Creativity Seeds

 

The school projects students regularly work on are all focused on technical skills and accuracy, and so do not allow for any personal expression or creativity.  This prolonged, intensive and exclusive study of technique can have a negative effect on a student’s creativity, as well as their courage to express imaginative ideas.  Therefore, Atelier Stockholm actively encourages students to exercise their creativity and imagination while they are perfecting their technical skills in order to keep their creative “muscle” in shape.  Every second week, a sentence, subject, or a fragment of an idea is presented as a starting point from which students must imagine and create a drawing or painting in any style or media.  The images are then presented and discussed and a new starting point, or “seed,” is assigned.  The finished images are not expected to be beautiful works of art, but should clearly convey their creator’s intent.  Non-technical subjects, such as conception, composition, expression and mood, are addressed in these exercises.  Beginning students are not required to participate in the creativity exercises, but they are encouraged to do so.  Although it is a serious and valuable exercise, it is also an opportunity to have some fun.
Below are a few examples of images created for various seeds.  Note how different students interpreted the same seed.  How might you have done it?