My view of myself: I am not creative, I am not imaginative. When asked to produce something creative I freeze. I feel put on the spot, and I am afraid of the failure of not being able to produce, or producing something so subpar any audience just feels sorry for me. I immediately see the bar as too high and can't even imagine reaching it. I want to do the get to know you activities, but each time I start one or start to even think about one, I just see it flopping. I see that it can (should) be better, but not really how to make it better.
BUT...
The other day my 9 year old (Ela) was playing with pipe cleaners. She had taken a few orange ones and created a sphere. Because they were orange, and because it is October I started thinking 'It's a pumpkin. She could make a jack-o-lantern.' So I asked her what she was making and she said she didn't know, it was just a ball. I asked her if I could do something with it. If she didn't like it, I would undo it. I took a black pipe cleaner and formed a jack-o-lantern mouth, then played at trying to get it to fit onto her orange ball. She immediately saw what I was doing and started asking how she could put eyes on it. I gave it back to her and told her to see what she could figure out. What would work. She had watched me play with the mouth. It was her time to play.
My other daughter (11, Macey) is much more like I think I am (see description above). When she saw what Ela was doing, and that I had helped her see new possibilities, Macey said "Wow, mom you are so good a crafts. How do you know how to do all this stuff?" I was a little floored, because it goes so far against my own sense of self. I am not creative. I do not know how to do all this stuff. I am a follower of directions. As a child I would never have created a pipe cleaner jack-o-lantern. I would have stared at the package of pretty, straight colourful pipe cleaners wishing I could make something cool with them, but afraid of wasting them by not making something I was proud of. But I want my girls to see the possibilities, not the restrictions. I want them to see it is OK to 'tinker' and figure out, then know. They don't have to know first. I try to model this for them, I try not to show my fear of not being as good as others because I don't want them to fear that.
And now that I've watched more of the video, it is all I can do not to delete this thinking it's not really the point of the video. But maybe it is... I imagined the connection, I created the post, I reflected on it (the post), and I am sharing it. The sharing is important. And the continued reflection is important. I can (must?) continue to reflect on the other ideas in the video without discrediting my first impulses.
John Seely Brown says:
"If you don't have an imagination you can't even start to be creative"
imagine... create.... reflect.... share... All steps are necessary for growth, production
And maybe, based on this blog, I might have an idea for my 6 word story...
Here it is:
Hi Lisa,
ReplyDeleteYour blog resonated with me on so many levels. I often wonder where my fear of trying new things came from? I remember being quite fearless as a child and willing to try anything. I didn't worry that my painting wasn't going to be as nice as other people's paintings. I just painted for the shear joy of it. Interestingly enough, I still take art classes (most people don't know that) but I never, ever show anyone the work I do. I tell myself it's because I draw for myself- which is true, but it's also a fear of someone telling me that my work is not good enough. That I have no business trying to create art. I think that fear carries onto other parts of my life, both personally and professionally.
I love that you try and model for your girls how important it is to try things and not worry about it measuring up in some way. I suspect you likely do it for your students as well.
Wouldn't it be nice if we were as kind and supportive to ourselves as we are to our families and students.
Something I need to work on.
P.S. I forced myself to respond to your post. I often read people's blogs but never comment. I have to admit that it is sometimes based on fear, i.e., what if I say something stupid. Silly, huh?
I love your comment "wouldn't it be nice if we were as kind and supportive to ourselves as we are to our families and students." I think that is so true. I know I am always harder on myself than I am on others. And I am harder on myself that I allow others to be on themselves as well.
DeleteI am also glad that you responded. I'm finding that I am not sure what's harder after I post something for the world to see: someone responding negatively, or no one responding. No one is almost worse.
Lisa,
ReplyDeleteI must say that I share your (perceived) lack of talent around being creative with making things. I do like to work with yarn, and sew, but to me that's working with patterns and with fibres or fabric that someone else has created, rather than creating from scratch the way someone does with paint or clay (or at least that's how it seems to me - again that's my perception isn't it?).
However, what you've made me appreciate, with your post here, is that some of us show our creativity with our ideas. How do we make things work, problem solve, reflect and revise? All of these things require some really creative thinking!
The reason that I love that idea of 'constructionism' is related to what you're describing here. In imagining, then creating, and then sharing, we are constructing an artifact of our thinking to which others can respond. In examining the product of your thinking we can come to a common understanding or agree to disagree, both things help all of us learn!
Hope you don't mind if I post my comment in the Ning as well!
Brenda
I love the way you have interpreted creativity. I think you're right, but never thought about it that way. I guess I can be creative in terms of my thinking. I love problem solving, reflecting and revising.
ReplyDeleteI like the way you describe "constructionism" and how it works. And it (obviously) circles all the way back to the John Seely Brown video. Good job!