Paul Carney
-
Remembering past lives
Reincarnation: There are many compelling cases of children who recall past lives. They are able to provide such convincing accounts and details of events that are not easy to dismiss. One such case is that of James Leininger, a young… Continue reading
-
A kinder, grumpy old man
How kindness can help you lead a more fulfilled life: As I get older, I find it harder and harder to be kind. Grumpy old man’s syndrome, or irritable male syndrome, is a real phenomenon for me. I seem to… Continue reading
-
My beautiful, time travelling, adventurer
A time travel short story about a soul lost to time: Priya paused before putting the sleek, black headset over her weary, hungover eyes. A sudden surge of reflux engulfed her mouth, no doubt a residue from last night’s ill-advised… Continue reading
-
The kindness conundrum
How kindness can become your human superpower: Kindness is linked to improved happiness and a reduction in stress, anxiety, and feelings of isolation. There’s hard science to say it boosts mood, compassion, empathy, and self-esteem. But why are we kind?… Continue reading
-
Free CPD Professional Development training videos for art teachers
Since I retired from education in 2024, I have released most of my art teacher training sessions as free videos for teacher development. Hopefully they will serve as support and guidance for art teachers in Key Stages 1-3, I wish… Continue reading
-
Emotions in the driving seat
Far from being a weakness, your emotions may actually be a source of strength: All of my life I have been labelled as an emotional person. “He’s moody.” “He’s a sulker.” “Cry baby.” “Whinger.” “Moaner.” Later in my life, work… Continue reading
-
Microbe Series 2
Microbes 2 – pencil on paper. Another very satisfying transfer of digital drawings into traditional media. There’s something beautiful about this subject matter combined with the process of drawing. #drawing #microbes #scienceart Continue reading
-
The will to live
What is the mysterious force that pervades all things and drives all of life on Earth? How knowing it can help us lead richer lives: Throughout recorded history, thinkers and natural philosophers have commented on the innate, energetic spark that… Continue reading
-
What should life be like?
An analysis of life in the 21st century. What you should expect from being alive: What should life be like? What can we reasonably expect from our existence? I’m not referring to those ultra people, with extreme lifestyles, who live… Continue reading
-
Paul’s music on Youtube
Here are some tracks I wrote and produced around 2010: This track, Miss You is a poignant, self-penned, autobiographical song I wrote when my Mam died in 2008. It’s a real heartbreaker. From my second album Suspicion, this next track… Continue reading
-
K2-18b, a planet with 97% certainty of alien life
New scientific evidence on the question of is there life in the universe? Scientists have detected a molecule called dimethyl sulfide, or DMS for short, which is the gas that gives beach areas their distinctive smell. The gas is produced… Continue reading
-
Draw Like a Boss
In this interview, author Ashley Edge and Paul Carney explore the purpose of drawing and learning to draw, including explicit instruction. Ashley Edge is a Lake District based artist and the author of the Draw Like a Boss series of… Continue reading
-
Mind Control
Oh, how I wish I had the ability to control my thoughts like a meditation master. Bad thoughts would occur, and I’d simply swat them away, able to resume my super-controlled, zen-like mental state without a care in the world.… Continue reading
-
It’s Life Jim!
How the building blocks for life may be scattered around the universe : Some scientists now believe the chances of life emerging on Earth by itself are too remote. In a very honest, refreshing, (but complex), scientific paper, Robert Endres… Continue reading
-
Finding God in an age of reason
What is the evidence for a Deist Creator and how can this belief bring a sense of purpose to our lives? What evidence is there that God exists? In my opinion, the likelihood of the universe springing into existence by… Continue reading
-
The Blob
An evolutionary short story that illustrates the origins of complex life forms: The blob floated mindlessly in the darkness. It had no eyes, or senses, save the ability to touch. To feel. It had no explicit conscious thoughts as such.… Continue reading
-
One in a billion
The incredible unlikeliness of our existence, and why our universe should not exist at all: In the Big Bang, when the universe was formulated, there should have been a blinding flash of radiation as these opposing forces cancelled each other… Continue reading
-
Welcome to the spirit world.
A ghostly short story. It had been another excellent meeting, Wendy thought, as she tidied her props away into her handbag and picked up her phone. Her back was killing her from sitting on a hard seat all night, but… Continue reading
-
Reality is a load of balls
What do the world’s greatest minds say about the metaphysical nature of matter? It is easy for imaginative humans to slip into science-fiction, or non-evidence based beliefs, simply because they fit our own world view and yet the reality is… Continue reading
-
Come on down, try your luck on Fortuna’s Wheel of Fortune!
There’s no such thing as luck or fate. Everything has already happened. If physicist Sabine Hossenfelder is right, then it means we live in a Predetermined Universe – everything that can happen has already happened, we just don’t know it… Continue reading
-
Stephen Hawking: Is there a God?
