the challenge
Our creative assignment for today is to create a sculpture out of toys or part of toys. The Seed the sculpture should be inspired by is Change.
Let’s see how it goes..
my insight
I’m somewhat ambivalent regarding my experience today. Here’s what happened on the way to the Insight I created…
It started with looking around me in the children’s playroom for something that will ignite my imagination. I soon found a game called Humpty Dumpty’s Wall Game, and got hooked on the concept of the wall. That’s when I had the idea to create a sculpture in which a wall is being broken — an act that symbolizes change and transformation.
OK. So I had an idea. My thinking is visually oriented, so I had a clear picture in my head of what I wanted to achieve. At the same time, I didn’t have a clue on how to create the effect I was aiming for. So I continued to look around the room. Then I found a jar full of marbles and had a vision of the marbles rolling and breaking the wall. The only problem was that this entire idea was built on movement and turning it into a sculpture would not be trivial. Unless…
Unless I freeze the exact moment when the wall is being broken. Being a photographer, the easiest way to do that was, of course, using a camera.
reflection
So, here’s why I am ambivalent. I’m quite satisfied with the result. I feel I managed to capture what I wanted to express, and it is pretty much what I envisioned. On the other hand, it is more of a photograph than a sculpture. I could argue that it was a very temporal sculpture — one that existed for only a fraction of a second, and that’s why I had to capture in a photograph. But doesn’t that make it more of a temporary installation than a sculpture?
Well, here’s the thing: it doesn’t really matter. I created something I am happy with. It isn’t something I’d normally do or something I thought of before I approached today’s assignment. Did I ignore the definition of the assignment? Certainly not. On the contrary: my attempt to follow the instructions of the Prism had triggered the line of thought that resulted in the Insight I captured. The result might not be really a sculpture. But my thinking process revolved around building a sculpture… with a twist.
The creative process I experienced today could be analogous to the act of stretching a rubber band. Thinking about the “problem definition” increased my potential energy. I didn’t ignore the problem — I took it seriously and used it to explore and come up with an idea. But at some moment, I allowed myself to let go and ditch the strict definition of the assignment. And just like releasing a stretched rubber band, this potential creative energy took me further than I had expected.
mental notes
- Don’t ignore the problem definition. Use it to build creative energy. But allow yourself the freedom to let it go at some point.
now it is your turn… be creative!