white paper challenge: nicole

the white paper challenge

I created this experiment to see how people felt about making.

1. find a sheet of regular copier/printer paper (8.5" x 11" white paper)
2. set a timer for 10 minutes
3. take your sheet of white paper and make something with it! You can use whatever tools you have on hand to do something, and create whatever you would like. Transform the piece of paper into anything...it could be a 3D form like origami or a 2D form like a doodle, or even confetti--basically anything else you can think of. The only requirement is that you make "something" with this piece of paper by the time the timer goes off (please only work on this for 10 minutes, including any time you spend planning what you are going to make)
4. Take a picture (any resolution will work) of what you made
5. After completing the steps above, please respond to the survey found here

Main Research Findings

• Making is a Choice
• Making "says" something
• making is not a solitary act--requires feedback and support; commonly is created as a gift
• People make excuses about making (or not making)
• Making is an emotional topic: it is not just about creating something with your hands
• Getting started is hard
• making requires space: mental and physical
• making requires time: making time to make
• making affects confidence
• there are many misconceptions on making, creativity and value
  

IDI #3: Ashley Frazier

Ashley Frazier

Creative Director & User Interface Designer
Masters in Interior Design
"Ex-maker" (of art: printmaking, painting)

without feedback, i'd be happy, but it makes it better to get another level of commentary

i feel so bad about it...i spent so much time on art making. I liked having a way to express myself, but now that i don't do that anymore, it's kind of like if i went to law school and never practiced law...not that i am a lawyer-level artist

Question 1: How are you creative?

•  i'm creative when it comes to problem solving.
• i'm good at coming up with new ways to think about something or solve a problem
•  i am most creative when a current situation makes me have to make a decision--different from making a painting
• problem solving can still work in art--web design, interior design

Question 2: What motivates you to make?

• when i come across something i feel needs to be done better or in a more visually appealing way
• problem i come across--what's a more interesting way to solve it ?
• most problem solving has a visual output
• hard to separate it from web design
• helping people be creative about their process---sometimes people define their process by predetermined limitations/barriers, i like helping people see what it would be like without limitations...a lot of it ends up as a visual representation
• ART
• a grade at the end of the semester, inspired by things going on in my life
• i never felt like i had deep meaning to things like other artists had
• senior project-study of barbie's-pop-culture, easily relatable to sorority people, stereotypes, confirming to ideals, etc--she wanted to prove that she was not a typical art student--rebelling against what people thought of me (sorority sisters view of an artist, art majors view of a sorority sister)
• typical art students have deep-seeded angst, and something important to say--she didn't have that....the work she wanted to do was seen as superficial, happy work
• art  should make me feel something--but it doesn't have to be this really deep reaction

Question 3: Can you describe the last time you made something? How did you feel? Where were you?

• hmmm...the last time without a computer was in my undergrad. which is really sad...i can't think of anything since undergrad
• i really enjoyed the process of printmaking--layering papers and inks
• subtractive woodcut process--she really liked it
• it was also scary, since you had a limited number of prints to work on
• the fear that it might not come you exactly as you had planned.
• conceptualize your ideas, break it down into little steps
• most of the time it turned out better since it wasn't what you were expecting....
• you have vision for the piece, but it has a life of it's own but it ends up being better because of that

Question 4: How do you feel before you make something? While you are making something? After you are done?

• excited about the process and the ideas that i had
• there'd be tension during the process
• at the end, i'd feel proud of what i had accomplished
• that i had been able to get what i conceptualized out of my head and onto paper
• i enjoy getting feedback---having gone to art school, i do really well with constructive criticism--what i can do to improve, take it further
• without feedback, i'd be happy, but it makes it better to get another level of commentary

Question 5: Are there any particular parts of the creative process that are challenging for you? Any parts that are easy?

• challenging: getting started on something that you have some instruction on what the end output will be, but how to translate that into something visual becomes difficult
• especially when there are constraints(like from a client)
•  most of the time when someone asks you to do something, they can't do it themselves, so how can you turn it into something they like

Question 6: Are there any colors, smells, sounds, or tastes you associate with making things?

• skipped   

Question 7: Is there a particular space (mental or environmental) where you feel more comfortable making things? What is this place like?

•  yeah, i don't know, i generally tend to ...
• i am a procrastinator even if i am wanting to do it
• put some music on so i can really get in a motivated working mood
• upbeat music i can hum to
• i'll generally set my computer or work stuff up at a table, with a chair (not couch with TV)
• if something isn't too creative, i'll sit in front of the tv

Question 8: Is there a particular space (mental or environmental) that holds you back from expressing yourself creatively? What is this place like?

• in theory, i'd like to get back into it. before i start something, i need to make sure my space is ready for it, i'd want to clean everything up, set up the space, etc. i really want to dust right now...the idea of painting with a dusty house does not appeal to me in case dust gets in the paint
• i have "creative procrastination with a touch of OCD...."

Question 9: How do you make a space your own?

• skipped   

Question 10: How does a personal, designated space affect your creative experience?

