Monday 15 January 2018

One Opinion About Creativity


Quite often people make a mistake believing creativity is a magical force that chooses a person to whom it appears. It is like being creative is something given. You have got a receptor that receives ideas and directions. In my opinion there is no such receptor. Being creative is active process you have to start every day and it requires lots of work. I haven't got a single idea ever just waiting and being passive. Relaxing is one way to process ideas and it might feel like the best ideas come when you just wait but actually the process has been started earlier when you have exposed yourself to something inspiring.

How to start the process then? After you have finished a project you have been working for long it might feel like you need a break. Usually my head feels empty as I have run from project to another for a while. When working with one idea I usually come up with the next one because making is one thing that boosts my creativity. When seasons change or a theme has been worked through there might be a gap between works and you get to start from an empty table. An empty table feels horrifying and inspiring at the same time. First it feels like all ideas have been used and nothing new is coming. That is when I look after sources of inspiration. I like to read, watch movies, collect colors from nature (with camera), walk, go thrift stores, study trends and listen to radio. One way to get started is to choose a material or theme and then brainstorm what it could become. If you are looking after home decoration or craft ideas you don't have to concentrate only on home decor books and trends. It might boost imagination to learn about new phenomenons and ideas outside that focus. Actually reading and learning about something that is totally new to you might open new ways of thinking and with opened senses you come up with new themes in your work.

How do you continue when your ideas don't seem to work? As a crafts person my solution is to soak my hands in the materials, do experiments and then finally decide one path and start making. After a break it feels like the projects don't turn out as great as the last ones before the break. There are days of self doubt. I question myself and why on earth I am continuing this when obviously I am nobody with poor ideas and nothing to give anybody anymore. But you have to start somewhere and make without self critique for awhile. Accept the satisfactory. Or what you consider satisfactory at the moment, it might turn out great when you think about it. Because what I have learned is that when you give yourself to crafting, decorating, writing, or what ever is your way of self expression, you start developing ideas and come up with great new project plans. I could twist ideas  in my head till the end of the world and I would always find something that just doesn't quite work. It is essential to move to sketching and testing. Sketches and tests might give results after a while when you hear something new and two pieces of information combine to one. It could be described as the moment when you have just waited and an idea comes out of the blue. But as you now know it was not that simple and there was lots of hard work included.

What I see as the most relevant thing is to see your self worth and believe that you have great ideas coming if you just give time and effort. Also motivation and determination to create are not to be forgotten. Creativity is not a narrow group's privilege and there is no division to creative and non creative people. There are creative people in all fields with different interests and specialties. Still it might arise critique if you consider yourself creative and you might get pressure to proof it. But after all only person who needs to be reassured is yourself. And that means, again, lots of self reflection and work.

Creative and inspirational week to you all!

Sannu

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