What did Stephen Hawking believe about the nature of God? “One could define God as the embodiment of the laws of nature. However, this is not what most people would think of as God. They mean a human-like being, with… Continue reading
-
Star Trekking
If you could be someone else for a day, who would you be, and why? As a huge Star Trek fan, I would be Captain James T. Kirk for the day. I’d lead a mission to go boldly where no… Continue reading
-
Beyond Words
How do the limitations of language affect your existence?: All of our thinking is through words, all of our actions, all of our science, all of our literature, all of our history, all our technology, all our kingdoms and empires.… Continue reading
-
Pure awareness is heaven
What will life after death be like?: What are your thoughts on life after death? Where do you think we go when we die? Perhaps you think you’ll live eternally in a heavenly paradise surrounded by your loved ones. Maybe… Continue reading
-
Here’s some flowers for you…
Some examples of my most recent paintings I’ve been doing. These are hand-painted and a return back to traditional media for me. I’m loving it! Continue reading
-
False Perceptions
How you might find truth and peace in a world of hate and misinformation: Perceptions, the Buddha said, are very often false, which leads to suffering. We see people as threats, we weave fake narratives, we create all kinds of… Continue reading
-
Movie Night
A mysterious short story about the struggle to find the meaning of life ‘Where the hell am I?’ she muttered to herself, as the vortex gave way to a dimly lit room, complete with brightly-coloured, patterned furnishings and the kind… Continue reading
-
Roads to Happiness
Learn profound insights into human existence from two Holy men: Two eastern mystics with profound insights into the nature of existence and how to lead happier lives are Sri Ramana Maharshi and Thich Nhat Hanh. Maharshi was a Hindu sage… Continue reading
-
Classroom Catastrophes
Learn about Paul’s autobiography as a teacher, written under the pseudonym Peter Carling. Continue reading
-
Old man Hokusai
How do significant life events or the passage of time influence your perspective on life? “From the age of 6 I had a mania for drawing the shapes of things. When I was 50 I had published a universe of… Continue reading
-
How can an inanimate force become a God?
This article will give you an eastern insight into the nature of God: When we think of a force such as the quantum field, we don’t think of an omnipotent, personified being, we think of an abstract mass of crackling… Continue reading
-
The axis of evil
Instead of pointing in random directions, fluctuations in the Cosmic Microwave Background radiation point roughly along a common axis relative to our Solar System. Aristotle’s geocentric model of the universe, with earth in the centre, fitted with western Biblical ideologies… Continue reading
-
Bhagavad Gita
What books do you want to read? Books I’m reading at present: The Ethics of Aristotle The Bhagavad Gita the Upanishads The Varieties of Religious Experience, William James Concentration & Meditation Swami Paramananda Tao Te Ching, Lao Tsu The Complete… Continue reading
-
True Survivor (the pom-poms)
Harry woke up before the alarm and instinctively woke his wife, Jacinda, too. ‘Hey Jac, come on, you’ve got a long day today, you’re on lates.’ ‘What? Huh, oh God, my head hurts.’ ‘I’ll let you go in the shower… Continue reading
-
The grand coder
Eastern metaphysics on the nature of reality: A computer coder creates a virtual world which replicates our ‘real’ world, and the characters have a form of artificial intelligence. Characters in this world have the ability to sense their environment, and… Continue reading
-
Find your inner creative
If you had a freeway billboard, what would it say? Find your inner creative. Being creative, in whatever form that takes, is a powerful way to make meaning in your life. It is fun, enjoyable and stimulating. It enhances brain… Continue reading
-
The Hench
A David and Goliath short story about a young girl who faces an overwhelming adversary. Continue reading
-
How to be creative
How are you creative? There’s a common misconception that creativity is only an artistic pursuit, which is wrong. Throughout my career as a teacher of art, I regularly had to correct people who would state that they weren’t creative. We… Continue reading
-
Best of Friends
Who are the biggest influences in your life? In previous posts, I’ve outlined how I didn’t have any older male role models to look up to and guide me through life’s challenges, but I certainly had the best of friends.… Continue reading
-
Love Conquers All ❤️
What skills or lessons have you learned recently? I’m learning philosophy at present, which I’ve been studying since last year. It’s a huge topic, of course, and though I’m mainly focusing on Western philosophy, I have also been reading Chinese… Continue reading
-
An odd thing to find
‘Tonight, we bring you a special report on the mysterious phenomena known as sea pyramids – the strange, glowing triangular prisms that have washed up on the beaches of Japan and the Philippines in recent months. ‘Professor Richard Binks, a… Continue reading
-
The True Self
A Swami describes the True Self: The true Self is the spiritual self. The true Self is the single self; it is not scattered, disorganised or divided. The true Self has no ego. The true Self does not crave attention,… Continue reading
-
The Secret of Life
There is a secret to life that is so simple, yet so elusive, and it is this: all the life that has ever existed, in every corner of the universe, has one primary purpose – to find happiness. What is… Continue reading
-
An Origin Story
An old man helps a young girl come to terms with her grief. A young girl was seated alone in a plush café, talking into her friend through her smartphone. The friend was on speakerphone, and the girl, although clearly… Continue reading
-
One, two, three, four, five…
Share five things you’re good at. I would rather describe 5 things I enjoy doing. Whether I’m ‘good’ at them is a matter of opinion. These are 5 things I do fluently: Art – here is one of my recent… Continue reading
-
Nietzsche
Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche was a philosopher who advocated the rich, elite and powerful and was against the mechanisms of the church who he saw as shackling people with guilt and shame. His ideas and beliefs have been manipulated and absorbed… Continue reading
-
Last Night in Middlesbrough
A short story about a man who finds himself living in a simulation. The old man winced in pain as he leant forward to pull the flimsy blanket over his calloused, gnarled feet. Even thick, thermal socks weren’t enough to… Continue reading
-
Dragged kicking and screaming
Dragged kicking and screaming into a better world. Continue reading
-
The Fundamental Spirit
What is the spirit? Is it a real phenomena or just a religious reference? Reality has a fundamental layer that pervades and connects all things. The Hindus call it Brahman; the invisible essence that permeates the whole universe. The Chinese… Continue reading
-
Transcending Time
What is the nature of time? Time. We all know it. We all feel it’s passing and are bound by its earthly laws. Time is integral to every culture, every place, every epoch. It is known by many names: Father… Continue reading
-
Dark Matter
What is dark matter? What does dark matter look like? As the early universe expanded, dark matter clumps formed. However, the dark matter didn’t expand as quickly as the universe, leaving a sprawling cosmic web of dark matter strands and… Continue reading
-
An Almighty state of being
What if God wasn’t a being in the sky, but a creative life force all around us, present in all things? As my regular readers will know, I’ve been on a journey of self-discovery over the last year and an… Continue reading
-
Finding Patterns
What is the nature of religion? Faith has a deep, profound nature and order to it that has survived the test of time. It encompasses inherent human virtues but elevates them to help us to become better people, wrapped within… Continue reading
-
Gratitude
What could you try for the first time? I’m struggling to think of anything I’d like to try that I haven’t already. Which tells me that I’ve lived a privileged life and that I should be very grateful for what… Continue reading
-
A heart full of hate
When I see people being racist, I am reminded that racial hatred has a long history in Britain: In Celtic Britain, the Iceni hated the Coritani, who hated the Parisi, Then the Romans came and everyone hated them. The Scoti,… Continue reading
-
Believing in Nothing
A third way: But what if there was a third way? What if a Higher Being designed the universe in such a way that it grew and evolved to laws it had previously set out? What if evolution is God’s… Continue reading
-
How to find truth in the chaos of modern life
How do we form our beliefs? We all construct our own truth, a personal, world-view mindset that we feel is right and just, from our own experiences, thoughts, happenings and memories we collect over our lifetime. Our beliefs are shaped… Continue reading
-
Has feminism destroyed the traditional family unit?
