Everything changes, the world never stands still. Human society, as an extension of the world, is also in perpetual flux. The way we do things and the things we do change all the time, over the decades new technologies and new motivations produce new behaviours. With all of this undiscovered mental landscape, there is an infinite space to grow, explore, expand, and dissect. We can be pioneers on the edge of development, assisting humanity on its journey towards tomorrow. Creative leadership takes the power of this continual change and finds ways of making all of our lives better through novel applications. The arts and the sciences work together to bring about fresh experience and utility that strengthen our communities and improve our personal lives.  
 
What does exploring the landscape of human innovation and social evolution look like? It’s not the same as setting off on a journey to unknown mountains. It’s only when we use this example as an analogy or a metaphor that is begins to make sense. We can draw new maps and mark them with descriptions of what we can expect, here be dragons, only we do it through experimentation and application. Making little changes to one thing at a time is how it begins but this looks much like walking out of the door and to the garden gate. A real explorer goes much further than this, and they will risk getting completely lost for a while. Knowing how to get back to where you started is a necessary tool for any adventure, but you also need to lose sight of the shore.  
 
It begins with a little experiment; we ask ourselves what would happen if I did this. We notice the effect that we cause, and we try to understand the dynamic observed. This can be with making art, with the effects being aesthetic and communicatory, or with technology and the effects of new devices in new situations. Once we have discovered a little change in a little place that we think is beneficial in some way, we can begin putting it into practice. Honing the technique and preserving the philosophy that motivated the idea, we can create a set of instructions that produce the desired change without any need for experiment. Fool-proofing these instructions and making plans for every contingency takes a formulative effort in the initial exploratory and adventurous stage.     
 
It is only once we have explored the options and mastered the process required that that act of expansion and implementation can fruitfully take place. The formula is not a secret recipe we can write down, but a certain mindset and routine that ensures the results are as the process requires. When the experiment is over and the outcome is lucid, it’s simply a matter of making it happen. Now the adaptation to the process, the idea, the application, is ready to meet the world. Putting something into positive action is the next stage of applying your creative problem solving to the given situation. A creative leader isn’t content with one application in one setting for their idea, they see value in providing solutions to a raft of individuals who have a similar problem or desire that they want to be fulfilled. It’s good for them, for other people, and it’s good for the economy.  
 
The world at large is made up of human networks. These networks are governed not only by legal and social rules but by the emotions of everyone involved. To collaborate with others, it is important to always be mindful of all these things. A blockage in legal terms, social terms, or emotional terms can be fatal to your project and the positive benefits it could have provided. To build on our idea, solution, brand, creative piece, we must be able to communicate effectively with the networks necessary for this to happen. Positioning and presentation work together with personality to create an over-all public facade that symbolises the true big picture behind the image. If there are incoherencies or crossed wires, then the social and emotional rhetoric will not be effective. If you forget the legal side and do not make room for this then others will be wary of you as they don’t want to be involved with things that break the law. Finding creative ways to implement the necessary requirements and presenting yourself and idea in a true to life branding is another instance of trial, error, technique building, and application.  
 
The aspects of creative leadership often branch off into three distinguishable areas. Resourcefulness, reactivity, and inventiveness. Resourcefulness is not just making the most out of what’s available, it’s about expanding what’s available in creative ways. Finding new solutions to new problems in the cheapest and most effective way on the way to implementing a larger solution is how creative resourcefulness becomes important. Using tools in ways that work safely regardless of their original intention is how we apply things in creative ways and increase our level of resource. Reactive creativity is all about how we solve immediate problems with immediate answers. Often, we can partially or even completely solve an issue with a snap decision that uses what is immediately available. If we can do this in creative and useful ways that becomes a resource for others, then we become very useful to have around. Inventiveness, of course, is all about seeing new ways to do things with what we have around us. It is about seeing the uncommon but never-the-less correct answer in the equation of many answers. To do this we need a level of confidence in our own ability to perceive, understand, and digest relevant information and disregard the irrelevant information that may be tied into the original yet now obsolete purpose.  
 
