Kent Vorkink

Let’s Get Creative!

For years I have known that one day I would be involved in teaching/mentoring creativity, mostly due to the theoretical background I received while working with Charlotte MacKley in the J.P. Guilford Intellectual Development Corp.  I still have the desire to create a “think tank” operation where individuals and groups can come to brainstorm and create in a conducive environment where I can facilitate the creative process.  I’m hoping that I can make that a reality at Provo Creative and am headed that direction. One important step is to begin the teaching/developing process. Yes, you can become more creative!

Let’s Get Creative! is a series of class sessions that are designed to help the participants find out about their creative abilities. Just as we are all “smart”, we are all creative, some just more obviously so in the visual arts. Artistic ability is just one expression of creativity!  I am not particularly artistic, but I am a skilled creative problem-solver.

Let’s Get Creative! is also a series of exercises that will help improve your creativity. Will you be able to paint or draw or compose more creativity after this course? Maybe, maybe not. Will you be able to think more creatively? Yes.

Think about your own personal physical flexibility.  Once we reach our adult height, most of us are no longer as flexible as we were as children. However, through proper exercise and practice we can regain much of that flexibility, which has a beneficial impact on our strength. Creativity is somewhat similar. We can exercise our creativity and expect that our overall intelligence will improve, too.

I’ve barely started to take signups for Let’s Get Creative! and the plan is to start the group classes in February, although I’m waiting for more folks to show an interest before I schedule them. The cost of a group class is $8 an hour ($99 for the entire 13 session series) and each class is limited to 10 people.  Private instruction is also available at $40 an hour.

Shoot me an email at kent@provocreative.com if you’d like to sign up for Let’s Get Creative! or to find out more information.

Tags: class, creativity, Let's Get Creative, Provo Creative, Provocreative

Any Road Will Do

Some people fixate on making the right decision as to which road to choose in life. True enough, for some folks there are great options to choose from and they really are flummoxed and concerned about their decision as there are varying destinations and outcomes, as well as opportunity costs to consider.  Religious folks often turn to God for inspiration and depending on one’s faith just find get the answer they are looking for, or at least an answer of some kind, whether it be a still small voice or some coincidence in life that they attribute to divine intervention.

My personal belief is that God is willing to let us make our own decisions and is pleased when we consult him once our decision is made.  When faced with a difficult choice where one is at a loss to make a decision, I believe God will respond to a sincere and fervent request for assistance. We might still have to make our decision without any clear response from deity, but it’s likely we’ll feel better for the asking. God wants us to progress and improve our ability to figure out things on our own and if he is constantly telling us what to do we aren’t going to learn as much as if we have to struggle over the decision on our own.  I should note that God is desirous of having us make the same good decision that he would make so that we can learn to do his will. And I further believe that some decisions are not important enough to stumble over and seek additional divine assistance.

Some folks are at a point in their lives where just about any positive path is a good one, albeit not the one that God would choose for them. We make mistakes in life and hopefully learn from them and we shouldn’t expect God to step in and protect us from ourselves all the time. It should also be remembered that starting on a particular path doesn’t mean we will stay on that path until we reach the desired destination. I’m a big believer in course corrections as one gathers better information and often we’ll be able to see things more clearly once we get out of our current location.

So, yes, there are times when just about any road out of here will do. The risk isn’t that one will choose the wrong road, but in choosing to stay where one is at.

Tags: Musings, Religion