Sara and Stewart Scott-Curran, authors of A Kids Book About Creativity, talk about how we’re creative every day! Like when we make small decisions or problem-solve.
Sara and Stewart Scott-Curran, authors of A Kids Book About Creativity, talk about how we’re creative every day! Like when we make small decisions or problem-solve.
A Kids Book About Creativity (view book)
Full Book Description:
This is a book about creativity. While some people think that some are creative and some aren’t, [Spoiler Alert!] everyone is creative! This book is on a mission to help every kid, grownup, and member of planet earth unlock their creativity.
About the Authors:
Sara and Stewart Scott-Curran are a wife and husband super team with the coolest secret weapon: Their daughter Skyler! They all live together in Portland, Oregon with their dog Marvis and live out their creativity every day.
*If you want to be on a future episode of A Kids Book About: The Podcast or if you have a question you’d like us to consider, have a grownup email us at listen@akidspodcastabout.com and we’ll send you the details.
A Kids Book About: The Podcast
S1 E034, Sara and Stewart Talk About Creativity
[INTRODUCTION]
Ari: What is creativity?
Demetria: It’s like when you make a picture.
Ellie: Creativity is like when you’re drawing something and you get to express yourself a lot.
Anya: Creativity is opening your mind to new ideas and letting them flow, whether that be through art or creative through speech, creative through song.
Stewart: Creativity is just the expression of the fun that you want to have, um, in your, in your brain.
Sara: And I think that shows up for everybody different. We both have such a different approach to creativity in our daily lives. we both consider ourselves really creative.
[MEET OUR GUESTS]
Ari: Welcome to A Kids Book About: The Podcast! I’m Ari. My pronouns are they and them. I’m an editor, a researcher, and I’m your host this week. The voices you heard at the top of our show were from Demetria, Ellie, Anya, Stewart, and Sara.
Each week we talk about the big things going on in your world with a different author from our A Kids Book About series.
Stewart: hi, my name is Stewart Scott Curran. My pronouns are he him. I'm a designer by trade, and I'm the co-author of A Kids Book About Creativity.
Sara: And I am Sara Scott Curran. My pronouns are she her, and I am a wife, a mom, and a business manager for all intents and purposes. And I am Stew's co-author on A Kids Book About Creativity.
Ari: Creativity is so big! It’s all the possibilities your imagination can dream up. It can be everything from making cupcakes, to putting together an awesome costume, to so much more.
Stewart: I think the way that a lot of folks think about creativity means you're artistic. It means you're good at drawing images. It means you're good at painting. Maybe you can build things. Maybe you can write good stories.
We just think is much broader than that. We think it's really just about using your imagination however you use your imagination to invent something, to play a game, uh, to decide what you want to wear today, that, that ultimately is creativity. You know, it's either solving a problem, in a unique way to you, or it's just having fun with and letting your imagination go. And ultimately you know, that really is creativity.
Ari: Did you know that your creativity is special? You’re going to think up so many amazing creative things, and that will look different than my creativity, or your friend’s, or your teacher’s. Your creativity is something that can only come from you.
Stewart: I believe everyone is creative in all kinds of ways, every single day, whether we even notice it or not. You know, like I say, like when, when you wake up in the morning and you decide what to wear.
You decide what you want to have for breakfast. You might decide what book you're going to read that day. You might decide what game you want to play. Those are all creative decisions, you know, and, um, it doesn't have to be about a conscious decision about creating something, you know, I think like your brain is praying to be creative and solve problems.
Um, and that's, you know, um, that really for us, as is creativity and you almost do it without thinking about it. I think we are just praying to be creative.
Sara: And I think what's cool about creativity is that it's such an individual thing. And so it's really. Uh, real innate, honest, authentic expression of who someone is.
And so I think it's something that I really enjoy looking for and experiencing in others because it shows it so differently all the time. Um, which is really beautiful.
Ari: Sometimes we tell ourselves that creativity has to look one specific way. That might be really discouraging if we don’t see that in ourselves. But maybe there’s another way to see our creative abilities.
Sara: If you feel like you're not creative, you're probably creative in a really original and exciting way that you don't yet recognize, because maybe you're not an artistic person. Maybe it's not the common definition of being creative, but maybe you're expressing that in a way that's really special and unique to you and your skillset. And I think sometimes people think that they're not creative as they get older.
Stewart: Yeah, the world likes to put us into boxes and neat little packets. And I think when you're a child and you're creating, you're creative, you're just doing it for the joy. You don't even think about what you're doing or why you're doing it. You're just doing something because you love it.
And you know, as we get older, the world and society likes to, likes to kinda try and put labels on that and, you know, you know, say something is more creative than something else. And ultimately I think I, I prefer the definition that is a little bit more undefined as it was. You know, like it doesn't really matter what you're doing, if you're doing it for the joy of it and the love of it, then, then you are doing something creative.
Sara: And I think if you're feeling like you're not, creative, and you're like, man, I wish I was creative. How could I be creative? Chasing the joy is how you get there.
