Creativity has a significant place in visual arts education (Bastos & Zimmerman, 2015; Katz-Buonincontro, 2018; Kinsella, 2018; Sawyer, 2017; Stone, 2015; Ulger, 2019; Veon, 2014) but an understanding of creativity leads to the recognition that for something to be deemed creative, it must be both novel and appropriate in context. While the ‘in context’ addition to the concept of appropriate, creates more space for visual artists, the constraints of appropriateness remain. Amabile (2018) further refines this idea when she posits that in the arts appropriateness can be conceived differently and that “work is generally considered creative if it is novel and expressive of something, evoking a reaction (or range of reactions) in observers that the artist intended” (p. 1). As a visual arts instructor, this creates tension. How do I encourage students to be creative and push boundaries, yet also teach them to be mindful of the constraints?
This paper discusses observations in undergraduate design education studio classes wherein students learn to use process and thumbnail sketches to push their concepts beyond predictable and into the radical or novel realm. A modified design thinking process provides the structure that allows students to feel confident about exploring ideas. Ongoing feedback from peers and instructor serves to both push and reign in ideas as needed. The process requires diligence and practice. It also requires that students work to break free from either/or thinking and view their work on a continuum.