Everyday creativity
EXERCISING OUR IMAGINATION CAN BE AS SIMPLE AS
OBSERVING AND CONNECTING WITH OUR SURROUNDINGSPhotography & words: PHILIPPA STANTONM
aking time to do
creative things
can feel a bit
indulgent or even
intimidating if you
don’t think you’re
a naturally arty person. Yet
developing your creativity can be
fun, rejuvenating and rewarding,
helping you look at what’s around
you in a different, more meaningful
way. Everybody’s interpretation of
creativity is different and there are
no hard and fast rules, secrets or
techniques to unlock your creative
potential. However, there are easy
exercises that encourage you to use
your natural curiosity and capture
what you discover, leading to a
more regular creative practice.Observing the
ordinary
Observation is one of the most
important factors in creativity
as it’s not necessarily about
having lots of ideas but about
seeing all sorts of everyday
objects and occurrences and
letting them feed your personal
visual archive. If your
observations aren’t topped up
regularly it can be hard to
come up with fresh, new ideas.
Allow yourself time to sit in the
park or a café, just to look and
listen and maybe even smell
things. Making notes of
ordinary things will help them
take on new meaning. The
ordinary will find a way of
becoming the extraordinary:
the memory of an old lady’s
coat hanging in a café, the
sounds of birds outside, the
smell of coffee or the taste of
a currant bun.Exercises in observation
O Look up and find three things
you’ve never noticed before but
are always there.
O Look down and count the
different types of surface
underfoot, such as tarmac,
paving slabs, cobbles etc.
O Look left and notice how the
colours punctuate your
surroundings.
O Look right and notice shadows
behind things.Cultivating
curiosity
Children are ever curious – asking
questions, peering under rocks,
squeezing through gaps and
scouring the beach for hidden
treasures. Keeping your curiosity
active as a grown-up will exercise
your imagination and feed you with
new ideas just like it did when you
were a child coming up with a new
idea for a game or story.Exercise your curiosity
O Open a door you’ve never opened
before.
O Eat something you’ve never tried.
O Look behind the sofa or under the
wardrobe.
O Visit two places near where you live
you’ve never visited before.