Ari: I want you to think about that for a moment. When you express yourself with creativity, what emotions do you experience? Does it feel energizing? Exciting? Happy? How does creativity make you feel?
Demetria: I feel like I love drawing. Cause I do!
Ellie: It makes me feel awesome, cause I can do whatever I want with my creativity.
Anya: Um creativity to me is a positive thing because um creativity can let you, you know, do your own thing and you know flow to your own beat, so usually it makes me happy.
Sara: Proud Excited
For myself, As a kid, I always thought that being called or thought of as creative is one of the highest compliments you could get paid.
And it was something I always wanted to be really excellent at art. My dream was that, uh, my, my art teacher, Ms. Kayla would put my art up in the art show and I would be picked, and it didn't happen for me until high school. Um, but it did happen at one time, but it was like something I really aspired to.
And when I think about myself now, I think about, um, owning my creativity in like a very different way than a lot of people, but I feel really proud about it. Because I'm a huge creative problem solver. Um, when you think about skills or tools for creativity, like I think about things that people don't sometimes like calculators and, and it, you know, Excel tools and like math and these kinds of things.
And, um, you know, it's, um, it's something that makes me, makes me proud of it.
Stewart: I think for me, ultimately, the joy is just in the, you know, the act of creation. It's about making something that was bringing something into the world that wasn't there before, you know? Um, and you know, that can be a piece of writing. That can be something visual. Um, that can be making some foods from just, you know, some simple ingredients.
I think for me, the joy is in the creation and then, being able to share that with, with, and hopefully, um, uh, allowing that to become something that, that brings people together, maybe starts a conversation. Maybe it makes them smile, smile, or makes them laugh. You know? Um, I think that ultimately trying to connect with people through, uh, fun things that you bring into the world is, is, is, is really what I think that's how I feel when I'm feel like I'm being my most creative.
Ari: Sometimes when I’m trying really, really hard to do something creative, it can feel intimidating—like there are too many possibilities, and maybe I can never get it right or make the right decision. It can be frustrating or discouraging when I’m not able to activate my creative brain.
Do you ever struggle when you’re trying to be creative? Stewart shared a really great piece of advice that I think will help.
Stewart: If you have something specific that you want to do you want to create, it's almost about just thinking about doing something different.
Like our brains work in really kind of weird and wonderful and mysterious ways, and they do a lot of work in the background when we're not even noticing it. You know, when we're sleeping, for example, like, you know, people, people will say, "um, oh, I'll go sleep on it." You know, like there's a reason for that. And that is because your brain works in the background when, when you don't even notice it.
And so, you know, my advice to anyone, who's trying to come up with an idea for a story or whatever it may be, um, and you're having trouble is, is just like go do something different, you know, go for a walk, you know, go outside, just change up what you're doing. Just think about something different and unbeknown to you, your brain will continue to work on this problem in the background. And then when you're least expecting it, you know, the answer will, will, will pop in there.
Ari: Just after the break, we’ll hear more about creativity from Sara and Stewart, and we’ll hear a question sent in from a listener.
[BREAK]
Ari: Welcome back to A Kids Book About: The Podcast. On today’s episode we’re talking about creativity with A Kids Book About authors Sara and Stewart Scott-Curran.
Our listener Ellie sent in a question.
Ellie: How many ways can you show creativity in?
Stewart: Man, Ellie, there is many ways as you can possibly think of and then some more, you know. I mean, I think that is, that is the honest truth. Um, I don't even know if you started to count the number of decisions that you make in a day, no matter how small they are, they can all be considered, you know, creative, um, thought processes, you know?
I like to think of it that way, because if he was like, it takes some of the pressure off some of the big decisions or the big creative problems that you have to solve. Your brain just gets too much practice all through the day. So when all types of problems and all kinds of creative ways, um, and I think it's a fun exercise to just try and practice a little bit of mindfulness and try and train notice when you're making those decisions.
You know, even if it's something that you do every single day, if one day you happen to do it slightly different. It's fun to notice that you're oh, wow. That's something I did that was actually creative, but I didn't even realize it was doing it. Um, so I think like that would be an interesting exercise for, for, for Ellie, to actually start counting the ways that Ellie is creative in a day.
And I guarantee you, you're going to get fed up counting by the time, you know, lunchtime.
Ari: Creativity can look like big solutions or impressive projects. But it can also look like all the small choices you make every day.
Stewart: I like to eat rice Krispies for my breakfast and instead of milk, I have them with Jello. So, I mean, that is real, um, corn flakes also work, but rice Krispies are a little better.
That's a creative decision, even though it's just like, you know, putting two different types of tastes and flavors together in a breakfast item. That is definitely a creative decision.
Sara: I really hate to be bored like as a person. So I'm always trying to figure out in any situation how to bring joy and interest to it.
