Iwas recently on a podcast called “The Artist Matters” with Alex Rudy. He asked if I thought that all people were creative. I do. One definition of creativity is a phenomenon where something new and somehow valuable is formed. The created item may be intangible (like an idea, a scientific theory, a musical composition, or a joke) or a physical object (such as an invention, a literary work, or artwork, painting). I’m going to take a leap and guess you have used your imagination at some point, right? As a child, did you ever use your imagination and MSU (make shit up)? Did you ever play? Were you curious about something, anything? Did you ever make something? Did you ever take something apart and then try to put it back together, like a Rubik’s cube? Remember those? For me that is what creativity is all about. It’s looking at life with wonder, amusement, and play. Most of us (I would dare say) grow up and lose that child-like wonder. I’ve gone through years where I didn’t do much creative artwork, but I realize I was being creative in other ways.
I was curious about different things work related. I’ve shifted careers a few times since I graduated from college. I started out in retail management, where I learned how to work with others and learned about selling, building client rapport. Then after a few years, I moved on. I went into graphic design in the attempt to do something artistic for work. I learned different software, had to make presentations, worked with different cultures (our international franchisees), gained more exposure with group dynamics, interpersonal skills, and conflict. That was fun for awhile; then I pivoted again. I went into other careers where I was responsible for monthly revenue targets, leading a team, hiring, developing people, terminating team members. My point is each career teaches you something. At each company and job, I created something – a cross promotion, a floor layout, an ad campaign, a Human Resources Development plan, a coaching model. Creativity isn’t just about the arts.

Now in my 40’s I have this longing to get back to the arts and create in that vein. This year I set a goal to show my work at least 6 months out of the year. I’ve been able to do that; it’s been fantastic! I’m preparing for an end of the year show and finding myself wanting to take some painting classes. I haven’t done that in about 10 years. For me, I think it’s important to keep playing and experimenting. My style has changed over the decades. I went from using primarily dark colors, very smooth surface, varnish on top to playing with textures and adding more color. It’s been fun to see how my body of work has transformed over the decades.

How about you? What do you think about creativity? Email me at clarissa@clarissastudio.com to let me know. I want to leave you with a resource called The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron. It’s a 12-week course you can do on your own, with a group to get you in touch or back to your creative self. Highly recommend!