Creativity

  • 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

    How to be a creative genius
  • 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

    Four types of play that help us be more creative
  • 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

    AI – the artists friend, not foe
  • 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

    The Beatles’ Creative Influences
  • 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

    Creative Choice
  • 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

    You CAN teach creativity
  • 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

    Developing imagination in learners
  • 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

    Artistic development in Children
  • 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

    Copying the ‘masters’.
  • 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

    Metabolic Innovation in Biology; Life’s Creative mechanisms
  • Drawing for Science, Invention & Discovery

    Buy it from: www.paulcarneyarts.com 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,… Continue reading

    Drawing for Science, Invention & Discovery
  • 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

    I dont have a creative bone in my body…
  • 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

    Can Creativity be taught? Yes, I do it every day.
  • 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

    Creativity Myths
  • 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

    Explaining Creativity in education
  • 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

    Knowledge first, then skills, then creativity?
  • 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

    Are you teaching art all wrong?
  • 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

    The Art of Questions
  • Progression in Art & Design using revised Blooms

    Revised Blooms Learning Objectives for Art & Design that facilitate progression. Continue reading

    Progression in Art & Design using revised Blooms
  • 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

    Does anyone know of an artist who does . . . ?
  • 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

    Idea Mining
  • 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

    Creative Lesson Planning
  • Creating creative lessons and happy, independent students

                          When PLANNING AND PREPARING for creative lessons consider: The creativity you want to tap into Is it a new experience or a new way of seeing, is it relative… Continue reading

    Creating creative lessons and happy, independent students