You can't harness Creativity

You don't harness life, it just happens, it constantly creates and destroys. Creativity is life itself. It manifests itself through individuals. 

You can't decide you are going to foster it in Science and Engineering but not in Music or Literature.

Given the right environment – dirt, water, light, heat, a seed will germinate and grow into a tree. But trying to pull the leaves of the seedling to make it grow faster won't do any good.

In the same manner, given the right environment and incentive, creativity happens. People become creative and this creativity is manifested in all areas of human activity. Trying to pull it in one or the other direction won't do any good.

One of the most formidably creative period of human history was the European Renaissance of the 16th century. Everything flourished : Painting, 

Sandro Botticelli - Birth of Venus

Sculpture, 

Michel Angelo - Pieta

Literature, 

Francois Rabelais - Pantagruel

Music, 

Guidonian Sheet Music

Medicine, 

Anatomy of the Human Body - 1517

Engineering

Suction pump  - Taccola - 15th century

 

 

 

The Renaissance saw revolutions in many intellectual, social, political and artistic pursuits, there was little limitations to the creativity of the Renaissance men and women. Their personal expertise could span from Medicine to Literature, from Engineering to Painting.

Our world is confronted to serious challenges, and future generations will have to seriously innovate to make it a better place. We need to help our children realize that they too CAN be creative, and that they can actually ENJOY being creative.

ART is an excellent way to foster creativity in kids, for various reasons :

• It does not request much costly equipment.
• The result can be seen very quickly.
• It is fun.

Once a child realizes she can be creative through actual involvement with any form of Art, she will be. From there, she will be able to apply her creativity to any area : Science, Engineering, Computing or Business.

But it all starts with Art.