Van Gogh's art works

Van Gogh's series of paintings

1. Starry night

One of Van Gogh's renowned work, it depicts a view of the night sky (presumably dawn), a village, mountains and a Cyprus tree. Cyprus trees are well known for their longevity, therefore implying that this point of view is immortal and unchanging. What strikes me the most in the painting is the way he drew the wind in this painting.

2. Lying cow

The painting depicts a lying cow on a grassland. The green grassland, and the white hair symbolises peace and tranquillity. The technique of Van Gogh's oil painting easily shows where the fur is swept towards.

3. Sorrow

It is safe to presume that this is a prostitute and pregnant, due to her depiction as naked and away from home, and the fact that Van Gogh lived in the 19th century. Also, it is clear that she is pregnant from bulge around her tummy area.

4. Sorrowing old man (At Eternity's Gate)

This picture potrays an old man, on a wooden chair near a fire place. It was painted two months before his death. The word gate in the title, symbolises a passing, which can mean Van Gogh's death. Similarly, this old man is in sorrow, as though his end is near. I believe that he is scared of his end, as though as he never has done anything noteworthy in his life.

5.  The Potato Eaters

This art piece shows a group of peasants eating potatos and black coffe in a dimly litted room. Unable to afford more than one small lamp not even able to lit up half of the small room they have.

Elizabeth Gilbert: Your elusive creative genius

Elizabeth Gilbert: Your elusive creative genius

This post would be a bullet point summary of the video above

• Elizabeth Gilbert is a writer
• She wanted to be a writer since she was a teenager
• she had a popular book that was published called "Eat,Pray,Love"
• because of the book Elizabeth became afraid of being unable to live up to other's expectations for future books
• creative people have a reputation mentally unstable according to Elizabeth
• Elizabeth feared that the next generations of creative people may be affect by emotional risks
• Elizabeth went on to search for ways to help creative people
• The search led her to ancient Greece and ancient Rome
• Ancient Greece and ancient Rome's ideas was to put creativity as a spirit or magical entity which would help artist in doing their work,this would give the artist a way to escape social criticism
• Instead of panicking over a problem tell yourself to help yourself
• don't be afraid

Tim Brown: Tales of creativity and play

Tim Brown

Video of Tim Brown: Tales of Creativity and play

The is a bullet point summary of the video above.

• Tim Brown and his friend,David Kelly,     studied under Bob McKim at Stanford.

• Bob McKim was a creativity researcher in the '60s and '70s and led the Standford   Design Program.

• Tim did an exercise with the audience,he asked them to draw somebody who was seated next to them within 30 seconds.

• the exercise was to see if the audience was embarrass about the drawings they did,which is the cause of conservation in thinking.

• Tim explained when that same exercise with kids,they have no embarrassment to show their friends the drawings they did.

• He later added when kids grew up they lose the freedom of not being embarrass.

• Tim suggested that for creativity to spark they should be in an environment which they feel relaxed and playful.

• Tim ran another experiment by giving everyone in the room a 'finger blasters' to 'give them a playful sensation' as he thinks playfulness helps get better creative solutions.
• He carried on by giving the audience another test to turn 30 circles into objects within a minute,he added on that quality wasn't important but quantity.
• It was to explain that when we change something for quality it affects our playfulness.
• The experiment was also done by Bob with psychedelic drugs and 27 professionals with a problem,after the experiment most of them actually found ways of solving the problems they had.
• Tim mentioned that play has rules to break the normal rules that blocks the creative ideas.
• Tim emphasize that using a physical prototype would be easier than verbally explaining how an object should look like.
• For services and experience Tim suggested role playing to get into further understand the solution better.
• Tim later pulled out that play is not disorder and that rules are needed in play.
• There are 2 different modes when it comes to design,divergence and convergence,divergence mode is where play is needed to spark ideas where convergence mode needs to be serious to focus on the ideas.

Creatively does have a relationship with play, in fact play boosts your creatively by removing the barrier of embarrassment and self questioning.

Playfulness is something that cannot be taught by others,they can only show you playfulness but you would have to learn to be playful by your own will.