Drawing On Creativity: How To Trick Your Brain

Can you draw? nnnnYour answer to that question reveals a surprising namount about your brain and the way you integrate nyour right and left hemispheres. (In this article, the nleft side will be referred to as the dominant one, which nis by far the most likely scenario.)nnnnYou see, the left side of the brain excels at verbal, nanalytical, rational and logical tasks. It's the dominant nhalf. It takes over most of the time, using words to ndescribe and define, figuring things out step by step, ndrawing conclusions based on facts and logic, and nthinking in a linear way. The left side of the brain jumps nright in with words and symbols, and is such a bully nthat it takes on even those tasks it isn't likely to nperform well. nnnnNow, the right side of the brain is completely different. nIt relies on nonverbal cues to process perceptions. It's ngood at tasks requiring the ability to see similarities, nto understand how parts fit together as a whole, to make leaps of insight (those a-ha moments), and to perceive overall patterns at once. It tends to hang back a little, letting the left side take over most duties.nnnnIt's sort of like siblings. You've got a confident, verbal nfirst child and a quiet, introspective, thoughtful second nchild. Who do you think wins the argument for that nlast dessert? Who chooses which television show to nwatch? Who dominates the conversation about where nto go on a family vacation? The second child might nhave a valuable perspective, but the older one is so nassertive that he tends to win most arguments and rule nthe roost. nnnnIf your answer to the drawing question is "No, I'm npathetic," it's likely your left brain is being a bit of a nthug. Whenever you pick up a pencil and start to nsketch, it's taking over with its tendency to verbalize nimages and analyze shapes. Meanwhile, the right side--nthe perceptual, spatial part of your brain--is over in the ncorner, raising its hand, trying to get attention. "Oh, npick me!" it says. Too bad that the left side is already nbusy drawing lines and forming a strategy. nnnnWhat if you could outsmart the bully on the left? What nif you could somehow give that right side of your brain nits chance to shine? nnnnAccording to Dr. Betty Edwards, a respected art neducator and author of the best-selling book, Drawing nOn The Right Side Of The Brain, you can actually make na mental shift from what she refers to as the "L-nmode"--the verbal, dominant form of thinking--to nthe "R-mode," which relies on visual cues. It's possible nto get the right side to kick in and take over the task nof drawing. nnnnHow? Well, we need to get tricky.nnnnThe left side takes over tasks UNLESS it finds a nparticular job undesirable. If a certain task takes too nmuch time, is too detailed or slow or simply too difficult, nthen the left side gives up. So, the trick is presenting nthe task--in this case, drawing--in such a way that the nright side is allowed to jump in. nnnnThis happens a lot with words. When we try to ndescribe something verbally and find it too difficult, nwhat do we do? We rely on gestures. Just try to ndescribe a spiral staircase without using your hands.nnnnDr. Edwards teaches people to draw by presenting nthem with images that are upside down. This puts the nleft brain in a state of confusion so that it can't easily ndecipher shapes, assign a top and bottom, attach nlabels and categorize them to match stored nmemories. nnnnThe key to integrating your right side lies in looking for nopportunities to allow it to become dominant. When npresented with a confusing image, your left side gives nup. We should literally turn things upside down in an neffort to thwart the left brain's control and let the R-nmode take over. nnnnThis same idea works in creative problem solving. nSometimes the best way to deal with a challenging nissue is to sleep on it. When the left brain is nexhausted, the intuitive, subjective, holistic right side nhas a chance to sneak in and come up with a solution nthat seems to have come "from nowhere". See? We ndon't even give our right brains credit for creative ninsights! nnnnIt's exciting to think that there are ways to outsmart nour brains. By intentionally putting ourselves in a state nof mental conflict, we can enhance our creativity. nnnnLook for ways to plunge yourself into that discomfort nzone. Whether we're tackling a picture or a problem, nthe key to jumpstarting our right brain lies in shifting nour perspective. nnnnGrab a pencil, turn the picture upside down, and start ndrawing! Somewhere inside you, that frustrated artist nwill be grinning from ear to ear.n