Guest Post

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The artist and his artFirst, I want to apologize for my sporadic absence in this blog. I’ve been busy and honestly, I had no inspiration to write. Last week I completed 3 paintings and this week 1 sculpture (after destroying a nearly finished one). I’ve been also working on the sculpting and painting parties, and also started teaching a basic computer skills class for the Literacy Center of Milford. Soon I’ll be announcing a group art show in New Haven. Before that show, I’ll be speaking at The Grove in New Haven May 21st, and where we are holding our Sculpting Night, Friday, April 24 (get the information and RSVP here). Speaking of which, better than writing a blog about oneself or what is going on is to read when someone writes about it. I want to share this guest post article with you: Sculpt Your Brain. Enjoy it! Let me know what you think about it.

Brain Function of Artists

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How do I make sense of the things I see? How can I bring an invisible idea into something visible? What about those who turn sounds in their heads into music? How can someone come up with poetry, lyrics for a song, a story, or a dialogue? How can my fingers understand how to shape the clay in a visually logical way according to the design in my brain? How do I make philosophical sense of what I am looking at and articulate the silent language my art is communicating? How can people turn math into art and art into math?

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I’ve been reading here and there about the right-brain/left-brain functions. Some say it is a myth. Some say it is not. I was discussing it with my personal physician as well (my wife), who found several articles for me to read. I have no intention to write a research article with fancy references and style (as somebody said I don’t know how to interpret the literature or cite it although I wrote a dissertation) because this blog is not for that. When someone pays me to develop another research study then you would see the whole dissertation format in action. For now I am just expressing my thoughts on these subjects. Nonetheless, it is interesting to see what studies say about the brain function of artists. I don’t argue with these studies unless I make my own study or if they make artists look bad.

According to some the artist’s brain is different in structure and naturally wired to display higher fine motor skills and visual imagery but training and an encouraging environment play an important role as I wrote in The Discipline in The Discipline. It is necessary to cultivate a talent through practice and discipline. This is the combination of nature and nurture. However, while certain areas of the brain are more dominant both sides of the brain are used simultaneously. This is not exclusively for artists since it is said that engaging in creative activities helps improve brain function in multiple areas which I stretch with passion when it comes to cognitive psychology because not only the physical brain changes, the nonphysical brain changes too. To define ‘nonphysical brain’ that is what I call the non-measurable cognitive functions like perception, affect, beliefs, and intuition. Not to mention how engaging in creative activities help relief stress and to connect back to ourselves and it can change lives. it is no secret that art in its many forms also help develop well-rounded individuals.

Cognitive Psychology in Simple Terms

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ThessalonikeWhat is Cognitive Psychology? Cognitive psychology in simple terms is the science that studies how the mind works. Pretty simple, right? For example, it tries to understand how we memorize things and how to remember. It also tries to understand how we perceive and make sense of information or environmental cues. It helps understand how we develop language skills, how conceptual thinking is developed, and how we make decisions.  What we see, hear, touch, taste, feel, and imagine is information. In a sense, cognitive psychology deals with the ‘abstract’ functions of the brain and how it processes the information.

How does cognitive psychology helps you? If you understand how you memorize things then you will do the things that make you memorize more effectively. In education we rely upon this science to develop learning strategies that can be used in practice. Here is where research has an important role. Through observation and other forms of data collection and analysis we get to understand phenomena that then allow us to design ways to help people learn more efficiently. This includes delivering the information in ways that can be processed through different channels or in different ways. People learn in many different ways and some have preferred ways of learning. They are more inclined to get information in a way that is easier for them to receive, process, and understand.

There are so many aspects of cognitive psychology for learning that can be discussed and each one will branch out to more and more intricacies of this fascinating computer we call brain. We can talk about memory, problem solving and critical thinking, language development, understanding math, and how the environment affects mental functions. We can talk about the emotional aspects of mental functions like motivation. We can also talk about the physical aspects that affect cognition. The list can go on forever. We are only exploring the surface. It is important to understand that cognitive psychology is still theoretical and the mysteries of the brain may never be completely revealed. That is indeed the beauty of all of it and what keeps us searching and researching.

Welcome to my brain

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the-artistImagine for a moment that you want to focus a blog based on your experience in a particular field. Experience on a field of knowledge comes generally from academics or work. Sometimes we gain experience in other ways vicariously or intentionally. In my case, I had work in a few different things and loved different areas of my academic fields enough to share from these experiences. My mind map for a blog would probably look like a maze where each turn from one experience in one field crosses over experiences in other fields. Sounds complicated? Imagine you are inside a brain with work experience in radio, tv, graphic design, art, education, technology, bible, motivational speech and comedy. Interestingly, I learn and teach with a holistic vision. If you read my teaching statement you may understand what I mean. In this blog I’ll be writing about many things that may seem random but each thought is interconnected in the way I approach life. It is also reflected in my art, my research, my interest in the human brain and behavior, my way of teaching, and just in my private meditation and contemplation. I am planing to share some of my research, the subject of future research ideas (sounds boring but it is not), experiences in classes and workshops, my thoughts as I approach my art, and my meditations about life in general. Maybe in a few months I could put it all together and make a book.