.. .. When we were kids, we picked up a little paper and put it on a stick; and when you waved it back and forth, you understood the power of air underneath the wings.  In that way, a child begins to understand abstraction, poetry, metaphor, symbolism.  You play with the materials you have and use your imagination to make them into something else.

That's what's so sad about having everything on a little [computer] screen -- it's not physical and dimensional, and that seems backward.  It's less advanced to work with something you can't touch or penetrate, something that doesn't surround you or excite all your senses. Julie Taymor O, the Oprah Mag., Nov. 2001 < interview: Julie Taymor *book:*-Julie Taymor: Playing with Fire**** video: Behind the Scenes With Julie Taymor

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The Doubter would love to be creative, but she's scared of looking stupid. Depending on her nature, she'll take one of two approaches to art.  Impatient types might try something new, but if it doesn't seem to be going the way they'd hoped, they give up on it. More tentative personalities don't even get that far. ... Doubters just need a little confidence and perhaps some privacy.

Here's a really easy first step: Get a kit. A paint-by-numbers, a book of origami paper-folding patterns, even a box of Shrinky Dinks. ... Go ahead and create something. If it's terrible, throw it away, or hide it in a closet. ... Did you have fun doing it? Then try again -- you'll most likely get better and better.  excerpted from article: "What's your Creative Personality"  by Kristin D. Godsey, Artist's Sketchbook, June 2002 -  a publication of The Artist's Magazine artistsmagazine.com

Imaginarium 156-piece Deluxe Art Set with Wood Case

Origami : The Complete Guide to the Art of Paperfolding

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"David Morse, who plays one of the other Death Row guards in The Green Mile, says Hanks "defines the word play.
He plays with the world. It's his sandbox. "You don't expect such frivolity and exuberance from adults especially one
as powerful as [he is]... Tom really is the child/man he played in Big."     [Calgary Sun, Dec.5.99]
 

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Diane Ackerman, a poet, essayist and naturalist who teaches creativity at Cornell, in her book "Deep Play" talks about being able to "play anywhere that is set off from reality, whether it be a playground, a field, a church or a garage.  "Deep play doesn't have to do with an activity, like shallow play. It has to do with attitude or an extraordinarily intense state...  "Swept up by the deeper states of play, one feels balanced, creative, focused... Deep play is an absence of mental noise -- liberating, soothing, and exciting. It means no analysis, no explanation, no promises, no goals, no worries.

.. .. "You are completely open to the drama of life that may unfold." from article: Creativity and Flow Psychology by Douglas Eby *book:*-Diane Ackerman. Deep Play

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"'Growing up? Not for years. I hope to be a child when they put me away.' The brood is raucous, not surprising
given the fact that Gibson (the sixth of 11 children) once stapled his sister's head back in Australia and is still fond
of giving noogies, playing practical jokes, bending spoons, burping the alphabet, telling gross stories and giving
his kids nicknames like Jarhead."

from article on Mel Gibson [USA Weekend, Feb. 5-7, 1999]

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"I was always kind of teased for some of the silly things I'd make up in skating, but that was what I really enjoyed:
making up new jumps, new spins, making up a program. I even skated to 'Barney the Bashful Bullfrog.'"

Tenley Albright, M.D. [Olympic Skater]

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"The secrets of [Shirley MacLaine's] long, indelible career are her energy, stamina, vivacity and a curiosity
I've only seen duplicated in my children when they were two years old. But unlike a child, her joy is harnessed
to the discipline of a dancer -- who loves to work."

Meryl Streep   .. [Hollywood Reporter, Feb. 9-15.99]
 

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"People who preserve their sense of fun are better equipped to solve problems, think creatively and manage stress."

Jasmine Fox, Psychology Today, Jan/Feb.99, from review of book:
Beyond Love and Work: Why Adults Need to Play  by Lenore Terr, M.D.
 

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Spontaneous and positive, kids are naturally high. They will go out of their way to enhance this, too, by swinging on swings, or spinning in circles till they collapse. Even their crying and angry outbursts are an essential part of this spontaneity. As we approach adolescence, we become 'socialized' and lose some of this seemingly innate capacity for fun and pleasure. When reduced to repetitive and rote behaviors, we surrender and become numb to life. We forget to smell the flowers (sensory awareness), appreciate our beloved (keeping our heart open), and forget the excitement of finding new ways of doing things (mental flexibility).  *from book:**Natural Highs by Hyla Cass, M.D. and Patrick Holford  /  photo from hylacass.com

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If work is what must be done in order to go on living, the proper activity of That-which-Is will obviously be play. Reality is what exists without effort, Blakes energy which is eternal delight.  I have suggested that hide-and-seek, or lost-and-found, is the fundamental form of play because, at root, being is vibration. It is a state of yes/no, solid/space, here/there, positive/negative, come/go, inside/outside, symbolized in the fundamental up/down motion of the wave. *from book:**Alan Watts.  Beyond Theology: The Art of Godsmanship ****photo from Seeds of Genius : The Early Writings of Alan Watts by John Snelling