Making use of these aspects of creativity is how we can relate well with all the different types of people that will stand on our path to development. To become an effective leader with a positive toolset to bring to the table, we need to be influential, useful, and safe. In the grand scheme it is not enough to be a unit, we need to be a conductor of the surrounding environment, making positive waves and bringing about clarity within the settings given to us. Because we are all individuals, we all have different personalities that need to be worked with and not against. Getting along with people is an artform on its own, considering the way others feel, think, behave, and want. To implement creativity to the social scene, we need to be able to relate to others in such a way that leaves them feeling good about themselves. If we make people feel negative, then they will associate us and our ideas with that negative feeling. We don’t want that.  
 
Because people are all unique and complex systems, the art of human interaction is never to be taken lightly or for granted. Art is about the blend of creativity and technique in each situation that presents the most appropriate outcome. Pure creativity pays no attention to rules and systems, and pure technique pays no attention to novelty and little changes. We need to be able to find a balance between these two extremes to relate with others on a level they feel safe and confident with.  It is only when others feel safe and confident with us that they will seriously investigate anything we have to offer. Every person is different and we will have to adjust our balance of creativity and technique to effectively govern our relationships. Formalities and playfulness all play their part in our social relationships and to make the most out of those in our networks, we need to be able to find the correct approach for the people around us and the market we intend to build into. A sense of empathy and an ear for genuine listening are your most important tools, rather than second guessing and over-ruling, we must be able to address individuals on face value, like that of a genuine coin, if we are to ascribe genuine value to our relationships.  
 

Thankfully, the heavy industrial version of London was a fleeting glimpse in the history of the world-famous capital. The pollution and environmental damage became intolerable, and legislation trickled through that curbed new growth in favour of commercial centres instead. There is a sense of romanticism when we think of the past, and it requires unaffected eyes to truly capture the poetic beauty of times gone by. No doubt hard and miserable for many at the time, the setting of the scene with its aesthetic and atmosphere can become a truly magnificent backdrop for emotional and dramatic exploration. Sometimes, society produced a person who can see through the dark and satanic mills and witness the natural beauty of whatever it is we have created. Like those people who admire brutalist architecture, the French impressionist Claude Monet saw the fascinating allure of the man-made weather that still affects our climate to this day.  
 
Born in 1840, eight years before the third French Revolution, Monet grew up in relative tranquillity in Normandy. He spent a lot of his childhood outside where we would draw things he noticed. His mother was influential in his art career, encouraging him to express himself with his work. His father instilled a sense of business in his son who he wished would begin a business rather than paint scenery. It is possibly the combination of both of these influences that enabled Claude Monet to become a highly successful and popular painter responsible for beginning a brand –new trend in the scene. The Impressionist Movement is based on perception and interpretation. Rather than portraying beautifully accurate and scientifically relevant works, which began to be popular during the Enlightenment Period, the theme draws a lot more on atmosphere, feel, and the lens of the human mind. French Impressionism is a subset of this genre, unique to France and with thematic similarities found nowhere else. It is known for its spontaneity and mostly outdoor settings. Rather than a planned piece, French Impressionism was done on the spot, due to a sudden burst of passion to paint. Je dois peindre. 
 
When Claude Monet visited London at the turn of the 20th Century, he was immediately struck by the colours of the sky. What he called fog, which was more likely thick smog, hung about the River Thames like a ghost and as the sun shined through its vapours, it radiated in pale rainbow hues. Enamoured by the sight and captivated by the colours, the French Impressionist began to capture the scene. Taking preliminary pictures from the area, he was able to finalise a series of 21 stunning and vivid images back at home from his memory. A truly unique and time-specific capture of the geography and cultural backdrop, the River Thames was portrayed in such a way that had never been seen before. Perhaps a foreign eye was needed to see the glory within the painful story experienced at the time by those who lived there. Upon completion, the works were shown in a Paris gallery during 1904, where the contrasts between the Parisian cotton heavy industry were compared to London’s maritime and manufacturing setting. Iconic landmarks such as The Houses of Parliament and Waterloo Bridge took prominence among the hazy and ethereal tones offered by the refractive and opaque air. Monet was looking forward to displaying his works in London, however the circumstances never aligned for him. He was noted for saying London and England were hard to paint, and very interesting.  
 
Now, in a long-time-overdue culmination of culture, the series of paintings are finally going to be displayed in the city they were made in. A uniquely valuable spot at the University of London’s Courtauld Institute of Art is reserved for Monet’s Thames from 27th of September until January 19th. Founded in 1932 by Samuel Courtauld, the self-governing college specialises in art history and preservation. It seems an ideal setting to keep the ghost of the big smoke alive in all its Impressionist garb. Maybe now we can forgive those early industrialists who may have irreparably damaged our environment, and whose estates were mostly destroyed by bombs, as we have learned what we can from them and their mistakes. 
 
