Art: The Essential Ingredient for a Fulfilling Life!

Judy Bruce

As we embrace the new year, reflections on personal growth and enhancing the lives of our loved ones take center stage. In this column, I will explore the concept of creativity and the traits often found in highly creative individuals, whether they be friends, family, or yourself.

During my years as an educator, I encountered many parents perplexed by the behaviors of their exceptionally creative children. These unique thinkers frequently face challenges in being understood and accepted. This prompted my research into creativity, aiming to support students who displayed sensitivity, empathy, and a non-traditional approach to learning. The insights I gathered helped both me and my gifted students navigate societal expectations in academic, professional, and family settings. My upcoming columns aim to share valuable strategies and insights that benefit highly creative individuals as well as those seeking to cultivate their imaginative potential.

I define creativity as a blend of awareness, fluency, flexibility, originality, and redefinition. These components empower individuals to recognize problems, generate numerous ideas, adapt to change, respond uniquely, and improvise effectively.

To determine if you or someone close to you embodies a high level of creativity, observe these characteristics:

• Occupies time without boredom
• Asks complex questions
• Exceeds expectations in tasks
• Explores multiple approaches to problems
• Takes risks
• Constantly doodles
• Experiments with familiar concepts
• Embraces uniqueness
• Displays heightened aesthetic awareness

Highly creative individuals, whether children or adults, may also exhibit sensitivity, a rebellious spirit, independence, and a willingness to endure discomfort in pursuit of their goals. In the coming columns, I will delve deeper into the various facets of creativity, explaining how anyone, even those with a more linear thought process, can enhance their creative thinking. Stay tuned—creativity is not just an innate trait; it can be encouraged and developed.

I will also feature works by Picasso, an artist emblematic of true creativity. Always remember, “You Gotta Have Art!”