Why to be creative?
it's simple: to improve your life!
What even is creativity?
Is it painting, drawing & illustrating? Yes.
Is it making music, singing, writing songs? Yes.
Is it poetry, prose, writing books, blogs? Yes.
Is it cooking? Decorating? Dressing ourselves? Yes, yes and yes!
I will go further:
Can creativity be found in speaking? Listening? Doing science? Walking? Looking?
Yes, yes, yes, yes and yes!
Soo: creativity can be found everywhere! It makes your life so much better!
It can also be expressed in any moment of your life, at work, in private life, while walking, driving the car… you name it.
Maybe that sounds weird, but if you think about it, it is not so weird.
If we have a problem that needs a solution and the old ways of solving have not worked, we need to find new, creative ways to solve the problem.
If I did an experiment to check a hypothesis, but the experiment didn’t work, I needed to find another creative way to see if my hypothesis is wrong or right.
If a child is bored about an activity, maybe we could think about how to make it more fun & engaging. That needs creativity!
Maybe these things are still a stretch to some people. I have met people who could not creatively think about solving a problem.
I have also met people who were not able to be curious about anything, or anyone, just focusing on problems, but not on how to solve them & engage in life more joyfully.
So how do we train or practice that? Creativity? And also curiosity?
I think the easiest & most intuitive way is to “create” something.
And for that, it’s what we intuitively do as children already: scribble & paint around. It is fascinating to see that a piece of wooden stick, moved on a piece of paper creates a colorful line.
This is the most simple way to create something. And most children are fascinated by that. And when that line turns into a little flower, or sun or a scenery which then can be gifted to a loved one, its even more precious.
As humans we all are natural creators.
Unfortunately, this basic urge of ours to create in form of art is quickly eradicated and deemed as “not important”.
Not quite in kindergarden yet, but latest in school, where classes like maths & languages are supposedly more important and “no one needs art or music”, cos its not a real job & just a wast of time.
And then we wonder, why creativity is getting extinguished in human beings? Why we don’t dare to create? Why we feel shame about it? Why we compare to big artists & feel not good enough? Why can't we find creative solutions to solve problems.
Because we have been out-educated to see creativity as an essential part of ourselves.
It’s a dangerous cycle to get in. Especially now these days where supposedly “everyone has access to create something” with all the AI tools out here.
Guess what: you already have all you need to create & make art! A pen & paper is all you need! That’s it. And 15 minutes of your time to scribble something!
If we forget that creating is a very physical act, connected to our body, our heart and soul and we will stop creating, we will also start to disconnect from ourselves.
And then if that happens, we will loose ourselves in things, situations, circumstances, relationships that are not ideal for us.
How to avoid that?
Again: by creating something! And it can really be anything, a drawing, a crafting project, a DIY electric circuit you want to make for the lights in your living room. You name it!
Because once you get into creating and being creative, it will have ripple effects on your life! You will start seeing the possibilities to be creative in every aspect of your life!
Maybe you will realize that spicing up your usual meals could be a nice idea! Or walking a different road to explore your neighborhood, or leaving a cute & creative note for a loved one, to make their day happy!
The possibilities are endless! And you know what: it will fill you with joy & happiness! Creativity will improve your life drastically!
Recently I had a weird day, a bit of a grumpy moment & while I was walking a certain path with my dog, I noticed that my artist cards that I spread along the way were gone! That means, people saw them & took them in!
Those artist cards are one of my creative endeavours right now, where I re-use & up-cycle old paintings of mine, make them beautiful & write words of kindness on them & spread them where I live.
It made me so happy that people saw & took them & I hope the words I wrote onto them made them feel good & improved their day & mood.
Even scientific studies show that if we are kind to others, it makes us feel better & anyone around us that witnesses it as well! Being kind & creative improves our lifes!
Generally speaking, in my life, I feel the urge to create is growing more and more. I have tons of different artistic projects going on! Paintings, craftings, collages, constructing frames, dremeling things… I don’t really know where to stop. I love to get lost in these activities cos they connect me to my body & soul.
If I am honest, I wish to create a place for that, a type of community where we all can do that together. A space where we bring our arts & crafts & sit & fiddel around with them. Maybe we talk, maybe we are silent. We could share what we do, the struggles we have & maybe someone else knows how to fix them!
I have tried it on a couple of occasions. Last year I organized a workshop where almost 30 people came to sketch & scribble around! It was awesome!
I also was part of a silent painting studio and now I am in an art program where we all learn and paint along each other.
Unfortunately, I have not found a way how to create such a regular place myself yet. I just share my creative endeavours & see where it all leads me!
I do offer a weekly drawing/sketching & Q&A call for my paid subscribers.
If anyone of you wants to join that, feel free to subscribe & let’s do some arts & crafts together on Thursday the 29th this week!
I am thinking of having themes for each session, but am not completely sure about it yet, so I welcome any of your suggestions :)
For today that’s it, below where you can subscribe to become a paid member & join the weekly art-&-crafts & Q&A sessions!
Love,
Daria