Maybe this year is a good year to get out and do a bit of French Impressionism for yourself. Why not take a bag of art materials on a little walk and see what leaps out and onto your page?  Browse paper, paints, and more, supporting Alternative Fruit along the way.  
 
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Progress happens so quickly, and although most of the time it is appreciated, sometimes we can feel a little overwhelmed. The loss of our sense of home is real when familiar routines and scenes disappear forever. If you live in the same place for most of your life, the various landmarks and talking points can become more than just buildings and marketing. We become attached to the various feelings and advice that are offered by the things that surround us. By remembering to enjoy things we love that are from times gone by, we can help to remedy this sense of loss and transition. By reliving and rekindling old times, we can remind ourselves that although we have grown and a lot of things have changed, we are still the same person inside. Maybe this is why certain albums stand the test of time and get replayed decades after their release.  

The highstreets were once a natural river of human culture. Before the age of internet shopping, we’d all know the local and city highstreets. The rows of shops became our second home as every week or so we’d go and visit them and look forward to browsing the shelves. It was not uncommon to bump into people you knew from school, work, religion, or your own road, as you’d wander the various frontages and peer in. Something that has been replaced by technology and disposable methods is the old painted signs. Their shadows, or ghosts, can often still be seen haunting the walls of the various buildings that line the way.  

By-gone product names and long-forgotten brands, the occasional success story in which we still buy the subject of the advert, we can remember the past and feel connected to our own by enjoying these almost lost pieces of pop culture. Before they all disappear completely, like-minded artists and history fans are helping to keep them alive by repainting them. Old fashioned adverts often make modern decorative art in the home, so the natural step is to relive the past at large with these shopfront versions of the old message.  

In the British city of Gloucester, a trend of repainting ghostsigns has begun thanks to the handywork of one talented and historically minded artist. Tash Frootko (BBC) was able to find photographs of the original signs after contacting the previous shop owners. The turn of the century hand painted signs were once striking visages on Dynevor Street, Gloucester and now have been lovingly restored to appear exactly how they once did. The theme seems to have continued as other artists and property owners are beginning to follow suit.   
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The people of Gloucester are not alone in their love of the past’s simplicity. A site by a guy called Sam Roberts is dedicated to mapping these hidden gems across London and beyond. Visitors are free to upload and submit their own photographs meaning that the site now has an encyclopaedia of images from around the globe. It was not just a British invention as ghostsigns have been spotted and documented in many countries. Sam Roberts has dedicated so much time and energy to the study and effect of ghostsigns around London that he was able to write a thorough and intriguing book all about them. Well worth a look.  
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Standing out from the crowd is counter to our subconscious program. We are a prey animal as well as a hunter, so human beings have evolved to be safe and to stay part of the group. So, when we do something unusual or something that makes us stand out, we immediately become a target for would-be predators who need a target to focus on. In large groups, people are uninteresting and hard to reach. When you identify one person who has a good idea, that desire to be heard can be used and abused. This is a genuine reality, and many of us prefer to keep our heads down and carry on with what ever is given to us. Lack of confidence to fend off the predators can be a creativity killing sensation. We usually identify it as pride, shame, nerves, or some other common affliction. It can be whittled down to fear, in the end.
 
It's not just standing out from the crowd that makes creativity dangerous. There are many other problems that arise from this direction of thought. It all begins in the chaos of the unknown. To be creative or artistic is to push back the boundary of chaos and replace it with sensation, ration, likeness, and order. Painting a picture or writing a story takes elements of the infinite human experience and makes them solid and tangible, something everyone can relate to. Exploring this unknown darkness is courageous because we open our minds to the depths of our own imagination. A spiral of thought can carry us up, down, or away, with ideas linking in with symbolical meanings and loose translations that fit the emotional background.
 
Not everyone is able to create something useful or applicable from this depth of the unknown. It requires a confidence to continue and an instinct for the right direction when there are no maps or streetlights to help. Like an unchallenged landscape, the natural state of the chaotic and unordered human imagination is a huge story of choices and morality. The sense of being alive and enthralled with a story can be pulled like string from the swirling silo of personal inspiration. The art we create shows us the possible realities of mind and the metaphorical stories that connect and divide us. Manifesting a genuine piece of the world from a poignant or abstract idea that only previously existed in the mind is a huge challenge.
 
