On Creativity

There are several differing opinions on whether creativity is inherent to certain individuals or if it can be learned by those that seemingly have no creative abilities whatsoever. I would contend that all human beings are creative; however, not all human beings know how to recognize it within themselves. Once we learn to recognize the sparks of creativity from within our self we can then begin to develop and cultivate it and bring it to fruition.

Creativity, at its most fundamental, is looking at something such as an idea, sculpture, photograph, novel, piece of music or even your wardrobe or dinner and realizing that it could be or should be different than what it now is. Creativity is built on or inspired from something already in existence; and although, in theory, it can supposedly be pulled from the black hole of nothingness I have yet to have someone definitively prove to me that they are a totally unique original thinker. As it has been stated many times by many people; there are no original thoughts. We need to quit chastising ourselves by thinking that we need to reinvent the wheel in order to be creative.

There are those, let’s call them the “creative elite”, which would dispute everything in this article. Some of them believe that what I am saying is completely false. They believe if that there are only a few human beings that are born to be creative and that they should be treated as precious jewels. There are also creative people who believe that not everyone has creative abilities but there are those that can be taught to be creative. And then, there are the creative types that fear you knowing that you too are creative because they want to remain the special ones. It is for you to decide for yourself if you want to develop your creative spirit; don’t be deterred by what others might think or tell you.

If you think that you have no creative ability answer me this; have you ever looked at a car and thought that it would look better painted red than black? Have you seen a girl that had really short hair and thought that she would be much prettier with long hair? Are you the one that decided what color the walls in your house should be? Or what color draperies and what style of furniture? Have you ever seen a television commercial showcasing a new invention and kicked yourself because you had thought of the very same thing months or years earlier? Hell, have you ever told a lie? A lie by its very nature is a creative thought. If you answered “yes” to any of these questions or the infinite number of similar questions that I could have asked you have creativity living inside you. The real question now is; how creative is your creativity?
All of that being said, just because we are all creative does not mean that we are equally creative.You may need to work hard to develop your skill set and technical abilities. You may have to explore several different mediums and multiple genres to figure out where it is that you actually fit in the world of art. Chances are it will not be easy but to succeed you must be motivated and have resolve. A motivated individual is a powerful force.

How many times have you heard someone say that in order to be creative you need to “think outside the box”? Well, that may true, but the way I see it creativity is a triangle made up of three separate entities none less important than the other and all being integral to the final outcome.

The starting point of all creative endeavors is inspiration, or stimulation of the thought process if you will. If you tell me that you are not inspired by anything, which I have had people tell me, I would say to you; “let’s go ahead and apply the toe tag because you are already dead and you have bigger problems than trying to find creative stimulants”. Everybody is inspired by something; quit being lazy and go find for yourself what inspires you. If you can’t be motivated enough to let yourself be open to inspiration quit reading right here and go watch TV, where you may or may not find inspiration.

The second point of the creative triangle is conception, or the ability to take inspiration and using your thought process, breathe life into it in order to sculpt and mold it into something that is yours. It does not have to be a virgin idea but it should be unique to your personal vision. Don’t get hung up on the fact that “it has been done before”; what hasn’t been done before? The simple truth to the matter is that it has never been done by you before. Unless you directly plagiarize an idea, the way that you conceptualize it is not going to be the same as it was conceptualized before you and, when the artist after you does “your idea” once again, his work will be different from yours as well.

The third and final point on of the triangle is execution, or the way that you choose to show your creativity to the world. Whether it is writing, photography, music, sculpture or whatever, your creativity will be judged by your ability to execute it. You can be a creative savant but if your creation is poorly executed you will not be recognized as the artistic genius that you may be. You must practice your craft until you are the best that you can be; nobody has become great by doing nothing, you must practice, practice, practice. You do not need to be the best in the world but you must show competence and be confident enough in your work to defend it.