When someone asks you, “What do you do?” what is your answer? If you’re like most of us, context matters. You might say one thing at a professional networking reception and quite another at a neighborhood block party. But how often do you answer, “I create art?” Part of living an art-committed life is fully […]
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Tag Archives: Creativity
Guest Post: Fine Arts, Creativity & the Aging Brain Positively Linked
May 8, 2013 
27 Comments
Here at The Artist’s Road we promote creative thinking and doing at any age. Dr. Francine Toder has written a book based both on scientific research and individual case studies that not only supports the notion that a “vintage” brain can take up a new artistic passion, but that there are many benefits to doing […]
Read moreWhen Did You First Embrace Your Creativity?
April 9, 2013 27 Comments
There were many commonalities I found among the creatives I interviewed during my 2010 cross-country U.S. trip. One was that my interview subjects all discovered their own creative side at a very early age. Fortunately for them–and for us–they held on to that creativity, and didn’t let the “I can’t” and “I don’t” forces of […]
Read moreThe Importance of Creativity in Education
February 19, 2013 45 Comments
For the last decade I have repeatedly emphasized a correlation between the encouragement of creativity in childhood and professional, personal and economic success later in life. I have done so here on this blog, and previously as a think tank senior fellow and artist’s rights advocate. I have not been alone in this belief. I […]
Read moreHow Do You Define an Artist?
December 14, 2012 14 Comments
Here in Washington, D.C., we are all swept up in amazement and wonder with the Redskins’ rookie quarterback, Robert Griffin III. He is as flawless off the field as he is on. It becomes difficult after a while for writers to find new ways to describe how amazing he is, but in yesterday’s Washington Post, […]
Read moreCreativity Tweets of the Week – November 17, 2012
November 17, 2012 11 Comments
Don’t worry, U.S. readers, you’ll still have time to get the turkey for Thursday even if you take the time to read the posts I’m linking to on creativity and writing in my latest Creativity Tweets of the Week. (For my many readers outside the U.S., do you celebrate holidays that seem to exist for […]
Read moreGet Ready for Another MFA Brain Dump
November 13, 2012 13 Comments
As I wrap up my third semester in my MFA in Writing program with the Vermont College of Fine Arts, I am beginning to prep for my next residency. Longtime readers of The Artist’s Road will know that means another spate of MFA Nuggets. Each day during my 10-day residencies, I post nuggets I’ve learned […]
Read moreWhen the End of the Road is Just the Beginning
November 6, 2012 45 Comments
I just now, moments ago, finished the first draft of the last chapter of my book-length memoir. I am alone in my basement, full of joy and excitement and wonder, but I am not alone, because I know that the readers of this blog are with me. I still have a ways to go on […]
Read moreAre Creatives Born or Made?
October 16, 2012 27 Comments
It’s a provocative claim, made right in the headline: “Want to be a writer? Have a literary parent.” I included this London Independent article in last Friday’s Creativity Tweets of the Week, and it’s been gnawing at me ever since. As I am wont to do with The Artist’s Road, I will now turn the […]
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Kudos to the Artist’s Road Commenters of 2012
The Artist’s Road is, at its heart, a conversation with its readers. It draws its strength from the quality and depth of its comments, left by thoughtful, reflective commenters. I am continually amazed at the wisdom left there; I love that my blog posts allow me to learn from my readers. So I’d like to […]
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