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Since I did come from a industrial design background, I use a lot of industrial design methods and there was a time when I would actually look and see what was out there in the market and gauge where to go based on what existed already. But I actually no longer do that, really when I create games now, what I like to do is start from a blank page. Start with my ideas there and I like to create an atmosphere that is fun and exciting. I think a lot of game developers feel that they are in competition with everyone and they can't lose and they have to create something that's the best and they give themselves a lot of pressure and a lot of stress.  But to me it's all about fun and having fun with what you're doing and creating fun games.  Shigeru Miyamoto [from GameCube interview] - Nintendo game designer: Donkey Kong, all the Mario games, and all the Zelda games The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons ***//***Nintendo 64 Console

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Role-playing games like EverQuest allow players to explore themselves by creating alter ego characters, including male or female warriors - human or otherwise.  *f from article:**Warrior Women On Screen

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*---**-articles:
 

The Art of Play by Belle Wong "Have you ever noticed how creativity comes so naturally to children? ... If you feel like you've lost all the creative energy you had as a child, here are some surefire ways of rekindling those creative sparks."

When Does Work Become Play? by Rhoberta Shaler, Ph.D.
"I work an average of ten hours a day and It occurred to me the other day that I am retired. Sounds paradoxical, however, it's true. My definition of retirement is the time in a person's life when she has the opportunity to do exactly what she wants to do all day. So, I'm retired. Are you?"
 

 

I learned that the pleasure women are capable of -- that energy -- is the greatest untapped natural resource on this planet. I discovered that when a woman is happy and fulfilled, those around her share the rewards. A gratified woman can be the source of a whole community's joy and prosperity. That revelation led me to study what I call the womanly arts -- the skills that enable us to access joy, gratification, energy, and fun all day, every day. Here's a rundown:  The first and most important womanly art is the ability to identify your desires. Mama is here to help you locate what you really want and show you how to whet your own appetite. Some women (maybe most women) don't even know what they want. We will coddle your fledgling desires until they sing to you loud and clear.  The second womanly art is the art of having fun, no matter where you are. from Mama Gena's School of Womanly Arts: Using the Power of Pleasure  to Have Your Way with the World - by Regena Thomashauer

***more books
 

Diane Ackerman. Deep Play  [from Kirkus Reviews:] "Swept up by the deeper states of play, one feels balanced, creative, focused... We can play anywhere that is set off from reality, whether it be a playground, a field, a church or a garage... Deep play doesn't have to do with an activity, like shallow play. It has to do with attitude or an extraordinarily intense state."

Lucia Capacchione The Creative Journal : The Art of Finding Yourself   [reader:] "..clearly sets out how to uncover your many layered self through writing and drawing exercises and you don't need to be an artist to do them! Also a manual for discovering a creative self within you along the way. There are many examples of other people's journals which encourage the reader to let their child within take the pen or crayon and let go without inhibition."

Lucia Capacchione Putting Your Talent to Work : Identifying, Cultivating and Marketing Your Natural Talents
"Creative problem-solving is absolutely dependent on the ability to pretend. .. If we have concluded that pretending is childish, deceitful or impractical, then, as adults, we need to give ourselves permission to pretend the way we did as kids." // "Many of us perpetuate negative self-talk about talents that we don't accept.  Self-criticism can seriously injure potential talent that wants to be expressed... Fortunately, talent waits patiently behind our fear and self-doubt." [from book]

Gail Cassidy. Discover Your Passion : An Intuitive Search to Find Your Purpose in Life

Gina Misiroglu Girls like Us: 40 Extraordinary Women Celebrating Girlhood in Story, Poetry, and Song
"40 accomplished, influential women share inspiring moments from their own childhoods and teenage years. Novelist Amy Tan explores the life of a young girl and her relationship to her mother in The Joy Luck Club; Faye Wattleton describes how a checkered and difficult childhood shaped her into the determined leader she is today; In Paula, Isabel Allende tells of her parents' priceless gift in encouraging her to express her creativity. .. also includes photographs of some contributors at the age they appear in their stories, as well as brief biographies."

Tona Pearce Myers  The Soul of Creativity: Insights into the Creative Process   "...artists, sculptors, writers, anthropologists, and actors explore the soulful process of creativity. .. In the section titled "Brush with Inspiration," Hal Zina Bennett explores the link between creativity and the heart of shamanism. Stephen Nachmanovitch underlines the importance of spontaneous playfulness in all art. In "The Creative Encounter," Shaun McNiff presents ideas on being imaginative at work while Don Campbell discusses the importance of listening as a spur to artistic expression. Other standout essays in this collection are by Aviva Gold on the shadow and creativity, Eric Maisel on the power of failure, John Fox on words from the marrow, Adriana Diaz on creativity as practice and prayer, and Kent Nerburn on the power of art. [review: Frederic Brussat, Values & Visions Reviews www.spiritualrx.com]

Lenore Terr. Beyond Love and Work: Why Adults Need to Play

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