All children are artists. The problem is how to remain an artist once he grows up – Pablo Picasso
This quote by Picasso is touched upon in a delightful Ted Talk given in 2006 by Sir Ken Robinson who says our education system is designed to educate the creativity out of children.
When we’re children we’re curious and play without inhibitions. The world is our secret garden. Once we go to school and become educated, we worry about “making mistakes.” We worry about whether or not we have the “right answers.” This worry about being correct all the time kills our creativity and our spontaneity.
Robinson says, “If you’re not prepared to be wrong, you’ll never come up with anything original.”
As writers and artists, we have to be willing to be wrong. We have to be willing to make mistakes for our creativity. I make mistakes everyday that I write. It’s part of the territory of being an artist. And I do notice that I have to fight against my “need to be right” each time I write. I have to let that part of my programming go or at least set it aside until I’m ready to edit my work.
How do you stay true to your artist-self? In my next post, I’ll discuss some of the ways I nurture the artist within.
Tagged: creativity, Sir Ken Robinson, Ted Talks, writing tips