Feminism is a force for good: I heard a young US woman talking recently about how Feminism has destroyed the traditional family unit. She called herself a Trad wife, which is another new term to me, and she said that… Continue reading
-
Poisonous Thoughts
The effect of poisonous thinking: You don’t persuade someone of something via aggression and hostility. You do it by relating to them, by identifying with their concerns but not agreeing with them, you give them their right to an opinion,… Continue reading
-
If everything that exists has a cause, who or what is the cause of God?
The cosmological argument for the existence of God says that nothing exists without a cause. The universe exists; therefore, something (God) must have caused it. Bertrand Russell argued that if this is so, then God must have a cause. Continue reading
-
Cubism: was there any point in it?
Cubism was borne out of artists’ desire to subvert traditional perspective and interpret objects in new ways. Essentially, it was a new way of seeing. But when all was said and done, was there any point in it?A new way… Continue reading
-
Impressionism
Misinformation about the Impressionist movement on the internet is rife. Even art education resource providers are guilty, lumping Van Gogh and Seurat into the Impressionist movement when they were nothing of the kind. Four young men Impressionism was developed by… Continue reading
-
Who invented abstract art?
Up until recently, it was believed that Wassily Kandinsky ‘invented’ abstract art. These days, many popular social media posts claim that Hilma Af Klint got there before him. Neither of these beliefs are correct. The truth is, abstraction has always… Continue reading
-
Hokusai: the great wave & the secret of immortality
The Great Wave off Kanagawa, 1831 by Hokusai is one of the most iconic images in the world. But it’s important to understand that this Japanese print was not simply a picture of a wave, but a highly symbolic work… Continue reading
-
Is Starry Night a religious painting?
Starry Night by Vincent Van Gogh is a hugely symbolic painting which represented his feelings about the afterlife. He wrote to his brother Theo that he had a “tremendous need for, shall I say the word—for religion—so I go outside… Continue reading
-
Where are your missing years?
Are your childhood memories real? I was dismayed when listening to a podcast: The Guardian Science Weekly: where do our early childhood memories go? with Nick Turk-Browne, a professor of psychology at Yale University, to learn that in his professional… Continue reading
-
Interview with my deceased mother & father
A very raw and personal interview with my parents. Continue reading
-
The Ouroboros
How can people with ADHD manage their emotions? Continue reading
-
Surfing, Sinking, Swimming
What daily habit do you do that improves your quality of life? The habit I do that improves the quality of my life is to employ the strategy of surfing, sinking, swimming. It is a technique I used to use… Continue reading
-
How to be a creative genius
There are so many misconceptions about creativity it’s hard to know where to begin. The general trope is that creativity is some kind of arty feeling of free expression. Make a chaotic mess and you’re being ‘creative’. The problem with… Continue reading
-
An Atheist Rebuttal
A rebuttal of a New Scientist article by atheist Victor J. Stenger In his 2012 New Scientist article, the God Hypothesis, Victor J. Stenger focusses on the Judaic-Christian-Islamic version of God, and then looks for empirical evidence for it. Here… Continue reading
-
A biased old football dog
How your biases control your whole life. Our minds are a hodgepodge of biased, untrue, poorly informed opinions and beliefs. In my club, Middlesbrough, we sing ‘we’re the greatest team of football, the world has ever seen’. If you’ve ever… Continue reading
-
Melding our Minds
A mind meld is a fictional, telepathic link that the character Spock was able to perform on other organisms to connect their minds. But could it possibly be a real ability? Might we be able to connect our thoughts with… Continue reading
-
Part of something greater
Is the universe alive? If the Earth were a hydrogen atom, and I looked out from my window at the electron whizzing past in the air above, I might be tempted to think that this was all there was. After… Continue reading
-
What is the purpose of our existence?
