Righty or Lefty?

Research has shown that the right side of the brain is where the creative soul resides. The nonverbal, spatial, visual all live in the right side of the brain.

Prairie Grass Triptych

I hang out on the right side of my brain all the time.  The left side deals with language, logic and math skills. I like to joke that I can barely speak one language. Verbal skills are not my strong suit. And now I know why, because I am a right sided brain person.

I hear this all the time from people, “I am not creative”, and I try to tell them - "but creativity can be taught just like anything else."

You have to remember that the left side, logic, verbal-linquistic communication and math skills, have been what was stressed in school.

The right side is intuitive and relaxed. How can you teach that?

Intuitive and hopefully relaxation is what I think you need to be more creative. So how can you make yourself work from the right side of the brain more?

Here are some suggests to help your right brain be more in charge.

• Have a work area free of distractions.
• Get that space organized.
• Have a space that is just for your work.

You don’t have to be super mom organized, just know where all your tools are and how you can function well in your space so you don’t have to think about where everything is. You should be able to lay your hands on the tool you need easily.

Don’t waste your time searching for stuff or figuring out how or where you can do the tasks you need to do to be creative. Organize your space so you can go there and work well.

• Turn off the wrong noise.

Studies have shown that certain types of music are more conducive to right brain activity.

Classical music or wordless music lets your brain focus more on the right side where visualization and spatial planning is used.

The words (lyrics) in music are heard often unintended by your left brain, therefore keeping you out of the right side of the brain because it engages your left side to process the language. This is one of the reasons I never have the TV on or listen to popular (lyric based) music when I am creating, making something new.

I read somewhere that if you can’t be creative listening to Johann Sebastian Bach then you aren’t trying.
This made me immediately go to the library and take out all recordings done of his music and I often listening to it, or classical music when I am working in my studio.

• OR I WORK IN SILENCE. 

That scares a lot of people, but I find it allows me to engage that right side of my brain and focus on what it is I am doing.

I love the long drives I take teaching, because it gives me time to think about projects. I keep a notebook and camera handy to take notes and pictures, yes even while I am driving, so that when inspiration strikes, and it always does, I can make notes and pictures of it.

I don’t answer my phone when I am working, isn’t that why we got voice mail?

My time is precious when I am working, and I return phone calls after I quit being creative.