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1. Firstly a facilitator is key.  I feel without one, there is structure to the process and that it would be easy to get lost or lose track of what the process is attempting to achieve.  Everyone maintaining an open mind is also very crucial.  This allows for ideas without limitation or restriction that are wild and random, which can then be chiseled down into something more conceivable.  The group also needs to focused on the main goal of the process.  Without a clear vision and focus on what needs to be accomplished, it is easy to get off topic and generate ideas that have no relevance to the purpose.

2. I helped in narrowing down the most appropriate ideas that coincided with the given criteria for the problem at hand.  To be more helpful I could lead the group in discerning why the selected ideas where the most appropriate and maybe see if any others might be more qualified for the exercise.

3. The main thing I learned from this process was that there are several elements or right and left brain thinking in creativity.  During the process there were several portions of diverging and converging which would initially create a mass amount of possibilities, weed out the ideas that were most suited to the issue, make numerous associations to those selected and then come back again and devise one solid idea that was new, innovative but perfectly fit to the problem.  The whole process taught me that it requires a culmination of both halves of the brain to be creative for different purposes.

1. The ideation/brainstorming was effective in providing a collective style of idea generating.  While in the group environment there was an element of chain reaction with how ideas were posed.  People would spout out random ideas of what ever came to mind at any given second and others would either give new ones or even branch ideas of the ones that were given.  The facilitator role was helpful by giving at least one form of guidance during the process; trying to give a gentle form of direction to the chaotic back-and-forth.

2. I scribed for the ideation session.  During the session I was able to pickup on how this experience can be helpful in group projects or anything to do with a group.  The process was also fairly enjoyable, given that some ideas were funny and some connections more so.

3. I have had numerous accounts where my friends and I have had difficulty thinking of something to do with a weekend, break period, etc.  In the future this could help by adding a new twist to what we might find enjoyable to even alter something we have done many times before by adding a new element to it, making it more enjoyable.

I wouldn’t exactly say you can flat out learn to be more creative.  It is more so that you can learn to use different tools and methods which help you to release the creative thoughts you may already have.  These aids, which is essence are not restricted by any boundaries or limitations, provide a form of structure or guide lines in your attempts to create new ideas.

I would say in a general sense everyone is born creative in the fashion that everyone has the capability of coming up with new ideas.  When people say one person is more creative than another, it probably means that the more creative person is more in tune with their right brain and therefore able to come up with more innovative ideas than most people.  This does not mean that left brain thinkers are at a disadvantage.  They simply need a tool geared toward left brained thinking in order for their creativity to show.

I would say I am able to create easier.  I have often had different thoughts float around, either just because of random day dreaming or trying to thinking of something new for a particular purpose; I would be able to eventually think of something useful but it would take forever.  Now with these new processes I am able to get my thoughts into some sort of order and they force me to make connections that I would never have normally made on my own.

1. Idea mapping allows me to make fast and random associations with initial  ideas without limiting myself to what might feel appropriate.  By using this tool it helps me to create new ideas that branch off of the common thinking that immediate ideas come from.  Mind mapping helps with idea mapping by making a visual representation; so that I can make some sense of my thought process.

2.

- Solving a problem

- Looking for a job

- Think of something to do when bored

- Need to get somewhere and have no transportation

1.  My three creative blocks were fear, self-doubt and lack of focus.

2.  For fear and self-doubt I had thought many times that I could get past these by simply sucking it up and doing what I was afraid of or unsure about, but I found that a lot of the time I couldn’t.  I determined that I could get passed these blocks by thinking for a minute and coming up with a way that I could do something creative and make it public instantly.

3. I chose fear as the one block break through.  I did this by taking a camera and making a cover video of one of the songs I had taught myself.  Fear of making something I create public and open to comments from random people has been a deterrent to me making certain decisions in my life for a long time.  For this block I stopped caring about possible negative feedback and just kept reminding myself that this is my creation and I like it.

4.  For the future I will retain the thought that my creations are my own and that it does not matter what anybody thinks of it except myself.  This will help me by reminding me that being creative and doing something that I think is creative is for my own enjoyment and no one else.

1. The creative inclination I chose is music.  I can say with confidence that I get the most meaningful reactions from listening to the music I love.  The creative act I undertook was listening to one of my favourite songs while repeating the same random drawing exercise from class.

2. My creative profile is that of a clarifier.  However, when I was doing my creative act, I was the complete opposite.  While listening to the song, I let my hand flow with the music and react to the song as it changed and progressed.  Afterward, seeing sections of the drawing that were smoother or cleaner compared to other areas that looked more chaotic and scattered made it evident of the song’s overtones.

3. Continuing activities like this would help my creativity in the future by allowing me to practice a non-limiting form of coming up with random ideas and letting my mind think a little freer.