Like science, art and creativity make the world more tolerable and enjoyable, safer, and more fulfilling. Unlike science, in which the order of the world is used to make something useful, the arts take the chaos of the world to make something useful. In the sciences, it’s imperative that instructions are followed, and method remain identical throughout the entire regime. This is counter productive to creativity, in which subtle and major changes take place as the uniform behaviour. To apply scientific thinking to the art of creativity, the focus can be shifted from the individual to their process and habits. In this way, artists are often dehumanised and utilised for their textbook worth rather than celebrated as human beings who did something amazing. To be creative means to accept one’s fate to be objectified by many.
 
Although it’s possible to teach creativity by means of psychology, methods, history, sociology, and so on, the mental background for a creative person is something natural in them and cannot be replicated in others. Some of us have next to no creative ability and some of us have an excess of it. Creativity can be nurtured like a seed, but we cannot plant the seed. It’s a factor of genetics and early years nurture. Non creative people often do not want to be creative so it’s not necessarily an issue. It does become an issue when non creative people treat themselves as the standard and try to stifle differences in others. It’s important to encourage daydreaming and imaginative play during childhood so as they grow the adult can access the power of their inventiveness. 

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​Creativity is all about realising our desires. We want a result, we have some tools, and we use what we have to create the situation we were looking for. It’s a sign of creative intelligence to be able to do this, and many animals have the ability too. The process of telling a story via a series of processes that result in something new is not innate to humans, although complex syntax and abstract thought seems to be so, for now. The ability to achieve a favourable circumstance from what is available and within the rules takes the mind of a creative person unless a clear path is already laid out. Someone else’s creativity might be the answer, or else you’ll need to think of your own. Standing out from the crowd with an unusual solution can bring on new problems that we didn’t envisage or plan for.
 
When society or nature presents a problem that has no immediate solution for the group or the individual, a creative approach is necessary. Entire generations can go by without an effort to work through certain problems we face, however when artists begin to make these problems part of our regular language and imagination, society begins to tackle the issues. It requires the work of many people to tackle life’s big problems, but the problem of one person can often be addressed by that one person alone. A creative approach will help us to design a new and successful method that can be applied again. Before we have the approach, one must be invented.
 
This is where we separate the true inventive and creative people from those who just like to stand around in colourful clothes, making predictable statements. A creative and inventive individual will thrive in an environment where problems need solving and experience must be gained. An exhibitionist will want the attention even when there is a problem to solve, and the attention needs to be elsewhere. A sense of vanity and the desire to be recognised as a cut above the rest is not what people pay for when they buy art. They want something that works for them, not the artist. It can be difficult to bring yourself away from the wrong crowd, especially if social capital is at risk. To be able to work successfully on something new and inventive, we need to be free from the wrong kind of influence.
 
The marketplace is the theatre of successful creativity. Even if it’s a play, someone must buy it, invest in it, put their time into producing it, and then putting on a show. They’re not just buying the play; they’re buying weeks or months of dedication and work. To be successful as an artist or an inventive problem solver, we need to be able to demonstrate that what we offer really is worth the time, energy, and effort involved in applying it. Let’s say it’s a book, reading a book takes time, it puts images and ideas in the mind that were not there before. Is this a good idea? Is it worth money? These are the questions that the marketplace asks. Creative and new things are risky, because there is little evidence as to their value as an investment.
 
This is where standing out from the crowd is necessary, and the further out we go, the more likely we are to be noticed. Being noticed is a risk because we invite positive and negative interaction from the world at large, criminals, crazy people, buyers, superfans, the whole world. Again, the further away from the normal we go, the less likely that others will have a mental map of what we are for or what we do. To be able to recognise something as valuable or interesting takes an imagination unless it’s been previously stated. People with small imaginations find it very difficult to determine if something novel is a good or a bad idea. Some of us are completely blind to creativity and have no inner method of relating things that we do not already recognise. We need to be told exactly what something is and what it is for. When marketing creativity, it’s important to keep all these things in mind.
 
