5 Most Dangerous Creativity Killers

article by Gregory Ciotti

When it comes to doing creative work, it’s important to not only look for ways to let our creativity thrive, but to also be mindful of insidious “creativity killers” that can sneak up and strangle our ability to come up with our best ideas. According to research from Harvard University, there are five main culprits that are responsible for killing our creativity.

Read more on 99U

Garry Winogrand’s filing system cracks me up.

We’ve finally had a bit of  winter here in New England and hours of darkness still outnumber hours of daylight, but that’s no reason to let your promotional efforts succumb to a winter freeze. If you’ve got goals to heat up your business this year, but you’re feeling stuck or uncertain of how to move forward, we’d love to help you defrost your plans and get moving toward your goals. Teaming up with OPOE is a great way to beat the winter doldrums.  To make the decision to contact us that little bit easier, we’re offering a free hour of consultation.  From now until the end of March, mention “DEFROST” to take advantage of this super chill offer. High-res

We’ve finally had a bit of  winter here in New England and hours of darkness still outnumber hours of daylight, but that’s no reason to let your promotional efforts succumb to a winter freeze. If you’ve got goals to heat up your business this year, but you’re feeling stuck or uncertain of how to move forward, we’d love to help you defrost your plans and get moving toward your goals.

Teaming up with OPOE is a great way to beat the winter doldrums.  To make the decision to contact us that little bit easier, we’re offering a free hour of consultation.  From now until the end of March, mention “DEFROST” to take advantage of this super chill offer.

John Cleese gives a talk on creativity.  It’s a bit long, so if you don’t have a good 30 minutes now, bookmark it for later.  Very worth it!

Telling Your Story Takes Two (at Least!)

It’s easy to think that your artist statement or your portfolio or your brand is all about you.  After all, you put in the long hours and drank too much coffee while you hustled from project to project.  This is your baby and you know best, right?

The truth is that you know your work from the inside out, but sharing your talent with others requires you to frame your work in a way that other people will get excited about.  The more you allow other people’s opinions coexist within the context of your work, the easier it will be for them to participate and share your project with a larger audience.

Start by testing the waters with a small group of people whose feedback is valuable to you.  Don’t just look for cheerleaders; criticism is an important tool that can help you refine your narrative.  A thumbs-up may stroke your ego, but talking it out with naysayers gives you the opportunity to refine your ideas.

Once you’ve seen your work from the perspective of your audience, you’ll see greater returns when promoting your portfolio.  One person can make amazing work, but making champions of your audience is the key to a really successful creative business.

February Inspiration File: Michael Mapes.

Thanks to a tip from the local Boston artist group Rifratkt, I checked out the quirky website of photo-based artist Michael Mapes.  His recomposed portraits as collections of specimens is pretty awesome, and might make him a part of my collection of favorite artists who collect biographical things (see Candy Jernigan or Joseph Cornell)  Actual biographic details including DNA in the form of fingernails, tears, etc are included in each piece as well.  This Slate article shows a couple of angled detail shots of what the pinned pieces look like.

(via rifrakt)