BACK TO BASICS: Noticing/wondering/being curious about…
*CONTRASTS*
“Curiosity fuels creativity.
If you can notice and wonder, you can create.”
Pat Zietlow Miller
How do we know what happiness is, if we’ve never felt sadness?
I’ve said this before to my children, because I think there is a lesson to be learnt. All emotions are required in order to experience the opposite. Contrasts are important, in life and in creativity too.
Contrast gives us impact. When you think of how architects create a ‘WOW’ moment, they often use contrast - so a small narrow corridor leads to a room with a spectacularly high ceiling providing that feeling of anticipation as you approach, and ending in awe. ⚡️
And contrast grabs our attention creatively too - contrasting colours have an instant appeal; contrasting textures add depth to our vision; contrasting sounds add drama to the music we listen to.
So I could suggest that this week you specifically:
LOOK FOR CONTRASTS in the world around you.
Infact, yes, do that!
But also, I’d like you to think about how contrasts MAKE you ‘look’.
What do you focus on when you see something with high contrast? It’s usually the actual object - the thing - the noun! But I’d like you to look inbetween - at the ‘blank spaces’ - the negative.
Creative Thinking Prompts (w/c 24 June 2024)
1.
Look at something with high contrast - but notice which parts you ‘see’ and which parts you categorise as ‘background’. For example, with a polka dot pattern, you see the spots. But what about the space inbetween.
For example, look at these images of ‘sequin waste’ (yes it's a thing! The bit that's left behind after the sequins have been punched out) - do you see the holes, or the parts around the holes?
2.
Can you tell your eyes to ‘switch’ from the positive to the negative? Are you able to do it?
Don’t see the scissors, see the shapes where you put your thumb and fingers.
Don’t see the chair and table, see the shape of the space between them, and under them.
Don’t see the plant’s leaves and flowers, see the gaps which form those shapes but which are actually ‘nothing’.
Can you trace the ‘empty’ spaces and see what shapes they create. Instead of drawing the object, can you draw the spaces in between? Or just do it with your eyes if you don’t have time to draw. Just ‘notice’ the negative space.
It can all feel a bit surreal, but it’s a great exercise to get you seeing the world in a slightly different way. And we all know where that leads, right? To even more lovely creativity!
I’ve often quoted my school music teacher who said this to me when I was younger:
"The rests are as important as the notes.”
And I have applied this to lots of things in my life since - in interior design when thinking of ‘filling a room with stuff’ in a wonderful maximalist way, it’s important to have moments of calm in between the chaos; and in life - I really need those quieter days, those rests, those spaces of calm. I think we all do.
So just as in life we can appreciate the contrasts which rise and fall in ebbs and flows, so too in our creativity and our creative thinking: contrasts are important.
This week, merely acknowledge the contrasts around you, and notice them even more: The positive and the negative - both are needed to create one other. A lovely synergy I think, don't you?
P.S. It really is your LAST CHANCE now to get a ticket for our INSPIRATION DAY in Saltaire on 5 July. Let me know of any dietary requirements by Wednesday 26 June please!
You can book your ticket here and don't forget to use code WONDERCLUB to get your £15 discount.
“Wonder makes us more creative and more desirous of studying the world around us. It makes us humble, less materialistic, more generous, and better community members… Wonder makes us less stressed and feel like we have more time… Wonder quite simply makes us want to be better, more tolerant people.”(Parker, 2023)
