I really enjoyed this article, and the references that Thorpe used. Although I did not relate to some, one that I found particularly awesome was the “zen and the art of the motorcycle mechanic” which is currently in my living room, per my boyfriend, not me. The one example from the book discussed a professor who gave a very open prompt to a student. Now this particular student had always had a hard time thinking outside the box and after several open attempts to get her to think like an artist, he finally asked her to start to describe a building “starting from top brick” She commented on the fact that once she went to the building and sat across the street at a burger joint that she finally was able to write, and much more than she would have thought.
I guess what I liked the most was the idea that creativity happens all the time, and although I do not believe that creativity has a set formula, but that anything and everything can be an inspiration. One thing that she suggests that I can definitely agree with is the idea that we need to be alway practicing. Just like a well trained athlete we need to constantly be working on our craft. Like a musician who always practices or sketchbook or whatever tool we use, always helps us move forward, and to create new ideas.
Scratching is the main point of this article, and something that seems simple but has some layers. Thorpe suggests that small scratches give way to big ideas. That these scratches help us work our way through the murkiness of our thoughts. Big ideas lead to our artwork, but the scratching is what always gets us there. She picks the perfect word to describe this, and I really love her ideas about not working out the same idea again. That we must always move forward, never back.