How can you find more happiness and meaning in your life? For the majority of the world’s population, God is the purpose of their existence. According to the 13th-century Italian scholar Thomas Aquinas, the ultimate goal of human existence is… Continue reading
-
Loneliness of the long distance space traveler
Why you’re unlikely to ever see your loved ones again if you went into deep space. I’m a huge fan of Sci-Fi programmes such as Star Trek where they travel from star to star, trekking the universe in search of… Continue reading
-
A universal SATs exam
What are you curious about? I don’t know about you, but for me, I’m curious about God. I’m pretty sure God exists, but I’m also pretty sure there is no Divine Intervention. This is because I have enough evidence to… Continue reading
-
The Toymaker
A short story about changing perceptions. A man makes wooden toys. Every day he goes to his workshop, to lovingly craft and fashion his beautiful toys. He carefully displays them in his shop window, but no one ever buys them.… Continue reading
-
Believing in Something is better than Believing in Nothing
Why believing in implausible things can be good for you. Learned people tell us that there is nothing to this world, save that which can be observed, measured and recorded. They state quite firmly that we must savour things in… Continue reading
-
A Spiritual Journey
How my own life journey might inspire yours. Life is taking me on a journey at present and it’s one I didn’t seek. Of course, all life is a journey, but this is something completely different. These last few years,… Continue reading
-
Near Death Experiences
Why do so many people experience overwhelming spiritual experiences when faced with death? I’ve been reading an old book about Near Death Experiences called Life After Life by Dr Raymond Moody. It very much relates to a topic I wrote… Continue reading
-
The effects of infinity on finite systems
The repercussions of our universe being infinite are mind-boggling! “Imagine you had a perfectly sealed box. Nothing can come in, and nothing can escape. Into this box you placed an apple and sealed it shut. If you waited long enough,… Continue reading
-
Beautiful Insect Art
I’ve been inspired by the wonderful insects in my garden this year. So, why not I fuse them into my art? I wanted to weave bright, vibrant colours with wallpaper patterns, comparing and contrasting nature with human design. Here are… Continue reading
-
Life and time
How does time affect you, scientifically speaking? Einstein showed that, rather than there being a single unified time, time is relative, and so every phenomena has its own time. There isn’t a single entity of time, there are numerous times,… Continue reading
-
Why Isn’t Life Easy?
Why isn’t life easy? If a God created life, why make it so difficult? I mean, if you were omnipotent, and you were designing life, surely you’d make it so that things ticked over nicely, you’d want them to purr… Continue reading
-
Story Lines
What do you think gets better with age? Some things improve with age. Wine, whiskey, antiques and furniture, even steaks or cheeses. Other times, age spoils. Fruit, bread, cake, and flowers for example. Time can be a friend to some… Continue reading
-
Splashing in Puddles
So many of us are finding the world overwhelming these days. The constant hostility on social media, the lack of empathy and tolerance for other people’s’ views, not to mention the depressing news stories, climate change and soaring crime, it’s… Continue reading
-
Was the world made for us?
Imagine there was a safari park, complete with big cats, monkeys, zebras, giraffes etc. Now, imagine that the human keepers became extinct and the park was left to its own devices, with all the cage doors left open. There would… Continue reading
-
Explore Paul Carney’s Two Unique Albums
Paul Carney has released two albums, “Dying Days,” produced by Mike Franklin in 2008, featuring a tribute track for his late mother, and “Suspicion,” recorded in his home studio in 2010. He also performed covers with the band Red Book.… Continue reading
-
Hand of God?
Is there a Divine Hands moulding and shaping your life? Many years ago I had a marine fish tank which took a lot of hard work to keep. I had to make sure it was always at the right temperature.… Continue reading
-
The Spirit Within Me
How important is spirituality in your life? I define the spirit as the living essence of a person, which includes consciousness, and the bioelectrical life force within all living things. In this way, the spirit is my mind and my… Continue reading
-
Beyond Words
Knowing what lies beyond the limits of language is an incredibly powerful and profound aspect of our existence. All of our thinking is through words, all of our actions, all of our science, all of our literature, all of our… Continue reading
-
Valuing our Values
How can you shape your values to help you lead a better life? We live in a creative universe; an incredible cosmic web of galaxies, miraculously derived from an infinitesimally small singularity. By default, the universe produces positive things; things… Continue reading
-
Artists and their beds
What’s the one luxury you can’t live without? I couldn’t live without my bed. I love it so much, and beds have been a constant theme in art for centuries. Here are some artists who have depicted beds: Continue reading
-
How to lead a good life
What are the most important things needed to live a good life?Here are five life lessons I’ve accumulated over the years. I hope they will help you become happy and healthy when you grow up. There are many more life… Continue reading
-
I Believe…
Beliefs are the foundations upon which we build our sense of self. They are pivotal to our well being and happiness. But our beliefs are also personal, insecure and subjective. That’s partly because of the nature of knowledge itself, but… Continue reading
-
Make your head a nice place to be
What fears have you overcome and how? Phobias have been a constant ‘associate’ of mine throughout my life. They have sometimes been so crippling that I have been unable to work and my relationships have certainly suffered. Breakdowns and traumas… Continue reading
-
Get away from it all
It’s hard to be happy if you’re constantly looking inward. When we focus on ourselves too much, when we live inside our own heads, or even when our ailments occupy more of our time than they should, we suffer. It’s… Continue reading
-
Unitarians
Do you practice religion? A few months ago now, I began attending services by a Unitarian church in Newcastle. Unitarians believe in the oneness of God and they affirm the essential unity of humankind and of creation. Unitarianism has no… Continue reading
-
What am I?
