Creativity Quotient

Bouquet with Daffodils watercolor 13x9"

Can what goes on inside a person's brain while he or she engages in a creative task be measured in a laboratory? An article in New York Times 'Charting Creativity- Signposts of a Hazy Territory ' outlines recent research in the field: " Creativity is kind of like pornography-you know it when you see it." said Rex Jung, a research scientist at the Mind Research Network in Albuquerque. Dr. Jung, an assistant research professor in the department of neurosurgery at the University of New Mexico, said his team was doing first systemic research on the neurology of the creative process, including its relationship to personality and intelligence."

So, what makes one creative? Is it aptitude? divergent thinking? A quirky sense of humor? Risk taking? "The brain appears to be an efficient superhighway that gets you from point A to B when it comes to intelligence, Dr. Jung explained. "But in regions of the brain related to creativity, there appears to be lots of little side roads with interesting detours, and meandering little byways." Further into the article I found this gem: According to Kenneth Heilman, a neurologist at the University of Florida and the author of "Creativity and the Brain (2005), creativity not only involves coming up with something new, but also shutting down the brain's habitual response, or letting go of conventional solutions. Interestingly, Dr Kounios defines creativity as the ability to restrucutre one's understanding of a situation in a non-obvious way. I look forward to more research that will help me capture/liberate and maximize that elusive creative spirit and apply it to whatever I do :)

Bouquet with Daffodils in watercolor was my attempt to show the burst of colors that spring brings.