I logged into typepad (my blogging platform) the other day ready to start a new post for a change, when I noticed their slogan right on their login home page. This is what it said: ”typepad - share your passions with the world”, and I thought that was an accurate statement because that is what blogging is all about - sharing your passions with the world.
Writing this blog, sharing my passions with the world, made me realize what I want to do when I grow up (at least for now) - I want to inspire people to be more creative every day, for their own sake and for their children, and after I do that, I can go and work in a bookstore or a vineyard.
3 years after I started writing growing up creative I finally changed my architectural practice from designing homes into designing and creating environments that promote creativity, making and play.
In the process of writing and designing I read lots of books about creativity and lots of current research, and they all point to the fact that Creativity is the Number 1 Skill for the 21st Century. If you look around you will see how obvious this statement is. Infinite knowledge is at the palm of the hand of anyone holding a smartphone, but creativity is a skill one cannot find online. It must be nurtured and practiced.
Creativity is a mind set and an approach to life. That is why it is essential to provide kids with environment and experiences that ignite the imagination, promote creativity and curiosity. Providing them with this basis will ensure that they will grow to be independent thinkers, problem solvers, kind and caring to others and their surrounding.
What is creativity:
If a person or a child is considered intelligent or gifted, it doesn't mean they are creative. Creativity is the ability to transcend traditional ideas, rules, patterns, relationships,or the like, and to create meaningful new ideas, forms, methods,interpretations, etc.
The synonym to creative is: originality, progressiveness, or imagination. (from dictionary)
For example (always help): if a child is learning how to tie their shoes with some guidance that is not a creative act (dah!), but, if a child learns to tie their shoes without any guidance or without seeing how it’s done, that would be considered to be an act of creativity. This child just invented how to keep his shoes tight on his feet using the 2 things dangling from them.
I hope I was successful in getting my message across. If you want to read more about it, drop me a note and I will send you some great references.
So... go make, draw, invent, think something new
tali