“What am I in the eyes of most people? A nonentity? An eccentric? An unpleasant person. Somebody who has no position in society and never will. In short – the lowest of the low. Well, even if all that were… Continue reading
-
Chemical Queen
In the nitric town, The furnace fires have faded, And melting pigs lie cold and charred on foundry floors. Desolate towers of concrete and steel, Like tombs that betray the blackened hearts of beaten men. Trains of fire and flame… Continue reading
-
Going where the Evidence Leads
My reason for believing that a Deist, non-interventionist God created our universe, is that, while no evidence for God has been found within the universe, there are enough reasons to assume one created it. This is because: The universe is… Continue reading
-
What is the shape of the universe?
What is the shape of the universe? Cosmologists aren’t sure what shape the universe is. And, while this may sound like a pointless thing to think about, it is actually a profound question that has significant implications. Continue reading
-
The Way of Paul : updated for 2025!
How do you balance work and home life? It’s easier for me to answer this question now I’ve retired. When I was working, I can tell you I was a workaholic. I had a full-time teaching job, and I built… Continue reading
-
Facts about electrons
Taken from the article What is an Electron? by Peter Ripota Continue reading
-
And Still the Weeds Grow
A story about a lifetime with ADHD. My seed was not chosen from the finest organic stock, then gently scattered on a bed of finely tilled soil. No, mine was a mangy spore, spread through the root of an irksome… Continue reading
-
Suspicion album
In 2010 I recorded an album of my own songs, using what was then state-of-the-art software in GarageBand and Logic Pro. Everything was either played and recorded by me, or built from samples. The vocals were done by singing into… Continue reading
-
The Arthrobot Scriptures
I used AI to create some illustrations for my young adult fiction novel, the Arthrobot Scriptures which is out on Amazon. It’s a humorous adventure about an old woman who has her brain uploaded into a robotic insect and must… Continue reading
-
Strict Father Model
The strict father model of government is the mainstay of the Conservative, Reform, and Republican party’s manifestos. It helps keep the rich, rich and the poor, poor, yet it is incredible how many poor people think it is ‘right’. It… Continue reading
-
An Elegant and Persuasive Power
Why should we believe in something that only adds an immaterial layer to the scientific view, and which takes away the profound, revelatory nature of religion? I’ve set out in earlier blog posts what my evidence is for believing there… Continue reading
-
I am that I am
I am that I am. A poem by Mike Flanagan, to be read at my funeral. Continue reading
-
Oaths to Yourself
Things to help you lead a more fulfilling life. Continue reading
-
More is Different
The phenomena of Emergence is how incredibly complex, profound things stem from humble components and flies in the face of Reductionist science. Continue reading
-
The fuse of time
It occurred to me that our perception of time and reality is like a burning fuse. We experience the point of ignition in unison, all of us moving along in the heat of a singular moment, burning our available energies,… Continue reading
-
What Matters?
Is matter all there is? The prevailing scientific viewpoint leaves some big unanswered questions. Here are my answers. Materialism is a philosophical and scientific viewpoint that states that matter is the fundamental substance in nature, and that all things, including… Continue reading
-
Explaining premonitions of future events during dreams
Much has been written about premonitions during dreams, which seem to be a recurring phenomenon throughout human history. My theory is that some people can ‘tune in’ to EMF waves emitted by temporal future events during deep sleep. Continue reading
-
Truth seekers and way seekers
There’s a fundamental difference between the approach western philosophy takes to living and that practised in the east. Truth Seekers – Western philosophy and science seeks to find the ’truth’ of nature and reality. It tries to describe the basic… Continue reading
-
Classroom Catastrophe’s: Silver Spoon
The thing I learned in school was that there are some people with a hell of a lot more advantage than others. For example, there are people my age now who talk about how much they loved their Crombie coat,… Continue reading
-
Is God an invention?
Are religious people deluded? Do we simply invent Gods that don’t exist in reality? Evidence shows that religious belief is actually a natural state of human consciousness. This may actually prove God’s existence, rather than disproving it. I argue that… Continue reading
-
Evidence the Universe was created
A scientific summary, from an agnostic viewpoint, as to why I believe the universe was created. I’m not religious, or an atheist. I am agnostic, but I am coming to the increasing conclusion that the universe was created. My reasons… Continue reading
-
Does evil exist, and if so, who or what creates it?
An agnostic’s analysis of the big question: is God evil? One of the biggest questions philosophers and theologians ask about our universe is: if there is a Creator, how could He/She possibly create a universe with such evil and suffering… Continue reading
-
Reality? There’s nothing to it!
What’s something most people don’t understand? Everything in the universe is made of 17 elementary particles and four forces. Those particles are incredibly small. Barely even a dot. As far as anyone knows, they are point-like, exhibiting no finite and… Continue reading
-
What is a flower?
If you want to know what a flower is, be mindful of who you ask, because this will determine the answer you get. Continue reading
-
The hard problem of Paul
What is it about us that makes us, us? What is it that makes our conscious experience? Scientists and philosophers battle it out to try to define it, but in the end, we just have to sit back and enjoy… Continue reading
-
Classroom Catastrophes: My opening line
You’re writing your autobiography. What’s your opening sentence? The opening paragraph to my autobiographical book Classroom Catastrophes is: Autobiographies tend to be written by famous people who have led incredibly rich and exciting lives, so I suppose I’d better start… Continue reading
-
What in the World…
Why do we exist? Where do we come from? Science tells us that everything is made from particles and forces, but this does not tell us why these things exist or where they come from. Continue reading
-
Art and philosophy
Kenshō philosophy believes in seeing nature as it is, by aesthetic, rather than rational means. I love this quote by Japanese philosopher Kitaro Nishida: ‘It is the artist not the scholar, who arrives at the true nature of reality.’ We… Continue reading
-
Abstractions of Microbes
A selection from a series of drawings I did based on microbiology. These are produced digitally on an iPad using an Apple Pencil in Procreate. Continue reading
-
Am I going bananas?
