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Roumayne Schepers , LerenVanKunst.nl
7 ways to stimulate your creativity
The name Roumayne Schepers must be familiar to art lovers on Instagram. Roumayne is the heart of and brain behind Art Based Learning (ABL), an experimental way of looking at art developed by Jeroen Lutters and intended to train and stimulate the creative thinking of entrepreneurs and teams. This takes place offline through Art Based Learning sessions in museums and galleries and online by training our 'creativity muscle' with Creativity Breaks and the Insta Museum Guide. Roumayne shares Lutters’ view that looking at art is a personal experience that can trigger our brain in terms creative thinking. And to encourage this, she believes in the ABL method, which is not primarily about learning about art, but about learning from art.
Who is this young entrepreneur and how does she put the Art Based Learning method into practice?
Roumayne lives in Amsterdam with her partner and 2 sons aged 2 and 5. During her job as a pharmacist, she started the (part-time) photography course at the Fotoacademie where her love for art started. Roumayne: "During my training I often went to the museum for inspiration. I preferred to look at abstract art to let my thoughts wander and to experience my emotions even more intensely. After the birth of our children, I started looking for a different interpretation of my work based on the idea: more art and creativity for everyone. Learning from Art (Leren van Kunst, LVK) started from this.” Roumayne no longer works as a pharmacist, but devotes herself full-time to the activities of LVK. But how exactly does this method work? We decided to ask Roumayne:
"The definition of creative thinking is simple: breaking through (thinking) patterns. The implementation, on the other hand, can be quite challenging. Abstract art can help to break those patterns. Our imagination is important in finding solutions and new ideas in our daily life and work. According to neurobiologist Dick Swaab, when looking at abstract art, our visual system is used in a different way than in everyday life or when looking at figurative art.
By asking yourself what you see in abstract art and turning it into your own imagination, you train your right brain. That’s where your creative thinking is. Anyone can train this. All you need is a bit of curiosity, then you will be able to form the most diverse images when looking at an abstract work. "
So all you need is curiosity and you can learn the rest. To figure out how this works out in practice, we asked Roumayne to create a Collection and link it to Learning from Art. She chose "imagination" as one of the five creative thinking skills to practice with. Posing the question "What do you see?" Roumayne invites you to spend a few minutes looking at an abstract work of art and then describe what you see. Below you’ll find Roumayne’s tips and observations to help you on your way. Here we go.
Who is this young entrepreneur and how does she put the Art Based Learning method into practice?
Roumayne lives in Amsterdam with her partner and 2 sons aged 2 and 5. During her job as a pharmacist, she started the (part-time) photography course at the Fotoacademie where her love for art started. Roumayne: "During my training I often went to the museum for inspiration. I preferred to look at abstract art to let my thoughts wander and to experience my emotions even more intensely. After the birth of our children, I started looking for a different interpretation of my work based on the idea: more art and creativity for everyone. Learning from Art (Leren van Kunst, LVK) started from this.” Roumayne no longer works as a pharmacist, but devotes herself full-time to the activities of LVK. But how exactly does this method work? We decided to ask Roumayne:
"The definition of creative thinking is simple: breaking through (thinking) patterns. The implementation, on the other hand, can be quite challenging. Abstract art can help to break those patterns. Our imagination is important in finding solutions and new ideas in our daily life and work. According to neurobiologist Dick Swaab, when looking at abstract art, our visual system is used in a different way than in everyday life or when looking at figurative art.
By asking yourself what you see in abstract art and turning it into your own imagination, you train your right brain. That’s where your creative thinking is. Anyone can train this. All you need is a bit of curiosity, then you will be able to form the most diverse images when looking at an abstract work. "
So all you need is curiosity and you can learn the rest. To figure out how this works out in practice, we asked Roumayne to create a Collection and link it to Learning from Art. She chose "imagination" as one of the five creative thinking skills to practice with. Posing the question "What do you see?" Roumayne invites you to spend a few minutes looking at an abstract work of art and then describe what you see. Below you’ll find Roumayne’s tips and observations to help you on your way. Here we go.
4 Media items ᛫ 9 Available artworks
5 Shows ᛫ 1 Highlights ᛫ 0 Recommendations
What do you see? Tip: Before answering, take a look at the image for a few minutes. Let the artwork work sink in and then list what you see.
I see all kinds of animals in René Korten's work. A lion and different types of fish. Spawn. A totem pole. While looking at it, a number of people also appear. On foot. Or just their faces. If I put the image away for a while and look at it again a few hours later, I discover new things, including a shadow of a hand and children. The work makes me curious and is captures my attention for a sustained period of time. I can easily keep looking at this for an hour or so.
