Episode 358 of the CMP, a Creativity Matters Podcast — Visual Thinking!

I called this show Yellow Brick Road in the episode itself, but it really is a show about visual thinking, about thinking in words versus images, and about associative thinking.

In this episode of the CMP, musing on being a visual thinker or a more word-oriented thinker. Watching videos and interviews and reading about Temple Grandin over the last few weeks had a real impact on me. Not only was I fascinated by some of the advice she gives students about presenting their art, but her discussions of being a visual thinker really stuck with me and had resonance in unexpected ways. As someone who wishes that I could just “see” outlines of objects and their details more clearly in my head, her descriptions of her thought process really struck me. At the same time, I found real resonance in the ways in which her thoughts jump and layer and build from a single word to dozens of related moments.

Lots to think about in this show. Everyone is different, and it isn’t better or worse if you feel like you are more word- or picture-oriented. This conversation is about recognizing that our brains do all work differently…. and it can make some of our creative projects more or less challenging in approach — but it doesn’t mean that any creative challenge is off-limits. Practice and learning make anything possible. The more I close my eyes and visualize the teapot, the more clear it is becoming.

Note: This show is not about visual “learning” or how we process and take in information. It is, instead, more about how we “think” when we look inward and think about information, especially from a touchstone object presented to us (like the word “teapot” or “shoe”).

Mentioned in this Episode of the Creativity Matters Podcast:

• The World Needs All Kinds of Minds (Temple Grandin TED Talk)
• Temple Grandin on Her Search Engine (video from Blank on Blank (I mis-named this in the podcast – but definitely check out this great series))
• ICAD is coming / some thoughts on summer art — ICAD Retrospective, Simmering Ideas for Series, and Siren’s Call of Ballpoint

Show Information:

• Guitar music: Nicholai Heidlas on SoundCloud
• Creativity Matters Group at Facebook
• Patreon page — every bit of support helps
• oamyoamy at Instagram
• Try Creative Bug with the Living a More Creative Life: 30 Ways in 30 Days class

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