Alethea thought she was going mad. When she awoke that morning, she went downstairs for breakfast and her banana started talking to her! It said it wasn’t really real. It told her it was just a shadow on a cave… Continue reading
-
A bit of a twitch
The birds in my garden are a constant source of pleasure for me. I am lucky enough to live near a nature reserve and so get some real beauties visiting me. Here are some birds I’ve drawn or painted. I… Continue reading
-
“This is another fine-tuned mess you’ve gotten me into…”
‘When the facts change, I change my mind. What do you do, sir?’ John Maynard Keynes ‘We have overwhelming evidence for cosmic purpose. Goal-directedness played some role in shaping the early universe. Professor Phillip Goff I recently outlined that I… Continue reading
-
Sweating the small stuff
I made several observational drawings of microorganisms a while ago, and I tried to make them in the style of Renaissance drawings of the masters. Here are two drawings I really like. I hope you like them too! Continue reading
-
Abstract Art
When I was an art student, many moons ago, I hated abstract art. Back then, I believed that art required skill to be ‘good’. I thought that art was a craft that needed to be honed and developed. Abstract artists,… Continue reading
-
Crows, crows, and more damn crows
I went through a period of drawing nothing but crows for about two years. I really love them and enjoyed this drawing period immensely. The problem I had was that I just couldn’t get enough high quality images in the… Continue reading
-
The Great Creative in the Sky
“I often wish (God) would manifest himself a bit more. He limits himself to once in a million years if we’re lucky.’ Peter Cook ***** I’m not an atheist – I don’t disbelieve in God, but I’m not religious either.… Continue reading
-
Digitally hand-made crafts
Digital art gets a bad rap from some people. I’m regularly told I can’t enter my art for competitions or excluded from exhibiting because it has been produced digitally. I certainly don’t get the same social media validation as other… Continue reading
-
Wise advice
I really love this quote from Plato, written nearly 2,400 years ago. It’s still resonates with me now and I think it’s good for younger people to bear in mind. Us oldies are here to help and guide. (The illustration… Continue reading
-
Anatomical Self-Portraits
Here are a few anatomical self-portraits I did in 2022. I find it incredible that all of this is stuffed inside our heads! Continue reading
-
Anatomical art
I produced these drawings during lockdown from medical atlases. I have a long obsession with the human body and its many intricacies. I hope you like them. Don’t forget to hit subscribe and like! If any medical students want to… Continue reading
-
Everyone is Better than Me
I think this is a common thought among artists. We all doubt ourselves at times don’t we? It’s so easy for me to get caught up in negative thinking. I am diagnosed as OCD ADHD anxiety and depression. Apart from… Continue reading
-
The Electric Life Orchestra
How bioelectricity shapes the whole universe and every living thing. Why is life so incredibly persistent, energetic and determined? Where does this vitality come from? What is it that makes us alive? Wherever it is encountered, life is imbued with… Continue reading
-
Four types of play that help us be more creative
Play is a profound way to learn and is inherent to our species. We can formulate play activities, engineer them in ways that facilitate particular experiences. In other words, we can teach it. #creativitycanbetaught 1. Conceptual Blending Combine or juxtapose… Continue reading
-
Where do we go when we die?
Where do we go when we die? I’ve been thinking quite a lot about spirits lately, and what happens to us when we die. Unfortunately for me, the spirits are the out of body kind, not the alcoholic kind, as… Continue reading
-
AI – the artists friend, not foe
A while ago now, I wrote a post called Art is dead, long live AI. In it, I spelled out how AI works creatively, and gave some practical ways in which we can teach AI skills in art rooms in… Continue reading
-
My Art
A huge reason why I chose to retire from education was my burning ambition to spend more time in my own art and creativity. I reckon I have a few years left in me yet and so I want to… Continue reading
-
The Arthrobot Scriptures
My new novel is finally in the Amazon bookstore. It’s only taken me over 15 years to get it to this point! I wrote and re-wrote it several times during this period, pushed it one side, abandoned it, then picked… Continue reading
-
Art Assessment
When it comes to inspection, inspectors are looking to see that a school’s assessment system supports the pupils’ journeys through the curriculum. Inspectors do not need to see quantities of data, spreadsheets, graphs and charts on how children are performing.… Continue reading
-
Vision and its impact on learning
Outside-In model of seeing I’ve thought long and hard in the past about vision; how do we see and how is vision processed in the brain? Now, I’m an artist, not a biologist or scientist, but it seems natural to… Continue reading
-
The Beatles’ Creative Influences
The Beatles were some of the most creative people who have graced popular culture. So, what inspired the Beatles songwriting and how might we use this to inform our own creativity? Here are some examples I recorded from Paul and… Continue reading
-
Fine Motor Skills in Art
When we think of pupils making progress in art, we tend to think of pupils developing their skills or abilities in separate domains such as drawing, painting, sculpture, printmaking and so on. Certainly, that’s the way most school progression maps… Continue reading
-
A Potted History of Art Pedagogy
‘Pedagogy, most commonly understood as the approach to teaching, is the theory and practice of learning, and how this process influences, and is influenced by, the social, political and psychological development of learners. Pedagogy, taken as an academic discipline, is… Continue reading
-
Art is dead. Long live AI
Art is dead. Surely, artists are redundant now that we can just pop a few prompts into an AI engine and get a stunning piece of art? Artificial Intelligence software can produce new images based on a set of parameters… Continue reading
-
Creative Choice
Some teachers believe that we need to master skills before we can be creative. They say that creativity cannot be properly realised without the skill to express it. So, they might narrow the creative activity to focus on mastering a… Continue reading
-
You CAN teach creativity
By Paul Carney http://www.paulcarneyarts.com Some very knowledgeable people say ‘you can’t teach creativity’. You can. As a creative teacher, I teach people how to be creative all the time. I can teach you the historical processes by which inventions and… Continue reading
-
Developing imagination in learners
Imagination is the foundation of all inventiveness and innovation. It is uniquely human, and with it, we have been able to think, design, conceive, construct and develop our whole human society. Imagination is a powerful tool for learning and with… Continue reading
-
Schemas
The term schema refers to the cognitive structures we have to describe various categories of knowledge about the world. Theorist Jean Piaget introduced the term schema, and they are linked to his theory of cognitive development, which said that children… Continue reading
-
Artistic development in Children
By Paul Carney This blog post contains extracts from an essay by Anna Kindler – Art in early Childhood “One man may sketch something with his pen on half a sheet of paper in one day, or may cut it… Continue reading
-
Sequencing learning in art and design? Don’t ask the DfE!
