READING: Cultivating Creativity

As you begin to think about your Styrogami Video project and prepare for fabricating your first clay piece, “The Trivet” next Wednesday, read the chapter on Cultivating Creativity, a short reading of 9 pages. In addition to the responses requested below, pay particular attention to ACTIVELY SEEKING SUCCESS: Habits of Mind and Habits of Work — toward the end of the chapter.

Written Reflection:

1. The text lists Seven Characteristics of Creative Thinking. Reflect on this list and record the characteristics that you think you possess or “exercise” well. Are there any characteristics listed here that you know you are “short” on or need to develop on a deeper level? What are they?

2. Mary Stewart also describes the behaviors and actions of creative souls as “often complex, even contradictory”. Out of psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi’s list under “Complexity” list at least one of these “states of tension” (class professor’s term) that you have found yourself in. What was the outcome of that ‘tension’?