Artists are
inspired by a wide range of emotions:
joy, sorrow, tenderness. But even
anger can be a powerful muse when it comes to tapping into your artistic
potential and creative thinking abilities.
Anger is
something that everyone feels from time to time – myself included. I work really hard to be positive in happy,
and it is definitely a work in progress.
But this is normal. I’m sure even
the Dalai Lama must get a little peeved sometimes.
This doesn’t
have to be bad. It just so happens some
of the most creative people that ever lived – from Beethoven to Christian Bale
– were rather angry individuals.
In Creative
potential – Anger and Creativity, a clinical and forensic psychologist, Stephen
A. Diamond, PhD, discusses the “daimonic” – the concept that anger and
creativity come from the same place in the human psyche.
As artists,
we are passionate people full of raw emotion and creativity. But we can channel our anger into a burst of
creative thinking. Here are a few ways I
have learned to turn my anger into creative problem solving:
Idea
Storming: Whenever I get angry, I grab
my idea notebook and immediately do stream of consciousness writing. I write for at least three pages without
holding back, thinking about what I’m writing, or censoring myself. Every time I do this I end up with either a
great idea for a performance or a new solution for one of my companies.
White Board
Drawing: One of the walls in my office
is a white board. If I’m feeling
steamed, I just pick up a dry erase marker and start drawing. Like the previous exercise, I just scribble
what comes into my mind without censorship.
This is a fruitful exercise for me personally since I am a very visual
person. After I cool down, I will step
back and look at my anger-induced artwork.
I often see creative marketing solutions for my clients or ideas to help
my community.
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Physical
Exercise: Exercise is definitely not my
favourite activity and it sometimes takes me a bit of motivation to get
going. So, whenever I find myself pacing
the floor, I change my clothes and go for a run, practice Kung Fu, or do some
yoga. Not only does the rage push me
through the physical exhaustion, but it also helps my mind come up with
alternative solutions that I would not normally consider. Like bake a cake, and
not laced it with rat poison.
We all know
how destructive anger can be, which is why turning it into a positive energy to
help with creative thinking and creative problem solving is good for all of us.
Since anger
and creativity go hand-in-hand, what are some of the best ideas you’ve come up
with while touched by the muse of anger?
