Intention (the problem), Resources, Daydream, Create.

Intention/Idea Paper pattern on canvas

Paper: Types of hand made paper, thickness, size, consistency of paper (smooth/coarse).

Canvas: Size, color, back ground, detail

Paper: design of shape, placement, pattern

There are distinctive stages in creative problem-solving. The first stage is preparation,  gathering resources. Searching out any information that might be relevant. The key to this stage is open mindedness, letting your imagination roam free. Being receptive, being able to listen openly and well, to move beyond self censorship and judgment.

Once you have mulled over all the parts and pieces you have gathered let the problem simmer. This is the incubation stage, when you digest all you have gathered. It’s a stage when much of what goes on occurs outside your focused awareness, in the unconscious. As the saying goes, “You sleep on it.”

The unconscious mind is far more suited to creative insight than the conscious mind. Ideas are free to recombine with other ideas in novel patterns and unpredictable associations. It is also the storehouse of everything you know, including things you can’t readily call into awareness. Further, the unconscious speaks to us in ways that go beyond words, including the rich feelings and deep imagery of the senses.

We are more open to insights from the unconscious mind when we are not thinking of anything in particular. That is why daydreams are so useful in the quest for creativity. Anytime you can just daydream and relax is useful in the creative process: a shower, long drives, a quiet walk.

With time, immersion and daydreaming can lead to illumination, when all of a sudden the answer comes to you as if from nowhere