If getting your creativity out into the world at large is something you've been working on, then make use of this free course in creative and progressive leadership from Alternative Fruit.
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From the early days of still photography and all the camera tricks that inventive people sought to employ, the onset of film and moving pictures gave rise to another level of creativity. A whole new dimension of media was outlaid before our very eyes with clever use of illusion and exposure giving rise to a whole new world of visual experience. Realising the full potential of the format required exceptional minds who could imagine the process as a series of tools that can be used to bring joy and information to people all over the world.
 
We’ve all probably seen the film clip of a human face made to look like the moon with a rocket in one of its eyes. A black and white silent production, the iconic image sems to stick around even to this day. That film is just one of hundreds made by the French film pioneer Georges Méliès. Because of the ground-breaking and classic nature of this cult film producer, the works are lovingly kept alive across various platforms. The two online go-to places are YouTube and the Internet Archive. Both of these repositories contain a large collection of major and lesser-known examples.
 
The actor and film producer was born in France, Paris, where he lived until he died in 1938 aged 76. During his life as a performer Georges Méliès was able to manifest a lively and dynamic imaginary universe in which ghouls and ghosts danced alongside mad scientists and maidens. A jagged and off-centre style kept audiences on their toes as the imagery and concepts leapt from one tangent to another across his run of highly entertaining creations. 
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​Having learned how to manipulate puppets as a boy and discovered a thrill in the art of entertaining others, Georges began to learn magic when he witnessed tricks by two prominent British illusionists, John Maskelyne, the inventor of the pay toilet, and David Devant, famous for his magic kettle. When he came of age and inherited some money from his father’s side, Méliès invested his capital in a small magic show theatre previously owned by his long-term mentor Jean-Eugène Robert-Houdin. Soon after this acquisition, he was able to witness one of the world’s first displays of the Lumière brothers’ cinematograph. This immediately struck him as a novel and potential world-changing method of demonstrating his genre of entertainment.
 
Using his theatre and his knowledge of performance art and illusion, Georges Méliès applied himself completely to the manufacturing of short and entertaining films. He soon found success with this venture, as it became a perfect extension of what he was already well-known for in Paris. His experience as an assistant for Robert-Houdin and then his following chairing of the theatre had provided him with a local fame and respect that could be immediately applied to his new media style. With the proceeds of his filmmaking, Georges Méliès again invested his capital in an expensive yet fully furnished film studio at his grounds just outside the city of Paris. A risky yet fortunately wise investment, the quality of the productions increased by an order of magnitude. It was at this new studio that many of his ground-breaking and genre defining works were made.
 
A completely glass-made building, with natural light making up a large feature of the studio, the venue played host to the making of all his films until the end of his career. Sadly, for Georges Méliès, he did not survive his risk-taking personality forever. His career fizzled out with an accumulation of debts and unmanageable overheads. The one-of-a-kind glass house film studio was demolished just after the end of the Second World War, not long after its illustrious occupant had deceased. Let this be a lesson to all of those who enjoy the arts, look after your artists, and ensure they can live a happy life. After-all, they’ve given one to you. Never-the-less, his amazing collection of creative genius is available to all via the magic of the modern-day internet. Let’s hope they stay relevant for another one hundred years or more.

​Visit the Georges Méliès Section in theInternet Archive 

And view this Curated YouTube Playlist
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A kindred spirit? Why not get to know him better with this beautiful illustrated paperback

​The public imagination is shaped by the experiences we each have throughout our lives. The things passed on from parent to child, the things taught in our schools, the stories we share, they all contribute to the way we think about the world and the way we perceive each other. When cinema was created, a new kind of storytelling entered the cultural sphere. For the first time a repeated story identical in every way could be broadcast to the world at large. Silent films were even accessible no matter what language you usually spoke. Although outdated and often no longer exciting, the art of vintage cinema is as fascinating as it always was and now, we can study it for its pivotal moment in history.
 
What began in 1983 is now a huge vault of classic films made in the golden age of moving pictures. Because of the nature of these old devices, the media is not completely reliable and with diminishing numbers of copies on old-fashioned tape, and fewer people knowing what to do with it, converting the contents into something more modern and durable seemed to be a true noble cause. The Prelinger Archive now holds over 30000 individual films, of which 9200 are available immediately online. Why not help the preservation effort by creating an archive of your own?
 
