Capturing Youth

"Children laugh an average of 400 times a day, but adults laugh an average of only 15 times daily." Stephanie Young

One of the secrets of being creative is to retain or regain a childlike sense of playfulness and wonder. Einstein was famous for it. Picasso pointed out that "Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once he grows up."

Award winning documentary filmmaker Ken Burns invites young people to work on his films because “They haven’t yet learned ‘the right way’ to do things, so they come in with wide-open creativity.”

Carlos Santana had the same idea when he recorded his album Supernatural collaborating with top young musicians and it became his most successful album ever.

When you’re stuck for new ideas and need a fresh point of view, talk to a young person. Invite student interns to work on your projects. You might discover that you learn as much from them as they do from you.

© Copyright 2007 Dixie Darr. All rights reserved