Sometimes the brain needs a kick start. Although Chihuly was already marching down the path of artistic creativity, the loss of vision in one eye jolted his brain in a very literal sense to see differently. Chihuly’s brain probably adapted to monocular vision within about six months, but the effect on his art was indelible. He continued to be a visual artist, seeking out inspirations in unlikely places. Although he works in a medium that dictates individual pieces can only be a foot or two tall, he gets ideas from nature and, nowadays, architecture. It stimulates his visual system, and yet, at a different level, architecture is a tactile experience for Chihuly. Unusual spaces force his brain to process inputs in novel ways, sprouting new connections and making synapses where none existed before.
Gregory Berns, Iconoclast: A Neuroscientist Reveals How to Think Differently