Schools all over England are being judged by Ofsted on their ability to sequence learning and progression in the subject, despite the fact that the national curriculum for art and design in England isn’t properly sequenced and it’s progression of… Continue reading
-
Art and Design Process
Making art is a complex, diverse process that can take many forms and be shaped by a wide range of factors. I’ve attempted to outline the main ones in a series of graphic organisers that could help teachers plan activities… Continue reading
-
Drawing to Learn Anything
Drawing to Learn Anything is a collection of ideas and explorations into how simple, non-skilled drawing can help you learn more effectively in subjects across the curriculum. It shows you how even crude, stick people style drawing can help you… Continue reading
-
Digital drawing
I am a lifelong artist, especially in the field of drawing, aged 57 years. I feel comfortable working in a variety of styles; literal or abstract, I work across a wide range of mediums and on a variety of scales,… Continue reading
-
It’s patently clear what the UK’s creativity problem is…
The UK has been ranked as the 6th most innovative nation in the world by the Global Innovation Initiative in 2020. There is a lot we can be proud of. But if we are to improve our global position then… Continue reading
-
Memory is human. The Hidden Half of Pedagogy.
Education is made up of a wide range of disciplines and delivered (usually) in classrooms to children aged three upwards. No two schools are identical, no class of children the same, some areas are affluent, some deprived. The education of… Continue reading
-
The best way to remember something is to make it memorable.
Memory is an emotional, sensory and experiential process. Spaced retrieval is one way we can remember better, but there are other techniques have been shown to be just as, if not more, effective. The first way we remember anything is… Continue reading
-
Copying the ‘masters’.
“The artist must imitate one of three objects: things as they were or are, things as they are said or thought to be, or things as they ought to be.” Aristotle 4th century BCE Aristotle’s Poetics Copying, mimesis, or iteration,… Continue reading
-
Metabolic Innovation in Biology; Life’s Creative mechanisms
Creativity in nature requires a huge variety of diverse possibilities and an incredible genotype network to support an almost infinite range of options. All life is made up of cells and there are many many different types. Cells work in… Continue reading
-
Drawing for Science, Invention & Discovery
This book is aimed at all the scientists, mathematicians, engineers, pioneers and thinkers out there who understand the value of creative thinking in their field. It identifies some of the key cognitive processes that drive innovation, invention and discovery. They… Continue reading
-
Syllable Association Drawing (SAD) Memory Technique
To remember complex words and terminology try the SAD technique that uses a combination of familiar, well-researched memory techniques. I don’t lay claim to inventing the memory techniques, only that I have developed a method of combining them into an… Continue reading
-
Drawing for Anatomy
I observed a second-year medical students’ practical anatomy session at the school of medical education, Newcastle University in May 2019 under the tutelage of Doctor Joanna Matthan. It was a great honour to be given an insight into this important… Continue reading
-
I dont have a creative bone in my body…
“I dont have a creative bone in my body.” I hear this a lot. It usually comes from people who aren’t ‘arty’ types. These people believe that if they don’t make their own craft Christmas cards or attend local art… Continue reading
-
Can Creativity be taught? Yes, I do it every day.
Creativity; noun – the use of imagination or original ideas to create something. Inventiveness. Source; Oxford English Dictionary There is a general agreement among scholars that creativity involves the production of novel, useful products,” (Mumford, 2003, p. 110) however hundreds of… Continue reading
-
Perfect Child
No two things in nature are exactly the same, yet everything is made from perfect, exact particles. Nature is like some eerie living Minecraft game, where electrons and atoms simulate bricks and build incredible, unique structures. The implication of this… Continue reading
-
Creativity Myths
Creativity arises naturally as a result of knowing more The most knowledgeable people aren’t necessarily the most creative. In fact, it’s often the naive newcomer with a fresh pair of eyes that makes a breakthrough. Increasing knowledge means increasing awareness… Continue reading
-
Memory & learning blog 3 – MARGE
notes from the pdf MARGE by neuroscientist Arthur Shimamura. Thanks to Daniel Willingham for posting this. Learning is the ability to acquire knowledge from sensory experiences, where learning is perceptual (reading an x-ray), conceptual (linking new facts & ideas to… Continue reading
-
Explaining Creativity in education
Psychologist Csikszentmihalyi says we can be creative or Creative. Small ‘c’ creativity he describes as that which does not lead to a change in the symbolic domain of the culture; so small scale, personal acts of indulging in a playful,… Continue reading
-
Factual knowledge
Why increasing factual knowledge doesn’t automatically lead to greater creative insight & why simply being creative doesn’t either Psychologist Csikszentmihalyi says we can be creative or Creative. Small ‘c’ creativity he describes as that which does not lead to a… Continue reading
-
10 Classroom Strategies for Enhancing Memory
This article is based on an article by Christopher Pappas for the eLearning Industry (Instructional Design -7 strategies for eLearning Professionals) and MARGE by Arthur Shimamura If we want students to remember our lessons we should try to make them… Continue reading
-
The problem with Cognitive Load Theory for general learning
This article is my own summary interpretation of the paper; Cognitive Load Theory, what does it mean for learning designers? By Walkergrove 2014. Cognitive Load Theory is a well researched, well proven and generally unchallenged practice of instruction that demonstrates… Continue reading
-
Memory & Learning 2: Why drilling isn’t always the best way to remember things.
