An artist's perspective on creativity

Fleeing Creativity by ~berthjan on deviantART

As an artist, I think about creativity a lot. Like many others, I often wonder whether my creations are worth the time they take.

This past Saturday, an artist I truly respect, Mindy Smith, did a presentation to a group of fellow artists about creativity. There were so many things she said that I thought were worth exploring further, and she spoke about them so beautifully that I often thought it was a shame we weren't recording her talk. Because they are her ideas and not mine, I will not attempt to outline them to you - they are hers to share. However, there are a few things that I thought so glorious, and have continued to think about since her presentation that I too must explore them and share them.

First, I'll turn my attention to what it means to be a creative person. The dictionary defines the intransitive verb "creative" as in "the creative arts" as "having the quality of something created rather than imitated". In other words, creating is not the same as reproducing. Or, as Mindy put it: "creative is being willing to go beyond what you know now." Being a creative is part of me. I can't be separated from it, but unlike Mindy, I have not yet learned to separate myself from my creative work. I wish that I felt like my creations, once created, did not belong to me - that they were meant for someone else. I think that my separation from them would be less painful, that negative opinions of them would be less painful. However, would I miss out on something truly special if I were completely separated from my creations? Just as God does not wish to be separated from us - His creations - should I wish to be so with my creations? I think for my own sanity, I need to learn to let them go and become what they are to become under the lights of others. It is too disheartening to be defined by one's work. Rather, I think taking a perspective similar to Mindy's, by understanding that the work may come from me, but does not belong to me. For me, this is a hard thing to do.

Second is the change of perspective to seeing what is good about a piece and continuing to work on that rather than constantly critiquing what is wrong with it. I have often wondered... when I hear parents ask their upset child, "what's wrong?" should they instead be asking "what's right?" Mindy's suggestion here takes the idea of focusing on strengths rather than dwelling on weaknesses and applies it to creating art. It seems to me that if we could apply this fundamental idea to all areas of life, including art creation, then it could improve our whole lives. But it could also help with the previous problem I have with feeling too close to my work... It was suggested that we let the work become what it wants to become.

And I'll leave you with this quote from Mindy: "Art is so determined to exist that it will exist in spite of you."

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