Rediscover Your Inner Child

"Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once he grows up" (Pablo Picasso).

Why is it that children are more imaginative? I've come to notice that ironically, the learning process in disciplined environments (such as schools) can actually limit one's creativity. Being taught specific ways of doing something at an early age can restrict us from seeing things differently, leading us to be less imaginative with age.

I saw a thought-provoking speech given by Sir Ken Robinson* for TED where he brings up a very interesting point. He states that children are more creative because they are not frightened of being wrong. As we grow older, we are taught not to do wrong, which means that we will never come up with anything original. A simple example of what is considered to be wrong is a child drawing a purple banana, and being corrected by their teacher that bananas are yellow and will always be yellow!

What initiated my search into this topic is a book I found online about taking photos from a different point of view; one that is considered to be out of the norm. Creators of the book, Andy Space and Anthony Sperudti had a very simple yet original idea: "In a city where everyone looks down, we decided to look up."

Below are images of the book by Partners & Spade, titled The Benefits of Looking Up.

That being said, it is never too late to discover your inner child and give your creativity another shot! Start looking at things from a different point of view by experimenting with The Yard's new set of lomography cameras.