I believe
creativity is a natural born talent but can also be the outcome of a process. I
have always been one of those naturally creative kids (especially in arts), but
that pairing activity we completed in class really tested my ability and proved
there were other ways to get creative.
Individual Creativity
I am way too
creative for my own good. It all started when I was younger. My parents and
teachers recognized there was something a little different about me. Of course
I loved playing with Barbies, but I also had a knack for anything artsy. In
kindergarten, I went through a phase of imagining landscapes and then painting
or drawing them. I would literally sit for hours and imagine the most
spectacular places. Once I had come up with something so unimaginable, I would paint
them.
Later on, my
creativity took the form of cooking and baking. I didn’t initially understand
the proportions that went into baking, so I did a lot of experimenting. Among
my first creations made use of the microwave because I was too young to use an
oven. As my skills got more adept, I was finally allowed to use the oven. I must also
note that with the honing in on my skills, my levels of creativity declined due
to the use of recipes. However, this blind following of recipes got boring
because it didn’t require much thought. I remember one day caused a shift in my baking creativity. I was about to make some delicious
chocolate chip cookies when my dog brushed against my legs. Luka always had a
habit of begging for treats whenever anyone was in the kitchen. Then it hit me.
Instead of cookies, I could create dog treats –they’re basically cookies
without all the sugar, butter, and flavor! I imagined everything my dog loved:
apples, peanut butter, and meat. But, how could I make “dog cookies” without
the chemical reactions from the required butter, eggs, baking soda, and such?
That’s where the creativity came in. I decided that to basically mush up Luka’s
dog food with water to create a kind of dough. I then added chopped apple,
peanut butter, and leftover meat. I can say with certainty that these were
absolutely the smelliest most disgusting things I’d ever made but were Luka’s
favorite treat ever!
Organizational Creativity
Other than
school, my internship was where I really experienced traditional organizational
creativity. The company layout was built to encourage flow of ideas. We would
all sit around a table surrounded by whiteboard walls with notepads and throw out ideas for media planning and
promotions. This is a more effective method because you can play off
of each others’ ideas. One thing I had to get used to with group brainstorming
was that my ideas were not always the best. That was definitely a huge change
from individual to group brainstorming.
Is Creativity Individual or Group?
I do believe
creativity stems from other ideas so in a sense it isn’t a solitary process
because those ideas usually come from other people. However, I do not believe
there physically has to be another human around to get creative. There just has
to be an idea. Just as individuals can be creative, so can organizations.
Organizations just have to work a little harder because sometimes the structure
inhibits creativity. For example, when I had my first brainstorming meeting at
my internship, I was apprehensive that my superiors would think my ideas were
inferior and would view my work as such. I soon found that my superiors were
making ridiculous recommendations to get the ball rolling, which created a safe
environment for me.
Creative Processes
I definitely employ different creative processes
for different types of problems. For example, if I’m stuck on an artsy
creation-from-nothing problem, going outside seems to really help get my juices
flowing. But, for a math or structured creativity issue, I find that sitting in
a quiet room and making an outline helps me connect the pieces.
