I interviewed my friend from undergrad, Haley Pierson-Cox. She is a former craft blogger (craft blogging has gone somewhat out of style), and current crafting author and podcaster. Whenever I want ideas for crafts such as “how do I improve the ugly chairs in my office” or “what can my mom do with her wedding dress,” I ask Haley for ideas. All of Haley’s books so far are cross stitch patterns, but she sews, crochets, and does many other kinds of crafts.
I asked Haley if she sees part of her job as a crafter and author to inspire creativity in others. She agreed that cross stitch pattern books are supposed to make people want to make her creations, but that she really felt like her bigger job was to show people that the barrier to entry on crafting and creativity is low. She wants to encourage people how to make their own. We discussed teaching creativity as a result of the readings from this assignment. We both agreed that it’s important to let students make mistakes that they aren’t punished for (assessment-wise) on the path to creative success.
I watched Sir Ken Robinson’s video on creativity and one of the concepts that struck me was the difference between creative and artistic (ARC, 2017). Robinson claims that when many people say they are not creative, what they really mean is that they are not artistic. I wanted Haley’s perspective on this, as someone who I see as creative and artistic. She immediately went into many of the concepts from the readings of CEP 818: how there needs to be creative engineering or creative product fulfillment. She said, “Creativity can mean a lot of things.” She then added that being artistic is adding personal style to creativity. She also said that you can be artistic outside of art. I wasn’t completely surprised that Haley so directly related her comments to the class; she’s an incredibly intelligent and thoughtful person. It did however feel serendipitous.
I brought up how I have a strong belief that creating in and of itself has value. Haley agreed and expanded by saying it’s good for your brain; it makes connections. She stressed the importance of creativity without consumption. She said that within an educational setting, it’s crucial to allow people to have tools without the pressure of perfection.
I additionally asked Haley about the difference between imagination and creativity, which was another question that was inspired by Sir Ken Robinson (ARC, 2017). She said that the answer to this question depends greatly on how your brain works. For example, are you someone who can visualize? Imagination is the thing that gives creativity flavor. Imagination is the mind side and creativity is the hands side.
Haley’s personal creative process relates directly to her definition of creativity. Her definition of creativity is “to be aware of patterns as they exist - nature, sleep, structure - and then taking it from there where you want to go.” That is to say, “know the rules to break the rules.” Her creative process looks like having a plan, a deadline, templates, designing time, and then working within those constraints to create. Her advice is to lay out the parameters and rules but then “do whatever.” I was surprised by this very strong theme in the interview.
As a dance teacher, I experienced this as well - that constraint breeds creativity, though I never really considered it part of the definition of creativity. I considered it more of a facet of creativity. I taught tap dance and if I encouraged my students to do some improvisation or freestyle, they would stand in place and not do much. If I said, “Make up a dance using only shuffles, toes, and heels,” all of a sudden they came up with complex and interesting combinations. I’m wondering how this experience adds to the definition of creativity. I’m looking forward to exploring it more.
ARC. (2017, September 18). Ken Robinson - What is creativity? [Video]. YouTube. Retrieved October 13, 2022, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X1c3M6upOXA
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