Chapter 5

In Chapter 5 of Launching The Imagination by Mary Stewart, she talks about problem seeking and problem solving. It has been bestowed on our young minds by the great minds of our previous generation that a good way to start pretty much anything is brainstorming. Stewart defines brainstorming as “a great way to expend ideas, see connections, and explore implications” (121). She also listed some of the common strategies like, make a list, use a thesaurus, explore connections, and keep a journal. Making a list is most likely the most common way to brainstorm so it is no surprise that it is listed first. I personally make lists all the time for various reasons. It allows the user to neatly organize a thought and connect that thought with other thoughts that he or she may think of later when deciding what they want to do with their art project or various other things. I think the most interesting brainstorming technique would have to be using a thesaurus. The book uses resentment and anger as an example and lists its synonyms. One of the synonyms is storm which an artist can use for their piece. Right now, I am trying to use depression to show a dark value in a art project. One of the synonyms for depression is sorrow which most likely best describes my art project. The other interesting brainstorming technique is keeping a journal. Journaling is a much harder concept for me to grasp as I am a virtual learner when it comes to all this art but I can see it work with others.