Artists may have a new role in this era of shifting paradigms. As million-dollar businesses restructure, entrepreneurs are creating their own jobs, opening small businesses or marketing their talents as consultants, independent contractors and freelancers. The job market will never be what it was in the past and the days of staying with the same company into retirement are long gone. As much as everyone would like to go back to the “good old days”, the truth is, the rules have changed.
What will it take to survive these shifting times? Creativity.
And who is better placed to teach others about creativity? Artists.
Eva Lewarne is an artist as well as a social worker and teacher who is well aware of the importance of creative thinking. “In the late 1970’s,” says Lewarne, “the lagging U.S. economy was commonly blamed on unimaginative, overly-analytical management techniques. In 1980, ‘Business Week’ quoted an associate Dean at the Wharton School of Business as saying, ‘Is it true that we haven’t been teaching creativity enough? Probably, but who knows how to do that?’”
Lewarne finds an increasing number of people and resource materials answering this question. “Peter Senge revolutionized business on Wall Street with his Learning Organization Theory,” says Lewarne. “He was a psychologist and artist, teaching creativity to business students. His theory was simple, practical and powerful but unfortunately, very few people understood how to apply it hands-on, in an organizational environment. They analyzed it to death instead of putting it to use, because only artists and creative individuals can really grasp his concepts in their, synthetic, concrete nature. So in theory, it looked like changes were being made, but in reality these were only new words cloaking an old paradigm.”
In addition to her work as an artist, Eva Lewarne conducts workshops on how to integrate the creative arts in healthcare as well as teaching Creative-Intuitive Problem-Solving in businesses and organizations.
“Having promoted science to the highest level in the hierarchy of values for millennia, we have explored and relied on our intellectual functioning to solve all problems of societal living,” says Lewarne. ”Although these skills are extremely important, they seem insufficient in the face of contemporary life. They need to be augmented by intuitive capabilities, which can be done through an academic approach – talking about the importance of learning to use our right side of the brain – or a practical, hands on, step-by-step learning process of uncovering and discovering our intuitive side and latent creativity. This could require specialized trainers, consultants and practitioners. The skills of these new leaders would require being able to see patterns in chaos, opening to information in a novel way, seeing relationships and non-linear connections, and becoming facilitators of disorder to create a new order.”
Sounds like most artists I know.
I asked Lewarne a few questions about her creativity workshops.
SerenaK:
How are your Creative-Intuitive-Problem-Solving workshops perceived in the business world, which still favors logic and analytical skills over creative thinking?
Lewarne:
“Oddly enough, young businesses are more keen on embracing creative thinking than the public sector because they will try anything that makes profit…and creative and productive employees create profit.”
SerenaK:
Are you seeing the shift to creative skills becoming more important in this era?
Lewarne:
“The shift is crucial to our sustainability. This movement is the next step for organizations who are currently involved or committed to reducing stress at the intellectual, left brained, problem-solving level. Beyond decision-making through conflict resolution, the creative movement is guiding individuals towards transcending their usual mind by listening to their inner voice, their intuition. When people discover their true inner-directed values, they tend to see how much they have in common and participate more effectively and energetically in a process of social recreation, rather than dialectics, which depletes personal energy. The process of co-creativity leads to the cultivation of genuine relationships, the deepening of communication and an increased ability to listen with empathy. Creative teams are sensitive to one another and their environments and are composed of self-motivated, fulfilled individuals. Creative managers would be learning to lead by empowering others.”
SerenaK:
Do you find that these workshops also (indirectly) teach an appreciation of the visual arts? Might we start seeing more art enthusiasts in the coming years?
Lewarne:
“We are already seeing more art enthusiasts. People are discovering the beauty in life by slowing down through meditation, yoga, tai chi, etc.”
SerenaK:
Please share one of your success stories from your workshops.
Lewarne:
“After a drawing exercise in one of my workshops, the president of a well-known major corporation continued to draw and paint, which inspired him to eventually leave a company that was stuck in unimaginative, ‘old-school’ thinking to create his own chain of fashion stores. He felt reborn as he began to enjoy life to it fullest, becoming more creative in his field as a businessman and creating an enjoyable business for all who worked for him.”
Lewarne sums up a hopeful creative future by offering the following quote:
“Art is an antidote for violence. It gives the ecstasy, the self-transcendence that could otherwise take the form of drug addiction, terrorism, suicide or warfare.” – Rollo May
“It is a well-known fact that artists, poets and mystics view the world as being joyful, abundant and vividly rich – the same world others perceive as being dreary and drab”, says Lewarne.
I know which world I’d rather live in. Artists, it’s time for us to step forward!
– SerenaK
This post is part of the 365 Days Project – a year-long series of daily posts that began as a tribute to artists and the creative mind and ended up as a collection of interviews with artists around the world.
Artist Credits for the images included in this post:
Images featured:
Autumn Walk
Eva Lewarne, Ontario, Canada
Acrylic on canvas
Raven Queen
Eva Lewarne, Ontario, Canada
Acrylic on canvas
Reflections in the Water
Eva Lewarne, Ontario, Canada
Acrylic on canvas
Fish Queen
Eva Lewarne, Ontario, Canada
Acrylic on canvas
Incredible India
Eva Lewarne, Ontario, Canada
Acrylic on canvas
Eva Lewarne’s artwork can be viewed at: Eva Lewarne
The 365 Days Project
In 2012, Serena Kovalosky committed to writing an article a day for 365 days as an exploration into the lives of artists and the value of creative thinking in our society.
Experience the full evolution of the project! Click below to read the entire collection of articles.
