The Whole Enchilada

Perspectives from The Artist's Road

Simultaneous Contrasts: Sun and Moon Robert Delaunay

Where does creativity come from and how does it work? This ages-old question has never been completely answered by science or philosophy. We accept the fact of our creative passions and abilities without worrying about the mechanics of it. It has always seemed reasonable to us that creativity must draw on all the various resources of the brain to do its work. After all, to imagine something new must use a combination of brain functions, calling up memories of things we have seen or felt and putting experiences together into a projection that we haven’t actually seen before. Creativity is an amazing feat of intellectual ability and takes lots of practice to do well.

In 1979, Betty Edwards published her revolutionary book, Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain. Her early work was based partially on an understanding of cerebral hemisphere research. Pioneering research by psychobiologist Roger W. Sperry was revealin…