Archive for March, 2022

I was sparked to learn more about Corita Kent from a section of Austin Kleon’s book “Keep Going.” I watched a bunch of YouTube videos (eg, Art + Life Rules from a Nun) and wandered through the Corita Art Center website. Already fascinated by the art, mindset & story, I ordered the book “Learning by Heart” from Amazon.com.  I learned a lot from this book & have some notes to share here especially in the YCISL context.

1. “Looking is the beginning of seeing.” p.33. This is meaningful to me because I often go from one place to another without being aware or appreciative. I often think back a minute or two, and wonder where I had just been. More of a blank than a blur. I think this is a good reason to have photo essay & video assignments in the YCISL program: taking a blur and trying to sharpen the important parts. Even in a more focused design thinking state of mind, this expression helps remind us to practice divergent thinking (look) & convergent thinking (see): we can look through Corita Kent’s Finder to quickly find a variety of framed content, stories & perspectives, then choose one to evaluate for a closer look (our prototyping phase).
2. “The concepts of limitation, structure, and boundary are sometimes looked on as inhibitors of our creative energy.” p. 82. I am particular excited to see the phrase “creative energy” because that is one of the concepts that YCISL started with. This also connects with our use of Gamestorming where we have the Open phase which is made up things like “limitation, structure, and boundary.” Creative energy really comes into play mainly in the Explore phase. Still, remember that creative energy can be applied in the Open and Close phases if we choose: we can be creative about setting the rules (eg, our YCISL ping pong exercise) & reaching closure (eg, our YCISL launch presentations).
3. “Every child is creative – until the time when teachers, parents and other adults in her world begin to patiently explain the way things should be, what connections can or can’t be made.” p. 104. This reminds me of Sir Ken Robinson’s TEDTalk “Schools Kill Creativity” and the idea that creativity is suppressed starting early in life. I like the graphical image of creativity conjured by the word “connections” where our creativity process really is about making connections – demonstrated by our YCISL Fast Thinking exercises especially the Associative Architecture “What do cows drink?” question.
4. “PLORK…we need a third word – one which combines the two concepts and allows us to recognize them together as one responsible act necessary for human advancement.” p. 159. In the YCISL program, the words “fun” and “party” are introduced in at the start of the workshops with the intention of setting the senses & mindsets to a dynamic mode. The combination of play & work also reminds me of Tim Brown’s “Tales of Creativity & Play” where he says “And if you’re starting a design firm, let’s say, then you probably also want to create a place where people have the same kind of security. Where they have the same kind of security to take risks. Maybe have the same kind of security to play.”
5. Immaculate Heart College Art Department Rules. p. 176. Also known as the 10 Rules Poster. I am surprised by the absence of an explanation of these rules in the book. I imagine these reflected the mindset expectations in that college setting. Still, we can gain wisdom by connecting these rules to our own settings. In particular, note the rule “The only rule is work” in large type, serif type and bold type for obvious emphasis. This attaches to many ideas quoted in YCISL that it takes work, often “hard” work, to be creatively productive.