Does Creativity Require Curiosity?

Blog 5


Last week, I wrote about Creativity (read blog here). Its close cousin is Curiosity.


Talking about curiosity, you might immediately think of the proverb, Curiosity Killed the Cat. It gives the word a negative meaning by warning of nosily poking into other people’s business, looking for weaknesses.


There is also a positive side to being curious. I associate it with a desire to discover and explore the world, to learn and grow by trying new things and asking questions.


We are born curious but sometimes, we push this curiosity aside when we grow up because we assume that asking questions makes us seem stupid. Or, we get so overwhelmed by the everyday routine that we do not make space for curiosity. However, questions and experimentation lead to new discoveries and developments.


If we lose our curiosity, we stagnate. The world around us keeps evolving, and we feel no longer connected to society due to our lack of understanding of new trends, developments and discoveries. We lose our sources of inspiration and become outdated because we stop learning about the world and ourselves.


Curiosity and creativity make our lives more exciting. Our curiousness can lead to new knowledge, experiences and adventures.


Creativity uses our memories and knowledge to transform them into something that creates an emotional reaction, a connection to others we touch with our works.


Did you know that there is a second part to the proverb? I only learned about it when I looked for a German proverb expressing the lesson. There is none, even though some book translations from English to German made it into some dictionaries.


The complete proverb is: Curiosity killed the cat, but satisfaction brought it back. It suggests that looking for answers is sometimes frustrating until a discovery excites you to embrace the next steps.


My Cartooning and Comic courses for children at François Dupuis Recreation Complex have started. I am curious about the interests and requests of my students that I would never consider drawing on my own. With every course, I learn something new and widen my horizon.

This Week's Daily Art - watercolour painting from a Michael Solovyev demonstration

As creativity and curiosity can enhance each other, stay open to change. Try new things to stretch your limits, grow and keep life interesting.

Creativity Breaks Barriers

Blog 4


Last week, I shared the core values of my business with you. During the next five weeks, I will talk about each in detail.


Creativity is at the centre of my values. My mission is to convince more people that they are creative because embracing your creativity will enrich your life (and help you with problem-solving in general).


I cannot count the many times someone has told me they are not creative because they equate creativity with creating art. Often, they had a bad experience in their youth when a teacher or loved one with a preconceived opinion nipped their creativity in the bud. Maybe, you can relate. Has someone ever criticized you because you created an animal that did not look like its living counterpart?


However, creative expression is subjective and emotional. You can capture the beauty of your environment or images of your imagination. Some people use it when words fail. There are so many different ways artists have expressed themselves over the centuries, often to much objection. Creative expression is not limited to art. Music, dance, literature, or something more practical like a beautiful garden or an inventive meal are all ways of creative expression.


I challenge you to pick up a new creative hobby. Consider your natural likes and interests. It does not matter if anyone else enjoys what you create as long as it brings you joy. At first, you might feel frustrated because the final result does not resemble your vision. However, if you continue, you will succeed in finding a medium and technique that suits you. The more you nurture your creative expression, the more ideas for projects and solutions you get. Soon, you will not be able to stop the ideas that you get.


If you are still worried that you have to be able to draw a straight line to get started, check out this previous blog. Everyone can draw lines and simple shapes (they don’t have to be straight except for machine-produced objects or buildings).


If you like, share your next or maybe first creative project with me. Thinking about ways to express your creativity is the first step to exploring what you want to make. I am sharing the art I created this past week for your inspiration. 

 

 

If you want some support, book a virtual coffee date with me.

Happy creating!

Aligned Core Values

watercolour pencil and ink

 

Blog 2


Art has always been my way to capture the beauty of nature. After I immigrated to Canada, it became my means to express myself without words in difficult and memorable times, a personal retreat.

The vision for my business has become much more than providing beauty with my art. It reflects my experiences of using art to cope, explore and capture my surroundings. 

As an entrepreneur, I represent my business. What I offer reflects my personal values. During the past year, I have gained a clearer picture of the purpose of my business. My core values give you transparency in my focus and whether your expectations align with my values.


Here are my five Core Values that are the foundation of my business:

My Creativity Challenge  (see more information in Blog 1) serves to connect and share my daily art. I want you to become curious about creative expression to enrich your life.


Looking at the drawings from the past week, I admit it usually took much longer than the 15 to 30 minutes I had planned. Once I start, I forget the time. I am also still working to overcome the urge for perfectionism.

 

 

Let me give you an example: On January 6, I had fish and chips for lunch. I wanted to capture a memory with a drawing but struggled because the parts of the image were indistinguishable. I was unhappy with the result, which haunted me until I added colour. Together with the other picture that day, I spent more than three hours on the two images. It was not my intention, but I enjoyed the process.

How have you expressed yourself today today? Please share a picture and any frustrations or successes. Send an email to info@KerstinPeters.ca if you want to talk about ways to collaborate.

Be Creative 2023

 

Three Poppies, wool, 8.75" x 12", CAN $450

Blog 1

Many of us have plans and good intentions at the beginning of the new year. Do you want to be more creative? What does it mean for YOU to be more creative? How much time do you want to spend creating?


Do you want to learn a new skill and need to take a course to reach your goal, or join a community to get you inspired?


You need to block time in your calendar until it has become routine, or you might make excuses that other tasks are more urgent. To succeed, set yourself a realistic goal. Can you set aside fifteen minutes daily?

I start the year again with my Creativity Challenge to get back into a creative routine after the holidays. I plan to create for 15 – 30 minutes daily, especially when I don’t have time for my paintings. Some will be sketches or experiments to try new materials or techniques. Usually, I would not post all of them, but I want to share that not everything I do looks as accomplished as my needle-felted or acrylic paintings (see at top).


Is one of your goals to make more time for creativity? If you are curious about needle felting, I invite you to my upcoming virtual workshops:

Felting Experience – Snowman

Sunday, January 29, 2023, 1:00 pm - 4:00 pm

Felting Experience – Winter Landscape

Saturday, February 5 and 12, 2023, 2:00 pm - 4:00 pm

Needle felting is so much fun and very relaxing. You will be amazed at what you can create with wool.