It is important to create with (or without) the crayons…I’ve been struggling with this very experience over the summer. Creativity seems to seep out of me when I am going through an ordinary day. Free roaming creativity can interfere with my painting and drawing.
Wait just one minute…What is creativity, anyway?
There are many definitions…
To create is to “bring something into existence” or “to produce with imaginative skill” as defined in Merriam -Webster Dictionary. Mihaly Csikszentmihaly defines creativity as “any act, idea or product that changes an existing domain, or that transforms an existing domain into a new one” (p.27). Creativity can be described as” thinking outside the box”. You effectively exhibit creativity when you manage to transform a mistake into an opportunity!
So let me ask you , shave you ever created something that never existed before?” Do you imagine things before you make them?
I can just hear your answer now…a child, a party, a dinner, an experience, a cookie, a vacation, an outfit, a hairdo all have the capacity to be be the result of a creative imagination.
I have spent the summer, dear friends, struggling to refocus on building and then digging into my daily images. Weaving in time to nurture my relationships with friends and family, I was able to find numerous opportunities to create and view art and my surroundings.
And so, I sketched and painted, with- and also without, my art supplies! Creating meals with fabulous fresh summer vegetables from the garden, mending clothes that I love, changing plans and having an even better time because I was open to the change, venturing to visit places off the beaten path are just a few of the ways of inviting creativity into your life.
Ways to transform life are unlimited.
When you transform and think outside the box you are utilizing your creative skills.
That is so important.
It is why I keep writing this blog.
A life altering thought…
Oh yes, you can be an artist in whatever material or subject matter that you work with.
I would love to hear about ways that you are creative in your life…
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admin - Agreed, Joan! The funny thing about day to day living is that we often forget that we have no guarantee that we are going to awaken the next day. I know that I think my art is my greatest work, but it may be the time I shared my homemade bread with some fishermen working their second job on my shift at a fabric printing factory. And as you described, a person’s “great work” can continue to change…even on a daily basis.
Joan Henehan - The great work is different for each person and can change throughout one’s lifetime. In short, though, I would like to think that we can each put back a bit more than we take from the world, each according to their abilities.
Knowing that there are time constraints can certainly keep some momentum going!