"This book was prepared for any adult interested in better understanding the topic of creativity, becoming a more creative person, or teaching others to think more creatively. ... More specifically, this book will help you better grasp the relationship of creativity to our self-actualization - becoming what we are capable of becoming. It will present and help clarify: blocks and barriers to creative thinking; theories and definitions of creativity; mental processes in creative thinking; deliberate idea-finding techniques in creative problem solving; testing for creative potential; the pivotal role of creativity in gifted education; activities for creative dramatics; strategies for strengthening creative attitudes and abilities [and] generally what to teach when you "teach creativity" ... The book also addresses some needs of the business person interested in developing his or her own creative thinking potential or helping others become more creative problem solvers."--Preface.
A path for female creators, activists and magicmakers. The Creative Doer offers a roadmap for women who are hungry for a more creative life and who are willing to ask a few burning questions: What if we stopped trying to follow in the footsteps of the Male Genius? What does devotion look like if it doesn't mean forsaking everything and everyone, including your kids, for your art? What would happen if we granted ourselves the permission we're waiting for and started doing our work, our way? In this insightful, no-bullshit guide you'll learn how to: - Redefine creative work and bust the old myths about The Artist - Zoom in on your dream until it's doable - Claim the time and space you need to do your work - Understand fear and how to flow with it - Do self-care in a way that will change your creative life forever - Share your work, truthfully, tenderly and courageously
The co-founder and longtime president of Pixar updates and expands his 2014 New York Times bestseller on creative leadership, reflecting on the management principles that built Pixar’s singularly successful culture, and on all he learned during the past nine years that allowed Pixar to retain its creative culture while continuing to evolve. “Might be the most thoughtful management book ever.”—Fast Company For nearly thirty years, Pixar has dominated the world of animation, producing such beloved films as the Toy Story trilogy, Finding Nemo, The Incredibles, Up, and WALL-E, which have gone on to set box-office records and garner eighteen Academy Awards. The joyous storytelling, the inventive plots, the emotional authenticity: In some ways, Pixar movies are an object lesson in what creativity really is. Here, Catmull reveals the ideals and techniques that have made Pixar so widely admired—and so profitable. As a young man, Ed Catmull had a dream: to make the first computer-animated movie. He nurtured that dream as a Ph.D. student, and then forged a partnership with George Lucas that led, indirectly, to his founding Pixar with Steve Jobs and John Lasseter in 1986. Nine years later, Toy Story was released, changing animation forever. The essential ingredient in that movie’s success—and in the twenty-five movies that followed—was the unique environment that Catmull and his colleagues built at Pixar, based on philosophies that protect the creative process and defy convention, such as: • Give a good idea to a mediocre team and they will screw it up. But give a mediocre idea to a great team and they will either fix it or come up with something better. • It’s not the manager’s job to prevent risks. It’s the manager’s job to make it safe for others to take them. • The cost of preventing errors is often far greater than the cost of fixing them. • A company’s communication structure should not mirror its organizational structure. Everybody should be able to talk to anybody. Creativity, Inc. has been significantly expanded to illuminate the continuing development of the unique culture at Pixar. It features a new introduction, two entirely new chapters, four new chapter postscripts, and changes and updates throughout. Pursuing excellence isn’t a one-off assignment but an ongoing, day-in, day-out, full-time job. And Creativity, Inc. explores how it is done.
The title Joy Forever refers to the false promise of a common happiness, constantly played out by the proponents of the creative class and creative economy the very promise that since Romanticism has been ascribed to art itself, a vow which remains unfulfilled. The aim of F/SUW s publication is to scrutinize the false promises of distributed creativity as an ideology of cognitive capitalism. The authors devote themselves to critical examination of the structural links between art, creativity, labour and the creation of value under contemporary relations of production. Some of them do not stop at a critical diagnosis but go further, reflecting upon potential alternatives to the status quo.
"Extraordinary, wise, and hopeful…nearly poetic meditations." —Boston Globe What if imagination and art are not, as many of us might think, the frosting on life but the fountainhead of human experience? What if our logic and science derive from art forms, rather than the other way around? In this trenchant volume, Rollo May helps all of us find those creative impulses that, once liberated, offer new possibilities for achievement. A renowned therapist and inspiring guide, Dr. May draws on his experience to show how we can break out of old patterns in our lives. His insightful book offers us a way through our fears into a fully realized self.
From one artist to another, a helpful guide and a meditation on the nature of the ego and its toxic effects on the creative process Life Without Envy by Camille DeAngelis is a game-changer for artists of all stripes: a practical guide for navigating the feelings of jealousy, frustration, and inadequacy we all experience to create a happy life regardless of how your career is (or isn’t) going. In these pages you'll find strategies for escaping the negative feedback loop you get stuck in whenever you compare yourself to your fellow artists. You'll begin to resolve your hunger for recognition, shifting your mindset from “proving yourself” to making a contribution and becoming part of a supportive creative community. Best of all, you'll come to understand that your worth—as an artist and a human being—has nothing to do with how your work is received in the wider world. Life Without Envy offers a blueprint for real and lasting contentment no matter what setback you’re weathering in your creative life.
IDEO founder and Stanford d.school creator David Kelley and his brother Tom Kelley, IDEO partner and the author of the bestselling The Art of Innovation, have written a powerful and compelling book on unleashing the creativity that lies within each and every one of us. Too often, companies and individuals assume that creativity and innovation are the domain of the "creative types." But two of the leading experts in innovation, design, and creativity on the planet show us that each and every one of us is creative. In an incredibly entertaining and inspiring narrative that draws on countless stories from their work at IDEO, the Stanford d.school, and with many of the world's top companies, David and Tom Kelley identify the principles and strategies that will allow us to tap into our creative potential in our work lives, and in our personal lives, and allow us to innovate in terms of how we approach and solve problems. It is a book that will help each of us be more productive and successful in our lives and in our careers.
There are two paths in life: Should & Must. We arrive at this crossroads over and over again, and every day. And we get to choose. Starting out or starting over, making a career change or making a life change, the most life-affirming thing you can do is to honor the voice inside that says your have something special to give, and then heed the call and act. Many have traveled this road before. Here’s how you can, too. #choosemust An inspirational gift book for every recent graduate, every artist, every seeker, and every career change.
While many teens find it easy to express themselves through any number of creative outlets—singing, drawing, writing, or playing a musical instrument—not all young adults are able to readily access their talents. Even worse, some teens are convinced—either by themselves or others—that they don’t have any creative ability at all. They never think to challenge this assumption and as a result, miss out on the pleasures and rewards that tapping into their creative reserves might generate. In Creativity: The Ultimate Teen Guide, Aryna Ryan helps teensremove the barriers to being creative. This book explains what creativity is and what it isn’t, and asserts that everyone—including teens of all ages—are creative beings. Chapters in this book cover • myths of creativity, • creativity assessment, • the role of creativity in happiness, • the Creative Problem Solving process, and • creative brainstorming techniques. Most important, this book offers ways in which teens and those close to them can cultivate creativity. Teens will also learn how to maximize their creative possibilities and resist impulses and individuals that crush creativity. With insights into how teens have the potential to be the most creative people of all, along with a list of resources that can help them, Creativity: The Ultimate Teen Guide is a unique book that young adults and their families will find invaluable.