A massive selection obviously means a huge scope of content types. You will find the things you might expect, entertainment and information videos, but there are also home recordings and public government broadcasts. The amount of social and historical evidence on offer with these recordings is invaluable, with excerpts from history and social settings made permanent for us and our ancestors. We can explore the evolution of film making and the challenges of making acceptable content for mass audiences.
 
The videos are available to watch partly on the Internet Archive and partly on their dedicated YouTube channel. It will take a good while to sift through the entire catalogue, so here are some examples to give you a taste of what you’ll find.

Sanity is often used as a relative term. We define something as sane when it conforms to the various standards that we expect from something in its situation. The problem with creativity, then, is that to change the normal into something different, we run the risk of being judged as insane or just plain old crazy. The perceptions of the masses are usually the only difference between sanity and creativity, with the imaginations of those around us being the judge and final decision maker. If they can’t think of a way something is useful to them, or interesting in any way, then the result is often a bad reception. 

A creative genius is someone who uses their creative intelligence to improve the lives of those around them in a substantial way. This could be scientific or artistic with both venues offering great audiences who eagerly await the new and novel idea. When we use our creativity to change something in a way that makes a difference, we run a genuine risk of making things worse. This is the line between insanity and creative genius, where the result really matters on how we are remembered. 

The reason creative people are tolerated in society when the risks are apparent is that creative process is the way human society progresses. The act of making little changes to a process or design is akin to evolution making little changes to genetics through cross-pollination and mutation. The cross-pollination and mutation of human thoughts are the driving force of creative change. This form of reverse entropy is a reflection of life’s very own principle of maintaining a chemical imbalance in order to carry out necessary functions that exceed the energy required for homeostasis. The overflow of human energy is then used to produce a variety of changes and adaptations that will be tested according to their worth and their immediate surroundings. 

It has been shown, especially in art, that a profound madness can become a funnel for astounding creativity. The paintings and poetry of the mad are popular now and have been for generations, with crazy ideas and insane perspectives and interpretations taking the lead over our usual humdrum and bourgeoise thoughts. Richard Dadd, Edvard Munch, Vincent Van Gogh, Louis Wain, and many more artists are well-known for episodes of insanity. Even science figures like Isaac Newton and Albert Einstein are known for having problematic mental health. Genius and madness are often linked. In order to have a ground-breaking idea that shifts the rules of how we go about our lives, we need to have an element of creativity that most others do not.

Madness and creativity have a link in the phenomenon of apophenia. This is a type of psychosis that results in seeing patterns and hallucinating because of seemingly unrelated causes. A creative mind will naturally draw correlations between loosely connected principles in a sometimes playful or sometimes observant manner. This can become a form of madness when the patterns and imaginations become irrational and counter to the everyday functioning of life. It can result in the subconscious mind becoming closer to conscious thought, with dreams and non-sensical images making their way into the rational consciousness, affecting the way we feel and think. Prone to suggestion and control, people who suffer from serious apophenia can be a risk to others and themselves. It has been shown that apophenia can also be a precursor to psychosis and schizophrenia. 

​The positive side of this kind of mental process is the ability to unify concepts and principles into accurate and rational sets. By showing how one thing relates to another in a way that doesn’t follow the traditional route of thinking, creative people are able to draw correlations between subjects that are often seen as different. For instance, Isaac Newton was able to determine that an apple falling from a tree and other such everyday things like this are related to the movements of the Earth around the Sun. He even proved it. Amazing, right?
 
To achieve theories that utilise several seemingly unrelated factors requires the ability to hold multiple perspectives at once, sometimes ignoring conflicting ideas that each one traditionally holds. It is in the letting go of the conflicting ideas and finding another way of thinking about something that allows the pattern to be completed. By bypassing the known facts to prove them insufficient we can be seen as insane, by the way we deny what can be shown to be seemingly apparent. The apparency of a thing is often related to the way we think about it rather than the thing itself. It is in the shifting of perspective that new things become clear and old ideas look outdated.
 
Creative people are inherently rule breakers. They look to see what can be changed and they work to show it can be done. A sense of challenge and reward can be a driving force in breaking through given boundaries, obeying a gut instinct that something is possible rather than listening to the social consensus is what makes creative people pursue their ideas. When we break rules as a habit, we can often appear to be either insane or completely unsuitable for anything. The madness of not following instruction and thinking to cut corners or find new avenues is counter-productive to most processes in the modern word. It's important to be able to maintain an element of conformity when it matters, even if the creative mind is continually offering advice.
 