I see all kinds of animals in René Korten's work. A lion and different types of fish. Spawn. A totem pole. While looking at it, a number of people also appear. On foot. Or just their faces. If I put the image away for a while and look at it again a few hours later, I discover new things, including a shadow of a hand and children. The work makes me curious and is captures my attention for a sustained period of time. I can easily keep looking at this for an hour or so.
1 Media items ᛫ 9 Available artworks
4 Shows ᛫ 4 Highlights ᛫ 3 Recommendations
What do you see? Tip: Everything is possible and everything is allowed, nothing is right or wrong with these viewing exercises. You may feel that what you see is grotesque or absurd. Try to let go of this thought.
In her video portrait for the Hollandse Meesters series, painter Rezi van Lankveld says: "You only truly see what you have made when someone else looks at it. Then you see it through someone else's eyes and go like: oh right, that’s it! So it is important that people see and respond to it. Then you might get it yourself as well. "
In her video portrait for the Hollandse Meesters series, painter Rezi van Lankveld says: "You only truly see what you have made when someone else looks at it. Then you see it through someone else's eyes and go like: oh right, that’s it! So it is important that people see and respond to it. Then you might get it yourself as well. "
1 Media items ᛫ 31 Available artworks
13 Shows ᛫ 0 Highlights ᛫ 1 Recommendations
What do you see? Think of at least 3 answers.
My first thought: I look at a lot of trees. Trees in a park. Then I added: plastic bottles and a factory. When you look at Joris Geurts’ work of for a while, you automatically become curious about the other work of this artist.
My first thought: I look at a lot of trees. Trees in a park. Then I added: plastic bottles and a factory. When you look at Joris Geurts’ work of for a while, you automatically become curious about the other work of this artist.
2 Media items ᛫ 0 Available artworks
1 Shows ᛫ 0 Highlights ᛫ 0 Recommendations
What do you see? Think of at least 4 answers.
When I saw this artwork, I initially saw little. Many dark colours. The longer I kept looking, the more there was to see. Colourful subjects too. Together with our eldest son, we named one after the other: A seahorse, a jellyfish, a ray and a dolphin. You understand: we were in a colourful underwater world. The work of Maaike Schoorel really invites you to use your imagination.
When I saw this artwork, I initially saw little. Many dark colours. The longer I kept looking, the more there was to see. Colourful subjects too. Together with our eldest son, we named one after the other: A seahorse, a jellyfish, a ray and a dolphin. You understand: we were in a colourful underwater world. The work of Maaike Schoorel really invites you to use your imagination.
Mia Chaplin
1 Media items ᛫ 3 Available artworks
5 Shows ᛫ 0 Highlights ᛫ 0 Recommendations
What do you see? Think of at least 5 answers.
Looking at Mia Chaplin's work for a while I see a turtle, a nurse, horse legs, a bird and various male faces. There are times when I don't see anything new in it. Then I zoom out for a moment and then zoom in again. What also helps is starting at the top left and slowly zigzagging my eyes down.
Looking at Mia Chaplin's work for a while I see a turtle, a nurse, horse legs, a bird and various male faces. There are times when I don't see anything new in it. Then I zoom out for a moment and then zoom in again. What also helps is starting at the top left and slowly zigzagging my eyes down.
1 Media items ᛫ 61 Available artworks
7 Shows ᛫ 0 Highlights ᛫ 0 Recommendations
What do you see? Tip: Do not view this work just online but also in the gallery.
In times of quarantine we can only look at art online. As soon as the galleries and museums open their doors again, you will experience the exercises in front of an artwork very differently. For example, in an offline situation you can see the paint stripes very clearly, the proportions are very different and you may also look at it from a different perspective. This can contribute to having completely different associations.
Erik de Bree makes cuts with a knife in the paper, which he fills in with ink. I can imagine that when looking at such work in real life, a cut out like De Bree’s lends a completely different image. From an online perspective, I saw leaves and faces in it.
Want to practice more? Of course, you can. Every day, Leren Van Kunst shares an artwork with a Creativity Break in an Instagram story. From the reactions of participants, we now know many of them after a few days already experience the difference, because they get more pleasure from looking at art and discovering what it does to their creative brain.
In times of quarantine we can only look at art online. As soon as the galleries and museums open their doors again, you will experience the exercises in front of an artwork very differently. For example, in an offline situation you can see the paint stripes very clearly, the proportions are very different and you may also look at it from a different perspective. This can contribute to having completely different associations.
Erik de Bree makes cuts with a knife in the paper, which he fills in with ink. I can imagine that when looking at such work in real life, a cut out like De Bree’s lends a completely different image. From an online perspective, I saw leaves and faces in it.
Want to practice more? Of course, you can. Every day, Leren Van Kunst shares an artwork with a Creativity Break in an Instagram story. From the reactions of participants, we now know many of them after a few days already experience the difference, because they get more pleasure from looking at art and discovering what it does to their creative brain.