Observations on Creativity

Today I was introduced to the work of Kathan Brown. As founder of Crown Point Press, she has watched brilliant artists at work for more than 40 years. John Cage, Shahzia Sikander, Wayne Thiebaud, Chuck Close, and countless others have spent time making art at her studio. The things she says in her book are amazing because they’re simple and true. You can just tell. Like Kathan Brown, I’m the founder of a disruptive company, an artist, and a leader of creative people. I wonder if she’d consider being a mentor to me.

From her book Magical Secrets About Thinking Creatively, these are the Magical Secrets:

Cultivate sensuality
(Discovering the details of the physicality of materials)

Use a lot of time
(Taking enough time for what you are doing, and being aware that you’ve embarked on a life-long pursuit)

Get into the flow
(Encouraging a mental shift called flow that has a connection to creativity)

Have an idea
(Thinking about what you are doing)

Don’t know what you want
(Cultivating an inquiring an inquiring, open mind)

Know what you don’t want
(Understanding what others have done and how not to repeat it)

Stick your neck out
(Going against prevailing attitudes if you feel like it)

Use every tool
(Using new tools as needed without throwing out the old ones)

Become skillful
(Knowing when you need to develop skill and when you can use the skill of others)

Take yourself lightly
(Having a sense of humor and not seeing yourself at the center of the universe)

Go into the ether
(Letting yourself slip into another world from time to time)

Own it
(Knowing that you are doing what you should be doing)