work, I find it frustrating that they are not interested by questions that come up. Not enough to explore them anyway. The subject doesn’t really matter – the industrial revolution to electronics to chemistry to music. With so many resources at our fingertips I’m fascinated by it all and want to know more.

Maybe its because they are teenagers and doing schoolwork (I’m sure this has a lot to do with it). I’m also now wondering if this is because I grew up in an age where we had few resources to use – the school and public libraries and my parents ancient Children’s Britannica. No internet.

Which brings me back, in a roundabout way, to the abstract concept I want to portray – curiosity. I know it exists but what exactly is it? My creation is a montage of pictures and words to hopefully explain it a little:

For me, curiosity is being open and observant, asking questions and being interested in the answers. Not being afraid to make mistakes or say ‘I don’t know…’. Being interested in people and their stories. Wanting to know more.

I’ve used images of looking and listening, wide open mountainscapes, opening up pathways, questions for people and things, the joy of exploring through experience (the puddle bit) and a lot of books.

What next?

I have used pictures and text but the creation could be a drawing, a sound composition, a video, written account or sculpture – the creator chooses.

A client may be having difficulty expressing themselves or exploring an emotion. Encourage them to create something about it first and then use this as the means to talk about it.

To explore more of your own creativity – for yourself and with clients – check out our online Creativity Summer School taking place in August.

Creative Proposals

June 8, 2020 By Jane Williams

Proposals as invitations

Welcome to the second piece on my journey to explore creativity. This week’s exercise is based on Peter Liversidge‘s work (p101 in Sarah Urist Green’s ‘You Are An Artist’). Peter types proposals for what he might like to do. These are invitations rather than orders and can be ignored, brought into fruition or simply considered. The thing I love about this idea is that the proposals need an audience, an interaction – someone else to think about the invitation and carry it out. We, as the interactor, become part of the creative process.

The exercise has a set of 3 of Peter Liversidge’s proposals to choose from.

Bearing in mind it is very wet outside today (and that we are in covid-19 lockdown) and that I don’t really want to dress like my parents, I chose the proposal that fired my imagination:

“I propose that the person reading this proposal should imagine that their feet are in a mountain stream”.

Mountain Stream

Normally, at this time of year, we have a family holiday to the Highlands. With Lockdown, it hasn’t been possible. I find my heart yearning for the hills and mountains, streams and lochs, and the abundance of outdoors and head space. This proposal probably resonated more because of a feeling of loss and a chance to imagine and revisit.

I’ve had my feet in mountain streams a few times in my life. Not always intentionally and, sometimes, with boots on. Although I don’t think this is what is intended for the exercise.

So, I’ve concentrated on the sitting by a stream and dipping my feet in idea. Closing my eyes certainly helped with the imagining. I slowed my breathing and took my mind back to the Highlands. The smell of damp greenness and the slipperiness of the stones and rocks. The cool breeze and the sharp coldness of the stream at first – followed by the slight numbness. Both very welcome after a long walk in hiking boots.

I imagined the bubbling and rush of the stream, over rocks and in the hollows, carrying leaves, twigs and bubbles further on its journey. I remembered the light and shadows, the every changing reflections. And tried to record my thoughts in simple words and impressions:

Mountain stream picture and words talking about the proposals to imagine feet in a mountain stream

Reflections

It was good to purposely take time to focus on the imagining (rather than as a by product of doing the washing up). It felt a bit like putting aside time for a home yoga class initially.

I don’t know if it is the Scottish national identity or the landscape but the Highlands are one of the places I feel instantly grounded and solid. It feels ancient and expansive and so much closer to the ‘earth’ that my surroundings in my day to day life. All this helps take me back fairly quickly in my mind. The stream with my feet in, fed by melted ice and snow, rushing hundreds of miles downhill until it meets the sea, certainly puts my life’s struggles in proportion. And gives a sense of release and freedom and calm.

I wonder if Peter Liversidge had envisioned this response when he wrote the proposal.

What next?

This has been an interesting and challenging exercise in imagining and mindfulness. Its amazing that one short sentence can provoke so much.

Why not come up with your own proposals for clients/supervisees or, alternatively, get them to write their own. There are some examples to download here that you might want to use.

ProposalsDownload

And more….

We have an online workshop Vitality in a Virtual World looking at creativity coming up on 3 July 3 – 5pm.

Creativity – a new journey

May 30, 2020 By Jane Williams

Why creativity?

Exploring creativity – both for work with clients and for ourselves – is important to our team. I’m sure you will have noticed the emphasis on creativity in our workshop programme.

Not to be outdone by the trainers at TA Training Organisation, I have also started a journey to explore creativity – using a new book, ‘You are an Artist’ by Sarah Urist Green as a resource.

Sarah has put together a whole range of easy to assignments to help access new ways of expression and creativity. It is about exploration rather than skills development – refreshing when many other resources are about developing a hobby.

In this series of weekly Creativity posts, I’ll share how I got on with my explorative journey and, hopefully, you will find elements to encourage you and ideas to use in client or supervision work.

I was very excited when the book arrived (but then I always get excited by new books). I had a quick skim through the contents and quickly saw that it was going to be fun. And challenging. And much, much, more.

Where to start – First steps

The book has sat on my desk for the last 5 days while I decided where to start. At the beginning perhaps? Well, no, I decided to start with one of the more (apparently) simpler exercises – adding elements to this visual image:

The assignment suggested annotating the picture with my own words, quotes from songs, movies or books, sketches or anything really as long as it gave meaning for me.

Old Boots

I struggled at first. The boots in the image feel very old to me. Maybe belonging to someone from WW1. Not something I have much experience of other than a shared cultural history.

Picture of boots - creativity opportunity

Old Roots

I then moved on to thinking about the boots’ origins. Who owned them? What did they do? Why leave their boots? I began thinking about my ancestors in Ireland working in the fields or factories. Does this picture speak to where I came from? My past being part of me now and my future?

In My Boots

This started me thinking about the phrase ‘being in my boots’ and what it means. To me, it means being firmly grounded and secure and truly me. Boots feel stable to me, not higher heels that can wobble as I walk but solid and supportive. Reliable and resilient.

Resilience

I was tempted by the Lord of the Rings quote above but then this led me to something Terry Pratchett wrote about Tiffany Aching in The Shepherd’s Crown. Whilst its about boots, obviously – I also feel it has a lot to say about resilience and the ability to manage life and its challenges.

Resilience is very important if I’m not going to be flattened by experience. This is true for me generally but particularly in the current Covid-19 times we are living in. But I don’t feel resilience is like a bomb-blast wall – a hardness developed as a response to negative things. There is something joyful about being secure in knowing I can march through anything or, with Peppa Pig, jump in muddy puddles.

What next?

It felt a relief but also very satisfying to pin down the picture to something that does represent how I feel. With the first assignment complete, I’m now a little less daunted and looking forward to the rest of the journey.

Final note

And finally, I’ve put together some images as A4 pdf templates that you might want to use with clients. Click on the buttons below to download. Or create your own.