Stare. Then stare again. Watch this dude turn his head – and see what it does to yours.
It’s one of those annoying, ubiquitous internet photo posts. I used to think images like this were hokey and stupid. Now, I let the inspiration flow.
What?
You see, I now know that anytime something challenges us to see things in a fresh new way, it’s a win. The experience stimulates our own creative thought – and gifts us with a superpower surge of inspiration. It’s a fair payoff if we just allow our minds to open.
Research continues to prove that brainteasing activities enhance both creative thinking and problem-solving. These kinds of mind games can actually jumpstart both sides of the brain — the creative and the analytical.
Artists habitually take a different view – it’s how they’re wired. But we all have the capacity to cultivate the skill of truly “seeing” more than meets the eye. If you practice this freely, brace yourself for hot streaks of originality and innovation.
For me, just walking into an art store gives me a jolt of, “Let’s get started” or “Damn, I just have to work with those colors.” There’s something about seeing a row of Seafoam pastels juxtaposed with hot magenta… or a sweet shade of violet that reminds me of the miniature crocuses scattered in our front yard when I was a kid.
I start “testing” colors in the French pastel section – checking their compatibility with each other. I remembered a woman in my art critique group pairing a pale dusty pink with an olive green. Those colors reminded me of the striped Danskin tops I wore when I was 10. That thought reminds me that (also) when I was 10 — I never got stuck. Give me a periwinkle Crayola and some free time, and I was good to go.
