Four stages of creativity. Creative Process. Visual & Performing Arts
Directions:
This article by Jessica Stillman about Scott Barry Kaufman’s work describes a model for understanding the creative process. Use it to analyze and describe your own creative process as a musician; this could be the act of composing, arranging, learning a new piece of music, or preparing for a performance. You might also choose another creative process related to your major, such as marketing or music production.
Does your own creative process include all stages from the model that Kaufman suggests? Or do you normally go through fewer stages? Use a specific project that you have completed as an example to show how these stages apply to your own creative work.
In your analysis, you may also want to include your assessment of Kaufman’s model. For example, maybe one of his suggested stages is more important to you as an artist than the others. If so, please explain. Likewise, you might identify a stage in your creative process that is not included in this model. Use descriptive details to explain these additional stages or steps.
Requirements:
• 3 to 5 short paragraphs, each with a clear focus
• 300 to 500 words (include word count with your final paper)
• Double spaced, 12 point font
• A specific project you have completed as an example
• Detailed description of your creative process using the names of stages in the article, for example, Kaufman’s Preparation Stage.
• Use of quotation marks for any phrases you quote from the article(s)
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Creative Process
According to Kaufman, an ideal creative process should go through four stages. The stages identified include preparation, incubation, illumination and lastly the verification stage. In the event of composing music, I normally find myself going through the mentioned stages. I will use a piece of my written music (attached at the end), to discuss how the ideas put forth by Kaufman were applied.
Preparation includes attention, reasoning and planning to gather information. This is the stage where the thinking starts. Music should always express a particular message. Therefore, every piece should be created and presented in a way that captures the attention of the intended audience. Here, I usually go through the several physical sources that relate to my idea. This reflects on Kaufman's idea that the brain should be fed with materials to become innovative. At this stage, I considered the wider scope of love and dating before I began writing “Make You Mine.”
The second stage is incubation. Here, you engage in an activity that would let your mind wander. According to Kaufman, “then there is this important stage where you let it go, it’s really important. In my case, I decided to talk a walk in the park. In this manner, the mind is put in a better position that allows for greater creativity. Composing verses takes time and attention....