The frame of mind that looks for creative solutions is not always available. It is heavily determined by the mood. Because creativity is linked to the dopamine reward system, the individual’s mood can be a limiting or driving factor in their ability to be inventive. The problem solving and correct result forming reward that the mind receives during creative action is related to the idea of novelty and repetition. Both factors work together in a feedback mechanism to build on one another. This process of novelty and repetition gives rise to new concepts and practice at the same time which results in brand new creative ideas and skills.  
 
People with an active limbic system are often prone to mood swings and uncontrollable emotional lives. Although possible to manage this backdrop to life, the limbic system seems to have a mind of its own and paints the perceptions a variety of colours depending on how it is operating. This part of the middle brain is related to subconscious thought and is the source of most of our emotional response. This means that creative people are exposed to the sways of up and down emotions, especially if the reward system is active at the same time. To be rejected as a creative person can lead to a big down sensation and to be accepted can lead to a dramatic up sensation, both of which are detrimental to the next level of productivity.
 
This means that creative people need to maintain a healthy sense of distance from their work and the rest of their lives, especially when in the thralls of public acceptance or rejection. When the whole spirit is entwined in the outcome of a body of work that’s taken emotion and intellect, and a diagnosis of madness is given, it’s vital to keep this apart from the normal everyday things. If the opinion goes the other way, then it’s also important to not let the high of acceptance bring about a sense of entitlement or superiority. You may have noticed this is not easy for many highly successful artists and intellectuals.
 
But not all creative people are mad or are even prone to appearing so. Many of us are quite capable of getting on in the world and feeling fine about doing so. It’s not creativity on its own that leads to susceptibility to mental health issues. There is a triangle of influences at work that results in memorable characters and ground-breaking works. The combination of a creative mind, the ability to see and pursue new perspectives, an unusually high IQ, to be able to see and understand concepts that most others are unable to, and a predetermined element of psychoticism, work together to create personalities that excel not only in inventiveness but in being remembered. 

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​Being descended from an alternative culture and growing up in an environment that in many ways does not represent the innards of the home, the children of immigrants and their kin in turn can develop a sense of apartness and togetherness at the same time. Knowing yourself to be unusual and yet respected and welcomed is something we can all feel relative to, even if we’re indigenous to our own culture. However, for the majority, we just can’t know what it’s like to be African descended in the west because it’s not who we are. So how do we learn? Art has the answer.
 
The Parisian 193 Gallery, which began life only in 2018, has expanded to represent in Venice. The Dorsoduro district was the perfect spot for the outreach and growth that good art can’t help but inspire. To become talked about even more, the gallery now is set to host the Centre For Contemporary Art, Lagos. Presenting Passengers In Transit, the group-led exhibition offers an exploration of the Venice Biennale theme of Strangers Everywhere. Drawing on 193’s capabilities to bring together themes and talking points, the cross-cultural and collaborative style is perfect for this key avenue.
 
Collaborators Paula Nascimento, Oyindamola Faithful, and Roger Niyigena Kerera have brought together the thematic spirits of April Bey, Christa David, Euridice Zaituna Kala, Joana Choumali, and Thandiwe Muriu. A range of media portrays the artist’s imagination over works on photo-print to sculpture. Each artist has African heritage yet carries their own sense of self and ideal through their unbordered lives.
 
In a way, we are all passengers in transit, and perhaps the best lessons we can learn are from those who found themselves further than most of us ever get to. Strangers Everywhere can represent many things, living in a new land, growing up in a land your family doesn’t fully understand, or just browsing social media and dealing with attitudes that would have got you in trouble at home. By taking heed from those who have made the most of their human journey and travelled further than anyone else, we can adopt perspectives from high vantage points that otherwise we probably would have missed.   
 
Fascinating read: ​Translating Childhoods: Immigrant Youth, Language, and Culture
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Emotions are like colours, they all have names and they can be nicely blended into one another like a spectrum. Our feelings emerge from the various experiences we think of and encounter, and when a phrase accompanies the feeling, it’s labelled as an emotion. There are plenty of stock phrases that people use to convey how they feel, and at the same time, these phrases can conjure the feeling from its hiding place when we were not conscious of it. Depressive thoughts carry depressive feelings, grateful thoughts carry grateful feelings. These emotions can be challenged, accepted, rewritten, mocked, and so on, depending on how you feel best to deal with it. We each have our own agenda, however most of us want to get on and be content with our daily activities. This means we need to take control of the various inputs and only listen to the ones that benefit us.
 
