Fearless Creativity: Kick-Start Your Creative Genius!
Workshop Description: This course is designed for all individuals who wish to stimulate their creativity. Goals include understanding the steps in creative problem solving (CPS) through a diverse set of personalized exercises; your greater productivity; and a heightened sense of your inner creative genius (yes, you have a creative genius!). This workshop may be offered in numerous formats (daily, twice weekly, weekly, monthly), with each session lasting about two hours. To build a cohesive learning community, it is important that every member is present during every session. “Homework” is assigned, and it is vital to have time for ideas to percolate. A personal creative journal (“idea trap”) is integral to the course. No prior art background is required. Please email me on the Contact page to schedule this workshop.
Session One: What Is Creativity?
- Introductions; needs assessment and expectations; housekeeping
- What does creativity look like, and how is it manifested?
- How does creativity thrive? Who is creative?
- How is creativity blocked? Anecdotal stories and “The Little Boy” poem; Why is failure important?
- Idea Trap Assignment: Collect three small meaningful objects to bring and share next session; write about why you selected them
Session Two: Getting to Know Each Other & the Creative Problem-Solving Process
- To your level of comfort, share your three meaningful objects with the group and tell their stories
- Discovery vs. Invention; Stories and quotes from historical perspectives
- Solo and group brainstorming: Green things; analysis of CPS in the context of this exercise
- Myers-Briggs enactment and its relevance in any group (family, classroom, work team, etc.)
- Idea Trap Assignment: Write about how your life would be different if one important thing was changed
Session Three: The Importance of Humor and Play
- To your level of comfort, share your views on how your life would have been different…
- Left- and right-brained thinking; the difference between creative problem solving and critical thinking (diagram)
- The role of curiosity and having an open mind; being in touch with our senses
- Dyad brainstorming: Creative captions for photos (using the CPS steps)
- Idea Trap Assignment: Make an annotated list of at least 20 aesthetic moments you have experienced
Session Four: Committing to the Empowerment of Your Creative Genius!
- To your level of comfort, share two of your most amazing aesthetic moments
- What do I value? Exercises in values clarification; Fear vs. Love; Gratitude
- Identifying the real question and leaving comfortable ground; shifting focus
- Group brainstorming: Five random words (using the CPS steps)
- Idea Trap Assignment: Write about some creative projects you would personally like to pursue
Session Five:
- To your level of comfort, share your number one priority of a creative project you wish to pursue
- Dyad brainstorming: The life of a stone (using the CPS steps)
- Dyad story-telling; The voyage of your stone
- Idea Trap Assignment: Write about a timeline for your creative project(s), measured in days, weeks, months, or years; how will you identify benchmarks and evaluate your progress? What is exciting about your project? What is predictable? What is interesting? What are your assumptions? What are your objectives (using measurable goals)? What motivates you? How persistent are you? What are you willing to sacrifice to reach your goal?
Session Six: It’s a Wrap!
- To your level of comfort, share your thoughts about your commitment to, and progress toward, one creative project
- Group brainstorming: How may we support each other’s creative projects?
- Let us celebrate you!
Revised August 2019