This document discusses various aspects of creativity and the creative process. It covers why creativity is important, elements that foster creativity like passion and risk-taking, and how creativity can be developed from a young age. The document also explores different creative mediums like art, music, dance, and landscape photography. Specific examples are provided, such as a poem about loss, different types of music like jazz, and personal experiences the author has had related to various art forms.

1. THE CREATIVE PROCESS
By: Ashley Michel

2. WHY IS CREATIVITY IMPORTANT?
• Daniel Pink’s “A Whole New Mind”
(Video): Pink encourages us to find our
truest selves. Society tends to put a
restriction on our internal voice.
• We should do what makes us happy and
find ways to live our best lives
• 6 Fundamental Human Abilities that
Matter Most: Design, Story, Symphony,
Empathy, Play, Meaning
This is an aerial shot from the
plane. It represents the thing I
love to do most: travel.

3. A POEM FOR MY GRANDMOTHER
The loss of my grandmother was not an easy time
for me. I was able to use my real life experience to
create the poem “I’m Waiting” to express how I felt
about the death of someone who was so dear to me.

4. ELEMENTS OF CREATIVITY
• Uniqueness
• Open-Minded (No intelligence
needed
• Stepping Out of Comfort Zone
• Passion
• Self-Discovery
• Persistence
• Ability to Push Limits
• Can Face the Pain of Rejection
• Disciplined
• Open to “playing” and trust
This is an image of
me stepping out of
my comfort zone. I
went fishing for the
first time in October
and I was never a
fan of eating fish, so
catching some was
never in my mind. I
was invited to go
and ever since, I’ve
gone back twice and
discovered it is
something I enjoy
doing.

5. THE NATURE OF CREATIVITY
• We create to see new things, new relationships, and create
novel things
• Must NOT create for external recognition
• Creativity can be taught at a young age and we must allow
children to be themselves without shutting them down. Adults
can learn from kids instead, but realizing that children do not
think about limits.
• Synesthesia – common in artists, poets, novelists, and other
creative people- they have the ability to engage in metaphorical
thinking and linking unrelated ideas
• Beauty is not in the eye of the beholder. It is in what moves us
personally.
• Our brains in the meditative state allows us to be self-aware,
which allows us to produce creatively.
• Our brains defines and connects us to the world and the
individuals around us.
I took this image at the
Brooklyn Botanical
Garden. I grew up in
that neighborhood so
my visits there remind
me of my childhood.

6. HOW ART MADE THE WORLD THEORY
• Without images, life would be impossible and
the world would be unrecognizable
• We create to make representations of the
things around us.
• The Creative Explosion: Humans have been
around for 15,000 years, but we didn’t begin to
create until 35,000 years ago.
• Images in the past consisted of animals
• Culture has influenced individuals in the past of
their paintings by using their vision. Visions
allow for the creation of ideas.
• Imagery has flourished due to our ancestor’s
realization that lines, shapes, and colors could
capture the world.
I took these images this past weekend at
the Magic of Lights show at Jones Beach.
The candy canes and the lights are a
symbol of the Holiday season.

7. HOW ART CAN INVOKE DIFFERENT EMOTIONS
• Two individuals can look at the same image an
have a completely difference experience or
emotion.
• It is important to have our unique experience
with images without trying to interpret what
the artist is trying to capture.
• Our interpretation of an image may be
completely off from the vision of the artist.
• We have all visited the MoMA virtually or
physically and many of us experienced
different emotions for the same images which
signifies that we are all unique beings
I took this picture on a past trip to Trinidad.
One may look at this and see beauty, but
when I look at it, it makes me frightened due
to a negative experience I had kayaking at
this beach.

8. LANDSCAPE PHOTOGRAPHY
• Landscape should be appreciated as
something that’s not permanent, but
evanescent
• Landscape is perception rather than analytical
interpretation.
• For Ansel Adams, landscape photography
should be something that can give us a sense
of community, connection, and home.
• These scenes can represent a greater reality of
our non-everyday experiences.
• Landscape photography represents the beauty
of nature that we may fail to recognize
• Planned and Found Landscape
This image was taken at Prospect
Park in Brooklyn. I feel serenity every
time I look back at this image

9. A LANDSCAPE IMAGE TAKEN BY ME
I was stuck in traffic while I took
this picture and I was looking at
the sky and it was the perfect
representation of my mood. The
sky is very dim and it is reflecting
over the branches. Looking at this
image makes me feel very calm
and relaxed.

10. WHAT IS MUSIC?
• Music can be an escape, entertainment, or a
representation of our many different moods
• Tone languages: the way a phrase is said can
denote different meanings, which makes absolute
pitch hard to decipher
• Music can be expressed in different ways
• Music influences dopamine production depending
on whether we like what we hear or not
• EMI finds a pattern of music which allows
composers to create their own creative pieces
I went on a cruise and one of
the nights consisted of Latin
themed music.

11. THE IMPORTANCE OF MUSIC
• Our every day experiences involve music; it is not simply
plugging in headphones and playing our favorite songs.
The honks of a car or a train pulling into the station can
be music
• Music impacts the brain positively when we hear
something that is pleasing and vice versa.
• Oliver Sacks preferred Bach over Beethoven; in another
instance he felt no emotion for both.
• Individuals with Tourette’s Syndrome use music as focus
and organization as it removes chaos.
• Music helps to recover the damaged brain function by
activating parts of the brain that are nearby
• Music is a means for survival
The music of rain

12. CONGA DRUMS
On my trip to Haiti this past
summer, I took a dance class. I
am not depicted dancing to the
beat here, but this is what was
being played as I was dancing.
Typically, a two-step is danced.
The second video shows other
people dancing to it and they
are swaying their arms to the
beat.

13. A TYPE OF MUSIC: JAZZ
• Jazz originated in New Orleans, but is important in America’s history
• All jazz musicians have the ability to create on the spot.
• Jazz artists are concerned with praising their individual expression
• Jazz is a liberating force
• “Jazz is the assassination, the murdering, the slaying of syncopation”
• Jazz artists must take risks because they are creating on the spot and they are
expressing spontaneous emotions of the heart.

14. A HAITIAN JAZZ CONCERT
I attended a Haitian Jazz concert
just before summer ended in
Flushing and I thought it was
amazing how they put a twist on
Jazz. The music just makes me
want to get up and dance. I
typically do not like jazz, but the
beat reminded me of traditional
Haitian music. The conga drums is
my favorite. The variety of
instruments adds to the excitement
along with the vocals.

15. WHAT IS DANCE?
• Dancing is a means to a spiritual connection for the self.
• Dancers must be honest individuals that possess courage
• Dance does not always have to be accompanied by music.
• Dancing is a way to tell a story.
• Dancers are considered athletes although dance must be considered aesthetically
pleasing .
• There are no physical limits to communicating through dance. Even those who are
disabled can express themselves through specific movements that are unique to
them.

16. DANCE COMMUNICATION
• Dance can be used in place of the traditional PowerPoint.
• Dance is more efficient in relaying information as it is easier to comprehend.
• PowerPoints are a threat to the global economy
• Dance helps to solve our complex problems
• The technology of the body through physical thinking: body-to-body transfer,
individuals as objects, task-based method
• Our bodies can be the transformation of energy
• Symbiosis by Pilobolus represents the symbiotic relationship between two
organisms which seems almost harmful and can be interpreted as a love connection.

17. HOW TO PRACTICE CREATIVITY
• Think, think, think….
• Mediate
• Experience Periods of Silence
• Be More Exposed to Nature
• Do What You Love
This is an image of me doing
what I love the most, reading.