The Storm of Creativity

An inspirational exploration of the creative process—from "unlearning" to beginning again—shared through the examples of artists, architects, poets, and others.

The stages of the creative process—from unlearning to beginning again—are seen through examples from the practice of artists, architects, poets, and others. Although each instance of creativity is singular and specific, Kyna Leski tells us, the creative process is universal. Artists, architects, poets, inventors, scientists, and others all navigate the same stages to discover something that does not yet exist. All of us must work our way through the empty page, the blank screen, writer's block, confusion, chaos, and doubt. In The Storm of Creativity, Leski draws from her observations and experiences as a teacher, student, maker, writer, and architect to describe the workings of the creative process.

Leski sees the creative process as being like a storm; it slowly begins to gather and take form until it overtakes us—if we are willing to let it. It is dynamic, continually in motion; it starts, stops, rages, and abates, ebbs and flows. In illustrations that accompany each chapter, she maps the arc of the creative process by tracing the path of water droplets travelling the stages of a storm.

Leski describes unlearning, ridding ourselves of preconceptions; only when we realise what we don't know can we pose the problem that we need to solve. We gather evidence—with notebook jottings, research, the collection of objects—propelling the process. We perceive and conceive; we look ahead without knowing where we are going; we make connections. We pause, retreat, and stop, only to start again. To illustrate these stages of the process, Leski draws on examples of creative practice that range from Paul Klee to Steve Jobs, from the discovery of continental drift to the design of Antoni Gaudí's Sagrada Família.

Creativity, Leski tells us, is a path with no beginning or end; it is ongoing. This revelatory view of the creative process will be an essential guide for anyone engaged in creative discovery.

The Creative Process:

• Unlearning
• Problem Making
• Gathering and Tracking
• Propelling
• Perceiving and Conceiving
• Seeing Ahead
• Connecting
• Pausing
• Continuing