Colour theory and emotional intelligence are very similar. In a study by Berlin and Kay during 1969, a series of observations were made in regard to language and colour across indigenous peoples. In the enlightened world, in which global information is easily accessed, the roots of our cultures are ever increasingly diluted. However in indigenous cultures, the influence of modern thought is much less pervasive. It is therefore easier to determine factors such as language and colour relationships. It was found that when cultures describe colour, every one had at least two colours. These were light and dark. Other cultures, with a more diverse linguistic, could talk about four colours. It was only after this barrier had been reached that a more diverse spectrum of colour description became available. Our names for colour have given our brains the tools it needs to distinguish between them, and for other cultures without these names, the distinguishment is less vivid. They appear as shades of one or the other.
 
With our art, we can use this principle to further the reach of our emotional intelligence. A good description of a perspective, a situation, and the true-to-life feelings that arise from it can help people to learn how to empathise with those they are not familiar with. We possibly cannot imagine what it is like for a tribesperson who didn’t get their new lip piercing because of a wrong move in the dance, but for this imaginary person it might be the end of their dream. How do we know? The story has to be genuine and realistic, it has to put the reader into the shoes of the stranger and give them second sight. Art can do this with pictures too, a vivid picture can bring about all kinds of genuine sensations we’d not otherwise have felt. Words, however, have the ability to pin-point and stick around as recordings in the mind, whereas an image reverberates as a symbol, available to a wider range of analogues.
 
In a world that thrives on division and misunderstanding, the projection of evil onto rational points of view, and the closing off of logic according to the colour of the badge, we can all learn something from the art that speaks louder than the intolerant. Half of the voting populous are not lunatics and they are not somehow twisted or scheming. They’re just different and they see things differently. We need to be able to open the eyes of those around us with our art in order to tell the truth without being ugly and repulsive. Preaching to the choir will not do, when educating your antithesis you must respect their position before you can expect them to respect your own. 

Recommended reading: Emotional Intelligence 2.0: A Practical Guide to Master Your Emotions. Stop Overthinking and Discover the Secrets to Increase Your Mental Toughness, Self Discipline and Leadership Abilities
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Dinosaurs are a source of unending fascination. We can all imagine what they were like, living their giant and reptilian lives among the archaic trees and mountains. The water we drink today was once enjoyed by one of these legendary beasts, whose living ancestors thrive as members of the bird family. Have you ever looked into the eyes of a hen and seen the reptilian stare looking back at you? It must be like looking into the eyes of a dinosaur.
 
The study of fossils is a slow and rigorous process. We can only look at what we have, and the discoveries are not easy to find. From the beginnings of the science, palaeontologists have managed to uncover a large and wide-reaching collection of plant and animal remains that help to tell the story of our own evolution. We can see how varying changes have taken place over time to result in new aspects of life that ultimately become defining features of a species. The best and most efficient biology is maintained as the antiquated and obsolete mechanisms are often left to history. As vast changes have taken place in our local environments, the types of system that thrive have changed too, meaning that life is filtered even further towards the adaptive premium.
 
Uploaded to YouTube is a full section of a university Geology course dedicated to the study of fossils and the processes that form them. Taught by Professor Thomas Holtz, GEOL104 consists of 49 videos each of about 50 mins length. The first entry is an introduction and can be skipped if you want to get straight into the information. A slow and steady pace is given with a generous amount of talking around the subject. This is helpful to give the mind time to digest what is being given, and possibly a skill I am yet to learn! Never-the-less, I highly recommend taking the time to watch these lectures in order so you too can get to grips with the prehistoric record.
 
The end-result for creatives will be a deeper insight into what processes take place in the building of solutions to problems and the creation of new opportunities. A creative trial and error approach akin to natural selection and adaption can be a powerful analogy when finding ways to diversify your own output and come up with new and fascinating adventures to create. The time periods involved can also help us to be patient with ourselves as it takes months and years to make progress, nature can take a lot longer and no-one seems to mind that much. Stability is a good thing when it comes to our daily lives. 

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