Seeing the connection and witnessing the joyful engagement with the creative process and watching someone play as they express something only they can bring forth (“tangy monkey?!”), is one of the most beautiful things I have ever seen (and, yes, sometimes the funniest).The memory makes me smile even as I write this.
You can observe a similar process if you watch room makeover shows. Invariably, they show a room that is bland and lifeless, a hodgepodge of objects with no sense of personality, rhythm, or order. The couple explains that they simply didn’t know what to do. Interestingly enough, once the transformation process has begun, hopes start to be expressed.
“I hope they use green. I love green.”
“I would love to see a tropical theme.”
“I’ll hate it if it’s too contemporary.”
It reminds me of a saying I once heard, the source of which I do not know:
When we ask for advice, what we really want is permission.
We’ve made creativity, including the process of creating our own home environment, the purview of “qualified” professionals and “legitimate” artists, but watch the reactions closely during the home show “reveal.” In that moment you will see it.
“This is just what I had pictured! It’s what I had hoped!” or “This isn’t at all what I had in mind!”
This is the key. It isn’t about becoming creative. You already are. Yes, of course, you may need to learn a thing or two about the techniques and tools that will allow you the greatest expression of what you have inside, but all the technique in the world isn’t going to make you creative. It will simply give you an outlet for its expression.
Next up: Courting the Muse
Article comments