So like one of the ridiculous things that I do, which Stew, and my daughter can be very embarrassed by is like, I'll just wake up one day and be like, "I'm gonna walk silly all day." And so like, I will just walk funny all day. But like I just, I really hate the mundane. And so like, you know, if I feel like I need to spark joy, like I'll just try to take like the most trite thing or simple thing and just really do it in an unusual way that will make me laugh. Okay.
Stewart: It may be taking a different route to school that day. You know, it might be taken a different path that you haven't been done before.
Um, you know, there's, there's just all kinds of ways, uh, to be creative, like we say, in the book, like some, some ways are big ways in some ways are really, really small, but they're all equally creative.
Ari: Sara and Stewart shared how they became the authors of A Kids Book About Creativity.
Stewart: We got married outside Portland up on Mount Hood in January, 2008. And at the time we were living, uh, in Europe and Amsterdam and, uh, we knew we wanted to get married here. And so, um, we were looking for a photographer and we didn't know anybody.
And we ended up connecting with Jelani, and we were like, "Hey, we don't really have that much money. But, you know, if, if you come up, if you come up the mountain, take some photographs of our wedding, uh, we'll give you dinner.
Sara: He was just such a beautiful presence. He was like his spirit and we had a really small wedding. So I think there was only 25 people there, so like he fit in beautifully and he took an amazing pictures that, um, are hanging up in our den today are some of our most cherished moments.
Stewart: And we kept in touch ever since. And, um, we ended up, um, maybe three years or so ago now moving back to Portland. And we caught up with him and that was when he had the very first prototype book, um, of A Kids Book About Racism.
And he was like, I'm thinking about doing this book and, you know, I'm just kinda showing it to some, some friends and family. And what do you think of it? You know. And it was just really obvious that it was really needed, and it was a fantastic idea. And, you know, I said to him, and he, he had this big idea about doing all kinds of different tales, about different subjects and, you know, um, telling these important stories, um, and having new kickstart on these important conversations.
And so we just, we just happened to be there, but yeah, that was, that was 13 years or so ago. Something like that. When we met him, uh, up on Mount Hood when he was taking photographs. So it was, it was getting married and we've just stayed in touch ever since.
Ari: For Sara, writing this book for kids like you was a really special bit of creativity.
Sara: And it was like a challenge of mine, to be, um, a writer. So like the one spot of creativity I've had a lot of success, actually, is writing. When I was 16, I had a poem published in all my family and all my friends expected me to grow up and write, and I always thought it was this great uh, thing that I never really got to do or achieve.
And so when it came up, it just felt really fated and really fortunate. And it was like a genuine dream come true. And it was a really fun, you know, process. And it was really great opportunity too, cause I think, um, to write this book was really meaningful to me because I felt like as a kid,
If somebody could have talked about creativity, a little different to me, I probably would have been, Um, more confident and recognize certain things that I do that are creative, that are really special. And it would have been a really big gift instead of waiting until I was an adult to discover what that really meant for me.
Ari: Before we go, I want to leave you with one last bit of wisdom from Stewart and Sara.
Stewart: I would just encourage anybody who you know, is, is, is either considers themselves not to be creative or who sees other people making things and doing things that, that they feel that they can't do. I would just encourage them to just find their own path and whatever it is that they find joy in doing, just do that, you know, and lean into that.
And find the thing that you just love to do for, for the sake of it. And who knows what type of path that, that may end up taking, taking you down? Um, I think like when we do things, from just an authentic place of joy and happiness that that's when you know, real magic can happen. And so, you know, don't worry about what anybody else is gonna think about what you're doing or why you're doing it. Just do it because you love it and have fun.
Sara: And if you're doing something that's like really different than everybody else, that could actually be an awesome thing. Right. Looking at things differently, taking different approaches. Having your own creativity show up. So uniquely in you, it's about thought of being an original, and really owning that.
That's the beginning of really making your mark on the world and a mark that only you can make.
[CLOSING]
Ari: Thank you to Sara and Stewart Scott-Curran, authors of A Kids Book About Creativity, for joining us today. And thanks to our very special kid voices for helping make this episode what it is.
Demetria: My name is Demetria. And I am 5 years old. And my favorite thing to draw are pictures and then I just like tape stuff down onto my pictures. I live in Massachusetts.
Ellie: My name is Ellie. I’m 8 years old, and I live in Maryland. My favorite hobby to do is Rainbow Loom.
Anya: Hi my name is Anya. I’m 13 years old, and I live in Maryland. My favorite things are theatre, drawing, and videogames.
Ari: Thank you, listeners! If you want to be on a future episode of A Kids Book About: The Podcast or if you have a question you’d like us to consider, have a grownup email us at listen@akidspodcastabout.com and we’ll send you the details.
Today’s episode of A Kids Book About: the Podcast was written, edited, and produced by me, Ari Mathae, with support from Matthew Winner. The show was edited by Chad Michael Snavely and the team at Sound On Studios. Our executive producer is Jelani Memory. And this show was brought to you by A Kids Podcast About.
Follow the show on Apple Podcasts or wherever podcasts are found, and if you liked this episode, consider sharing it with a friend, teacher, or grownup.