..The weather was cold, and i was frozen, tired and unenergetic!! As i walked from my car trying to find the new change of room I thought to my self…i need to syke my self up for this session, otherwise im doooomed! SOooo i began to sing ‘hes got the whole world in his hands’…just kidding it was SEX ON FIRE!! by kings of leon.

So ive got to grips with this bloggin milark, and the fact of the matter is, when im in the right frame of mind i enjoy sitting back with a cuppa char, a biccy and letting my thoughts run wild (something which i dont tend to do, i ask my self why, and i dont know!!) However the thing is I do different things to relax myself, and quite interestingly ive read on other blogs that the use of music also seems to be a popular theme running through the realms of relaxation and creativity. The thing is i see creativity in musical composition as an example for the human capacity for problem solving and imaginative rich words and images, if used in the right way. Music has alot to offer and giving the choices and use, you can get alot back from it.

The most bizzare story ive ever heard in reguards to the connection to music and human beings, was at a birth of a baby boy. During his mothers labour, she loved watching corronation street (yes i thinking, uve lost the plot and thinking whats corronation street gotta do with this). However the most strangest think is that the child unborn became very familiar with the coronation street theme tune, so much infact that when the child was born, outside the womb, when hearing the theme tune once again, made him smile giggle and connect to this a what was believed at a warmth feeling (hence the smiles and giggles). How bizare is that! Now im not saying that this is always the case, but i found it extremely interesting and thought i would share!!

So why is music so important in creativity and more to the point why do people enjoy it so much?! Music saturates our lives on a daily basis. It has an affect on us to make us joyful, to boost our spirits, to fuel our creativity, and many other things. Its certainly questionable. However could it be that people enjoy it to relax as stated previoulsy? They enjoy it as they can escape from reality into a world beyond there ‘normal’ lifestyle into an imaginative realm, of choclate, sea, sun and….sangria!! Isnt that what every one dreams off?! Humm.. Most importantly, music stands for so many things different things, not just the rythm, or style but the words, this in itself allows people to connect to in several differnet ways.

In recent years there has been a growing understanding of creativity and a significant increase in the promotion of creativity within schools. The development Creativity addresses the way teachers reshape the curriculum at all stages in order to better enable Scotland’s young people to become successful learners, confident individuals, responsible citizens and effective contributors. There is an increasing recognition that creativity improves the self-esteem, motivation and achievement of learners. Pupils who are encouraged to think creatively become:

More able to solve problems

 More able to work well with others

More effective learners.

They also have greater ownership over their learning.

Young people who have the opportunity to develop their creative skills will be better prepared for life after school. The world is changing rapidly and it is almost certain that most people will have to adapt to several careers in the course of a lifetime. Most employers want to recruit people who see connections, have bright ideas, are innovative, communicate and work well with others, and are able to solve problems. Confident, creative individuals will always be in demand.

‘The principal goal of education is to create people who are capable of doing new things, not simply repeating what other generations have done – people who are creative, inventive discoverers.’ Piaget

akon-ft-kardinal-offishall-dangerous1

Do I look like im being creative!?

 Well..the fact of the matter is, after half a bottle of red wine later, I find my self amusing my self,my family and friends in creating a persona in which my sane mind is infact so so so far away from day to day. ’A Monster’. Some may recall me as being stupid?! daft?! and in fact acuse me of having severe mental problems..humm..by the way i dont!!. However, disreguarding the half bottle of wine, i allowed my self to relax, explore and bring to life a character in which ive never ever connected to before. This is exactly what I found my self exploring today in session three.

