Where It Comes From
People often ask me, “Where does your creativity come from?” They usually ask this in a exasperated manner after they’ve denigrated their own art making skills. I used to not give this question much thought and say something like, “Oh, I’ve always just been this way!” then I’d add an awkward and apologetic smile for being so different and weird.
As the years have rolled on, I’ve thought about this question a lot, and I’m happy to say I have some answers about where creativity comes from and you’re probably not going to like them.
First off, EVERYONE is creative.
EVERYONE. ALL PEOPLE.
EVERYWHERE.
I’ve taught a lot of children over the years and frankly, there wasn’t a single one who wasn’t a creative genius. Kids come up with the most outrageous and hilarious lies, the coolest solutions for problems, and the most concise descriptions of human experience, but somewhere between Kindergarten and 6th grade this creativity gets swept away in the ocean of self doubt, which leads a lot of us to grow into adults who routinely ingest toxic doses of daily desperation with our nightly glass of wine.
Luckily, creativity is a simple recipe. My partner has this tee shirt that advertises our favorite local brewery. On the back it says, “Brewing 101: Time. Temperature. Concentration. Agitation”. It dawned on me a couple of weeks ago that nurturing creativity is a lot like brewing beer. All that’s required is time, temperature, concentration, and agitation.
Do you want to live a more creative life? Give it your time and attention. Anything that resonates with you and that you find interesting is worth your attention. Add concentration by learning skills to help you execute whatever it is you’re trying to make. Let’s pretend you’re like me and you like to draw but you don’t know how/what to draw. Just start. Pick up a pencil, and grab a pile of post it notes. Draw anything you see in front of you. Draw it at least five times then move to the next thing in front of you. Oops! You messed one up. WHO CARES? It’s a fucking post-it note. Toss it on the floor and draw another one. See how easy that was? You’ve now drawn five or ten things you’ve never drawn before. Well done, you.
Next up, temperature and agitation. If you want something from your life to be different than its always been you have to turn up the heat and give it a little shake.The optimal temperature for beer’s little yeast beasts to ferment is around 90˚F-95˚F, and since human beings are really just big yeast beasts, the rules are pretty much the same for us. Turning up the heat and shaking things up could look like enrolling in a local community education class, taking private lessons, getting a Skillshare subscription, or attending the University of YouTube. The point is, is that everything you’ve learned throughout your life occured incremintally. You built one skill, then the next and next and engaging with your creativty is no different.
Our society wants us to believe that creativty is only for '“artists”. This kind of gatekeeping in the art world has contributed to countless rising artists to lose heart and give up sharing their unique voice with the world. I don’t know about you, but I’m really sick of The Man™ telling me how and what to think so I call bullshit on this party line. If you’re ready to make the leap to living a more creative life, here’s your permission slip, I wrote in on the back of a receipt from Target. You’re welcome.
You were born creative, now go get it.
Oh, and keep me posted on how it’s going.