• skipped  

Open Conversation

• I don't make art any more because i haven't really set up a space where i can do things, i don't have a press...i haven't been inspired to buy all the supplies i need
• painting on a pre-made canvas isn't appealing--i want to stretch it, gesso it, etc.
• i get really into something that by the time it's finally done, i am ready to move on
• i did painting for so long that i don't want to do it anymore
• i haven't found time--part laziness
• i haven't felt inspired--there's nothing I can think of that I've seen and said "i want to paint that"!
• i put all these ridiculous restrictions on myself, but i want to have a space to do it
•  i feel so bad about it...i spent so much time on art making. I liked having a way to express myself, but now that i don't do that anymore, it's kind of like if i went to law school and never practiced law...not that i am a lawyer-level artist
• everyone who goes to art school is not an awesome artist
• it seems sad to devote all this time to something
• it's not completely true i don't act creatively, i just have a different outlet now
• certain level of responsibility when you make something
• when you are doing it as a job, is there the same level of responsibility
• if you are doing it on your own, it's different than creating creative work--at work you are creative within restraints, but it's not the same as a blank canvas/paper in front of you
• "i feel i have to put so much time in creative stuff, but i could do something quick like sketching a bit every day"

anxiety research

For SmallSteps, I did a lot of anxiety research. Here are some of my notes from that project...


"Anxiety Disorders Association of America"

• Anxiety disorders are the most common mental illness in the U.S., affecting 40 million adults in the United States age 18 and older (18.1% of U.S. population).


• Anxiety disorders cost the U.S. more than $42 billion a year, almost one-third of the country's $148 billion total mental health bill

"National Institute of Mental Health"
"Anxiety Disorders PDF"

Anxiety is a normal reaction to stress...In general, it helps one cope. But when anxiety becomes an excessive, irrational dread of everyday situations, it has become a disabling disorder. Each anxiety disorder has different symptoms,
but all the symptoms cluster around excessive, irrational fear and dread.

5 Main Types of Anxiety Disorders:

1. Generalized Anxiety Disorder




• can't seem to shake their concerns.


• worries are accompanied by physical symptoms, especially fatigue, headaches, muscle tension, muscle aches, difficulty swallowing, trembling, twitching, irritability, sweating, and hot flashes.




2. Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder




• characterized by recurrent, unwanted thoughts (obsessions) and/or repetitive behaviors (compulsions).


• persistent, unwelcome thoughts or images, or the urgent need to engage in certain rituals...They may be filled with doubt and feel the need to check things repeatedly.





3. Panic Disorder




• characterized by unexpected and repeated episodes of intense fear


• accompanied by physical symptoms that may include chest pain, heart palpitations, shortness of breath, dizziness, or abdominal distress.




4. Post Traumatic Stress Disorder




• develops after exposure to a terrifying event or ordeal in which grave physical harm occurred or was threatened


• persistent frightening thoughts and memories of an ordeal


• emotional numbness, sleep problems, feel detached or numb, or be easily startled




5. Social Phobia




• can be limited to only one type of situation or almost anytime someone is around other people.


• persistent, intense, and chronic fear of being watched and judged by others and being embarrassed or humiliated by their own actions.


• severe fear can interfere with work or school, and other ordinary activities.


• blushing, profuse sweating, trembling, nausea, and difficulty talking.

Treatment of Anxiety Disorders

• "How to Get Help for Anxiety Disorders"
  
  "Treatment of Anxiety Disorders"


• Anxiety disorders are treated with medication, specific types of psychotherapy, or both


• Medication will not cure anxiety disorders, but it can keep them under control while the person receives psychotherapy


• Sometimes people must try several different treatments or combinations of treatment before they find the one that works for them.


• The practitioners who are most helpful with anxiety disorders are those who have training in cognitive-behavioral therapy and/or behavioral therapy, and who are open to using medication if it is needed.


• Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy...helps people change the thinking patterns that support their fears, and the behavioral part helps people change the way they react to anxiety-provoking situations.


• Exposure-based behavioral therapy has been used for many years to treat specific phobias. The person gradually encounters the object or situation that is feared, perhaps at first only through pictures or tapes, then later face-to-face. Often the therapist will accompany the person to a feared situation to provide support and guidance.


• Many people benefit from joining a self-help or support group and sharing their problems and achievements with others. Internet chat rooms can also be useful in this regard, but any advice received over the Internet should be used with caution


• Talking with a trusted friend or member of the clergy can also provide support, but it is not a substitute for care from a mental health professional.

Determining if you have an anxiety disorder

The Anxiety Disorders Association of America has a bunch of tests you can take to begin the diagnosis process, including the "Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) Self-Test" :

• Do you have unwanted ideas, images, or impulses that seem silly, nasty, or horrible?


• Do you worry excessively about dirt, germs, or chemicals?


• Do you keep many useless things because you feel that you can't throw them away?

creative anxiety

Apparently creative anxiety is a hot topic.

There are creativity coaches, like the multi-book author Eric Maisel, PhD who help people deal with anxiety related to creative production. In a write-up on this random blog, Barbara Martin quotes Meisel, saying:

“We get anxious when we fear that we are about to embark on something with potentially negative consequences for our mental, emotional, physical, existential or spiritual health. That is not irrational. That is the epitome of rationality.”

and comments that:

Anxiety or fear can prevent us from creating at our best and sometimes causes blocks, stopping us from creating at all. These fears can make us hesitate at the outset of a project or take a detour in the middle or fail to complete, and fear or anxiety can skew our decision-making in ways intended to protect us against bad consequences.

research findings show that multi-cultural exposure enhance creativity

Kathryn found this article and forwarded it to me: Think outside your box: Enhancing creativity through multicultural interactions. It covers a few scientific studies (questionably valid experiments, in my opinion) that imply that creativity is heightened by exposure to other viewpoints.

While it was shown that multicultural experiences can promote creativity, the authors believe that people’s receptiveness to foreign ideas is another important creativity-enhancing factor – that people can receive greater creative benefits when they are open-minded.

and

When individuals are aware of the differences among ideas, they would want to arrive at a deeper, more complex understanding of these ideas through comparison, differentiation and identification of commonality