Creativity Within Limits

Years ago I had an art professor who gave us assignments with very specific limits. His position was that limits inspired creatvity. He gave such assignments as only shades of blue, only straight  lines, only pallet knife. It often had the desired outcome. 

I accepted this outlook from the get go, because I grew up in South Dakota, where snow storms often created significant limits. Days stuck inside required some pretty creative solutions to cabin fever and sibling “interactions.”

My mother was a creative and resourceful person, but a lot of the solutions to days inside were up to us kids. We sometimes begged to go outside and make tunnels in the snow drifts. The time to get bundled up was about equal to the time we could spend outdoors. And it often took two sessions at dressing, because little bladders were frequently inspired by four layers of clothing. 

Games inside sometimes involved major messes. Others were inspired by my mother’s playfulness. On days inside she occasionally decided it was a perfect time to wax the floors. She pulled out all the heavy wool socks and we “skated” over the floors, polishing as we went. 

We are now facing a new set of limitations in the face of the virus and it’s inspiring a new set of creative solutions in many lives. So often we are delayed in going forward with certain projects or activities by the weighing of many options. When one major option is removed we are often able to move forward more smoothly. People are taking on long-avoided projects or doing things they’d been wanting to do but were “too busy”. 

In my own family there are examples. My son teaches Kindergarten and has set up his apartment with a giant white board, has created YouTube videos and holds “office hours” with individual students and their parents. He is going for walks where he writes positive messages with sidewalk chalk and sends photos of these to his students. My daughter is a chef who works for a catering company. She is reviewing, organizing and recording recipes and resources. She is on a dedicated exercise routine and is keeping her grateful parents well fed. My husband is digitizing 50 years of daily journals. I am cleaning the basement, gardening and putting to paper, things that have been on my mind for some time.  

In addition to the clarity that comes when choices are removed, we get to experience the “make do” mentality that was often part of our ancestor’s experience. Flexibility and novel uses for existing materials often made life possible in the past. 

When I’ve worked with kids who tend to worry, one strategy was to designate a certain bit of time each day for worry and then to spend the rest of the day less distracted. Perhaps this can apply now. Spend a certain time for handwringing and the rest of the day looking for creative ways to “make the best” out of this situation for our families and communities.