‘Give me a pen, paper and crayons anyday and ill draw you a picture’. The thing is anyone can create a picture and catorgorise it as being ‘creative’, however what made todays session so different and unique was the ability to connect to your picture, allowing the image/images of your self come to life, wether or not you used crayons or paint isn’t important. Our ability to imagine and connect to different characters from our drawings allows and opens us to a different realm of creativity. What im trying to say is no matter how good or bad you think your drawing is, your ability to imagine the unthinkable becomes exciting. We then, after drawing pictures, connected them threw stories, imaging names, dress sense and voices. Not only did i find this relaxing and peaceful as for those few minutes i secluded my self from reality throwing my self into my imagination, it reminded me of my childhood and my infant days when nothing seemed to matter, and expressing your creativity threw pens and crayons was endless. However i found this quite daunting and upsetting as i thought to my self, why don’t i take more time out to do this everyday? It’s quite possible that you might be thinking the same as me right now - theres not enough hours in the day to do what ‘you have’ to get done let alone sit and draw in order to release tension and stress in or to wind down. So i ask myself, Is this something in which a should start making time for….

After sitting back and engaging with session two, ‘Creativity in Education’ my intake and perspective has changed. My niave and bias past experiences envolving creativity and education consisted of the arts and crafts and how the paint flowed on paper, or how different coloured pastels combined, created a waterfall of colour. However the development of the sessions, has unleashed a different realm of what creativity is and how i, in particular view it.

In fact it is the development of sciences and technology, the development of mathematics and how different numbers on a page can create a picture from a small part of the imagination that lurks within us. The fact of the matter is, what i have become to learn is that there is nothing ‘incorrect’ in expressing your own personal views.There is nothing ‘incorrect’ in disagreeing with the vast majority of people who agree in something you do not. We as a society are so quick to judge that we get caught up in what should be right or wrong to what actually is.

For example this past week we have seen the downfall of certain celebraties, mentioning no names… (Russel Brand and Johnathan Ross)fall from the top end of society for publishing a radio ad that offended so many..it was seen as an outrage (apparantly more so to the older generation). Yet personally, not forgetting the younger ages whom such celebraties target in thier work and shows to, i found it hilarious and extremely humerous. Therefore my argument goes, if so many people believe and think it is wrong, what happens to the vast majority of us who don’t. It goes without say that who is to judge what is wrong or wright in anything we do in society. In this particular case…who is to say your thoughts and feelings on what creativity is, is wrong?!

Howard Gardner once said that ‘an important part of understanding is knowing who we are and what we can do… Ultimately, we must synthesize our understandings for ourselves’(Gardner.H,1999).

This is exactly how i view creativity. It’s not that we become politically incorrect or socially wrong by what we think or believe creativity is or what it becomes. It is what we as individuals think for ourselves. Our own understanding becomes of great importance in order to become successful. Like Gardner states, we should relate to ourselfs and be able to find who we are, thus is something that if you allow creativity to do, it can open your imagination, allows your mind to become free and develop naturally, without worrying if your ‘right’ or ‘wrong’.

 Hummmmm creativity, now what could that be?! The ability to draw?, paint?, imagine the unthinkable?. The fact of the matter is, creativity surrounds us daily and sometimes goes unknown. However creativity has the abilty to become what ever you want it to be.  There is no right or wrong with creativity. You dont have to be a painter to paint. You dont have to be a scientist to discover. To be creative comes from within your self and your own ability to explore, discover and be free.

“Creativity is the process of bringing something new into being…creativity requires passion and commitment. Out of the creative act is born symbols and myths. It brings to our awareness what was previously hidden and points to new life. The experience is one of heightened consciousness–ecstasy.”(Rollo May, The Courage to Create).

1. It is always about originality, the forming or making of something new   
2. It involves purposeful application of knowledge and skills
3. It includes various ways of thinking, doing and communicating
4. It is evident in the thinking and actions of individuals and communities and finally,
5. It is not of itself a good thing – it must be values driven.

Creativity is in fact possible in any activity that engages our intelligence, because intelligence itself is essentially creative. Creative processes are rooted in the imagination and our lives are shaped by the ideas we use to give them meaning. We all have creative capacities but in many instances we don’t know what they are or how to draw upon them.

‘The most important developments in civilisation have come through the creative process, but ironically, most people have not been taught to create.’
Robert Fritz