From the Idiot Brain by Professor of Neurology Dean Burnett Human memory isn’t organised like files on a computer. The brain organises memories with no logic, it cuts them up, adds irrelevant bits to them and organises them in multiple… Continue reading
-
Memory and Learning
Short term memory is largely aural – words and sounds. They usually last about a minute. This is why you have an internal monologue and think in sentences. Moving memories from short term to long term memory might be done… Continue reading
-
Knowledge first, then skills, then creativity?
Knowledge first. Then skills. Then creativity? This makes no sense to me. What knowledge do you refer to? Which skills and what form of creativity? There are around 17 different knowledge types according but these are more commonly related to… Continue reading
-
Are you teaching art all wrong?
Ok I accept this may be a fairly contentious blog post and that not everyone will agree with me, but here’s my two penneth worth. Outcome driven artMost of the art in schools I see is outcome driven. In Primary… Continue reading
-
The Art of Questions
This article appeared in NSEAD’s AD Magazine January 2016 When planning and delivering lesson content teachers are continually striving for a balance between ensuring their pupils achieve the intended learning objectives and maintaining their motivation. We can’t place enjoyment above… Continue reading
-
Have your students got the G Factor?
What do the scientists say really affects a person’s intelligence? Continue reading
-
Key Stage 3 Art, Craft and Design Progression
Key Stage 3 Art & Design Progression Much of what we define as progress is smoke and mirrors. You can’t always demonstrate progression, because more often than not, it isn’t tangible. Often, I’ve spent two hours wrestling with an idea… Continue reading
-
Developing different approaches to Art
Develop more interesting and exciting approaches to making and teaching art Continue reading
-
Ten tips for improving the quality of your Art & Design teaching
Ten tips for improving the quality of your Art & Design teaching It’s very easy to get lost in the frantic world of teaching. You get caught up in the day to day and sometimes you forget what is at… Continue reading
-
The Negative Impact of Assessment
Assessment can do as much harm as it can good. Avoid the minefields of negativity to develop truly positive assessment strategies. Continue reading
-
Durer Drawing and Printmaking
A great drawing or printmaking lesson idea for linking traditional practice to the present day. Continue reading
-
Picasso Drawing exercise
Whilst looking at Picassos lovely sketches of animals in a single continuous line, it occurred to me that this would make a lovely drawing lesson. Create your own animal drawing using a single continuous line. Lots of art teachers do… Continue reading
-
Memory Art
Memory Art I learned this exercise from a session i did at the Baltic Quays gallery, Gateshead. It was in a session done by art teacher Elinor Brass so it isn’t mine, but I’m sure she won’t mind me sharing it… Continue reading
-
Progression in Art & Design using revised Blooms
Revised Blooms Learning Objectives for Art & Design that facilitate progression. Continue reading
-
Does anyone know of an artist who does . . . ?
Good art teaching comes from the development of planning that opens minds, it doesn’t direct outcomes. Continue reading
-
Idea Mining
Idea Mining – This art lesson involves applying the objective or purpose of the idea to different thinking strands, to facilitate the more complex production of ideas. Continue reading
-
So you want to study an Art, Craft or Design degree?
So you want to study an Art, Craft or Design degree? Well, there’s some great news! The number of jobs in the Creative Industries increased by 5.5 per cent between 2013 and 2014 to 1.8 million jobs. This was an… Continue reading
-
The case for Art: School Performance Measures from 2016
Where previously Art played a minor role in helping students attain the 5 A*-C threshold, the new attainment measures imply that good Art & Design figures will add significant value to pupils progress targets. Far from diminishing the role of… Continue reading
-
Looking at Contemporary Art
Ways of Looking Ways of Looking by Ossian Ward is an excellent introduction into contemporary art. He has developed a way of looking art that he calls TABULA where T is time, A is association, B is background, U is… Continue reading
-
If you want to improve boys learning, learn what it’s like to be a boy
A lot has been written about boy’s learning that I agree with; lack of self-esteem, poor motivation, weak presentation/organisation skills, female dominated schools and inability to concentrate for long periods of time etc. I passionately believe that the way lessons… Continue reading
-
Raising drawing skills or ‘Dumbeldore’s Army’
Dumbeldore’s Army and the incredible dancing bears By Paul Carney In the Harry Potter book ‘the Order of the Phoenix’ the students resort to forming a secret class to teach themselves the dark arts of magic so that they might… Continue reading
-
Creative Lesson Planning
One of the ways I see creativity being stifled is when well meaning teachers plan their lessons. Instead of planning for freedom of choice, they plan very controlled experiences. Instead of encouraging risk and exploration they limit the materials to… Continue reading
Paul Carney’s Blog 
You must be logged in to post a comment.