Exploring Creativity

Hello! My names is James Ogden, and I'm a scenic designer, college professor, the curator of a collection of works made by the phenomenal designer Charles A. Lisanby, and I'm currently wading into the world of writing. I've got an upcoming article that is being published by Theatrical Design and Technology Magazine (TD&T) that is about meditation and creativity. I'm going to be using this blog to focus on a few topics related to creativity, and some of my other work. I don't want this to be overly academic, but I do want to offer resources, ideas, and strategies for people seeking to enhance their creative abilities, and I hope to improve my own along the way. In fact, that is half the point. I've always been interested in the creative process and now, at 42, I am making some time in my life to work on that very thing. So join me in this adventure!

Creativity studies, as I'm going to call it, is a very broad range of topics that are both directly based on what creativity is, but also those skills, mindsets, and skills that enhance creativity or allow it to flourish. Sort of creativity adjacent material. All of these subjects are interesting to look at, and to see which of them can elevate our disciplines and our process and those that are simply interesting and not useful. The very heart of creativity is that it must not only be novel but also of value, and this is something we should look into in terms of our own processes to see what is of value and how it is valuable.

I have been designing scenery and other elements of theatrical production for my entire adult life as well as being a theatrical carpenter, welder, painter, and trying my best to avoid rigging as I get vertigo in certain heights situations (suspension grids are not for me!). I've also been an educator for the last eleven years, and through a lot of trial and error have managed to learn a few things along the way, and that is something that I will also be covering in the hopes to help other educators who are trying to figure it out. There are few pedagogy classes out there for those teaching theatrical design or most practical theatre practice. It is best if we can learn from each other, and I welcome insights that anyone reading this may have.