Thought Row Blog — imagination

Is Being Clever All That? Being genuinely clever requires an innovative imagination. One that seems to benefit greatly from a brainy ego. Spontaneity rules. Who amongst us has not been enamored by some people's ability to be clever in an almost showy way? But yet subtle enough to make us all notice without their clever act or comment appearing to be arrogant. Cleverish by design. All forms of creativity whether it be thoughts or actual inventions require an audience to appreciate the originality. Take a look around you. Most likely you are surrounded by some pretty cool stuff. Over time...

  The Interpretive Side Of Non-Interpretive Art: What is this painting all about? You might say it's a disentanglement by me from my usual style, that I call Receptive Abstract Patternernism. There is an obvious interpretive element in this work. The three trees are floating on an island in a sea of blue with a thousand whitecaps. The earth-brown shape that corrals the ocean is dotted with green nonrepresentational foliage. Not too terribly complicated when you take the time to view the work. But it could be more interesting if there was a story to go with it. . The...

  What Makes Creativity Creative?: "I'll know it when I see it." I often heard my commercial photography clients make this nervy comment. I have to say; with some amusement, I didn't see that portrayed very often. Creativity is subjectively deceiving; ask a dozen or more people what creativity is. And you will become inundated with a plethora of fanciful responses. Some of those will be downright brilliant. Generally, from those who live lives filled with creativity. Unfortunately, most will be speculative, with little or no real understanding of what it means to be creative. That's okay because the world...

Entranced By Arts Bewitching: Powerfully seductively attractive. Is art, or for that matter, all creativity alluring? Is it always in the eyes of the beholder? The makers of such works never truly understand the power they possess. Think about what resonates with you. Are you being visually seduced by its allure, drawn in to be taken on a journey? Art thrives on imagination. It starts with its creation, and it generally ends with the viewer. The images can find comfort or discomfort in our thoughts. Leaving us "entranced by arts bewitching." . It's nearly impossible to understand certain works of...

What benefits does pessimism hold for a creative person? : We all from time to time have  inclination to emphasize what we perceive to be the worst possible outcome. The most often recommended solution is to think positive, which generally lasts mere minutes and does not solve the pessimism for very long. When it comes to the creative process, pessimism is often looked upon as the proverbial double edged sword. Like good and evil, creativity is not so masterfully controlled by our thoughts. . Guess what? Negative thinking and thoughts can almost be entertaining. After all, our imaginations can literally create...