Novelty by its definition is new, original, unusual, and overall exciting. It’s no wonder then that it plays a critical role in Creativity, as originality is a key (measurable) ingredient in creative acts. It’s the uniqueness and originality creators bring to their practice, and what I also feel is necessary for fueling my own curiosity and attention to my experiences through visual journaling. Creativity researcher and psychologist Dean Keith Simonton of the University of California-Davis would agree, he wrote in his History of Creativity Research - “Psychologists usually define creativity as the capacity to produce ideas that are both original and adaptive. In other words, the ideas must be both new and workable or functional. Thus, creativity enables a person to adjust to novel circumstances and to solve problems that unexpectedly arise” (Simonton, 2001, p. 2).
“Novel circumstances” are taking a new class for the first time, an unusual connection that makes you excited in your creative process and if you are fortunate to, traveling to new places. These all provide a spark or connection to curiosity that is heightened by the increased novelty of your surroundings. With traveling to a completely new place acting like rocket fuel to creative connections.
When I’m traveling, plein air sketching is my way of capturing that novelty. With landscapes always changing and the time/place/experience adding the newness or plein air look to my lines and colors. Best of all, with my visual journal in my pocket at all times, “traveling” can be as special as going to my local coffee shop with a friend.