Can Creativity Be Tought?

Artists are supposed to be creative right?  I would argue that everyone should be creative, that everyone can find value in it.  Artists among them can use this tool to make work that is exciting, interesting, and that brings about a different way of thinking.  The question was raised to me the other day: can creativity be tought?  

I do believe it can.  One of my favorite professors Dean Valadez introduced the idea of creativity in an interesting way.  He taught that when the mind finds itself in a place it is unaccustomed to it is forced to think differently.  In class one day Dean told us that we could not draw with any sort of stick tool: no pencils, no charcoal, not even a bamboo pen for ink.  The class freaked out.  "How are we supposed to draw!?" "This is impossible!" "Is he serious?"  We were forced into a situation where our previous skills were of little use.  Everyone was uncomfortable.  This sort of discomfort is what Dean described as creativity.  I would agree.  Many of my most creative moments have been when I was forced, under pressure, and unfamiliar with the situation.  

I wish I had taken photos, but the result of these works were quite interesting.  New qualities of the mediums appeared.  New possibilities arose.  This sort of experimentation is essential to an artist because the more an artist knows about his tools the more he can build.  Artists are problem solvers, they react to visual (in this instance) problems and solve them.  The more you know, the quicker the solutions come.

Oh and if you want to know how we were able to draw with charcoal, graphite, and ink without using pencils, charcoal sticks, or bamboo pens you'll have to just try it yourself!