the importance of creativity

Have you ever spent hours engaging in something that allows you to flex your creativity muscle, only to somehow, along the way, stop building it? It’s not that you lack the passion for it, but life somehow becomes so busy you forget to give yourself the time and space to create. I think this has a lot to do with the ways in which we often think about productivity, which we so often equate with money or success. With creativity, you may or may not find success or fortune in conventional terms, but I don’t believe that’s really the ultimate goal for an artist. Creating something is expressing your internal self, externally. I also believe it’s an exploration of the deeper meaning of life and the themes within it: happiness, love, joy, deep sorrow, grief, longing, regret…

Kurt Vonnegut once said, “Practicing an art, no matter how well or badly, is a way to make your soul grow, for heaven's sake. Sing in the shower. Dance to the radio. Tell stories. Write a poem to a friend, even a lousy poem. Do it as well as you possibly can. You will get an enormous reward. You will have created something”. In many ways, engaging in art, whether it be painting, writing, dancing, playing music….is a creation of yourself. It’s an act of becoming. 

I’ve been thinking about this recently, having forgotten to give myself the space to create, especially without the pressure of perfection, and decided this afternoon I would do something I love: watercolour painting. I let go of needing to be great, or even good, at it. Because ultimately art is expression, not perfection, and mastery of anything is a journey without an end.

What have you created this week or what do you hope to create? Let this be an invitation for you to create something, even if it is just for you.

~Kate