arthinks

Still at the subject of creativity, my thoughts are on the people who actually plunge head-on into creative endervours. Artists. Dancers. Musicians. Writers. Designers.... How do they deal with early oppositions from caring significant ones; then times of struggles, doubts and terrors; then competitions and rejections; eventual acceptance and rising expections....? Hear it straight from an articulate and successful author: Elizabeth Gilbert

Today while I was searching for articulated thinking on resourcefulness, I came across an exceptional video on HOW TO GET CREATIVE IDEAS. It excited me to hear a talk by Professor  Murray Gell-Mann.  Here is how an extract describes him: He is one of the largest living legends in physics. He's also been described as The Man With Five Brains, and it's no puzzle why: He was admitted to Yale at 15, got his PhD from MIT at 21, and is an international advisor on the environment. He speaks 13 languages fluently (at last count), and has expertise in such far-ranging fields as natural history, historical linguistics, archaeology, bird-watching, depth psychology, and the theory of complex adaptive systems. Creative thinking is the source of all created works. While not understanding the specifics of many of his references, I appreciate his sharing the varied stages of how ideas come to mind and how they evolve and get organised into a form that is accepted by the maker as "This

Paul Klee takes art elements of line, shape, space, form, texture, colour as the building blocks of a visual language. Like music notes creating wind or water sounds or sounds of a person breathing or walking up flights of steps, the music composer expresses his imaginative story. Klee, the art composer,  tells stories of imaginative worlds with improvisations using art elements. His stories of sensations and fancies with striking combinations of textures and colours; lines and shapes; forms with space or volume, evoke unexperienced feelings and ideas. This is my fascination with the works of Paul Klee. I feel new feelings. See new things. I am encouraged with his boldness in embracing the unpredictables. These videos shared by admirers are enrichments for me in enjoying Paul Klee anew. Share my joy. loaded by pixels2u on Sep 28, 2010 The lovely, hypnotic tune is "Water Down the Ganges" by Prem Joshua and Manish Vyas (available on iTunes, whole album is wonderful.)

Here is an appropriate introduction to Paul Klee's paintings. Through feelings, the music takes us into the sensory aspects of his colours and lines. Then the dimension of his mind in developing the compositional arrangements of his colours and lines become significant. Uploaded by arwen987 on Jul 20, 2009 Paul Klee (18 December 1879 29 June 1940) was a Swiss painter of German nationality. His highly individual style was influenced by movements in art that included expressionism, cubism, and surrealism. He was, as well, a student of orientalism. Klee was a natural draftsman who experimented with and eventually mastered color theory, and wrote extensively about it. His works reflect his dry humor and his sometimes child-like perspective, his personal moods and beliefs, and his musicality. He and his friend, the Russian painter Wassily Kandinsky, both taught at the German Bauhaus school of art and architecture.

You are over the moon with your first kiss. Once in a blue moon, the excitement of the first kiss carries on into old age. But hardly has anyone been moon-struck over this carry-on excitement as an aspiration. The moon, however, has always a mysterious pull over lovers. Billions and billions have gazed at the same moon since it first came into view and had their imagination stirred with amazing responses. And here is one. The moon. A camera. An artist.

Thank you Steve Jobs for being who you are.  I am one of the millions of people who have been empowered  by what you and your team have contributed.  My condolence to your family and to all who will miss you. May you rest in peace and in eternal bliss.

I find the works of Dong Kingman delightful. His townscapes, of glitzy high rises or back-street sardine-packed scruffiness,  have a charm of individuality. He can stitch together shapes of bridges and boats; sky, water and sand; fences, stately ornaments, quaint vehicles and graffitti-covered walls with eccentric people in familiar postures; pigeons and cats and cute everyday stuff with a touch of humour. A remarkable man, with an eye for the common sights in an ordinary place, he sees the new meaning in them and paints them in striking surprises. Thus his body of works gives joy and refreshment to many who share his attitude towards creativity. How does Dong Kingman work? Where does he get his content from? What are his subject preferences? How does he approach his paintings? With curious questions like these to awaken the appreciation, enjoy the following as I have:

The United States Information Service (USIS) was in Beach Street Penang in the fifties. It was a place for many youngsters like me who liked to look at interesting printed stuff. It ran weekly films. Among one of these was a documentary on Dong Kingman, the watercolourist. I just loved the look of his simple drawings and colours. I was about twelve years old. Later on Dong Kingman came in person to draw in situ. Among the crowds, I caught a glimpse of him in Magazine Road doing quick sketches. I was too young to grasp the significance of this occasion. Now I have the opportunity to examine closely the works of the man. What a lively man! Such an eye for the character of place and a situation. Such masterly placement of his shapes. Such playful application of his colours. He can tease out   the glow and caress into being the many nuences of the surface of skin and bark and stones. His clouds whisper. The leaves he brushes rustle. His water dances and excites. All these expressed w