RandyDandy, an American Expat in London

This speech by photographer and fellow APUGer Sean Kernan wonderfully encapsulates my thinking for the past few weeks, particularly heightened upon reading Daniel Pink’s A Whole New Mind as recommended by Dan.

“Imagine that your creativity is a large room with doors on all sides. You chose one door awhile back, as I chose photography. And in time you come to find that that door, the painting door or the design door, has gotten clogged with bad ideas, misconceptions, things you didn’t hear right, projects that ran out of gas, flat-out mistakes, and, down under all that mess, some really good things.

So, do you fling yourself at this jammed door again and again? The point, after all, is not just to insist on using the same old door, it is to get back into the room.

Here’s a better idea: walk around to another door, any door, give it a little push, and walk in. If you’re a painter, sing. If you’re a musician, paint something, paint music. Do it seriously, and you begin at once to spend time in that room again.”

Tags:   Art · creativity · photographyNo Comments