Why feed our creativity as adults?
As someone who loves getting stuck into creative tasks that require a bit of artistic thought and skill, it is easy for me to argue that creativity is something that we should all try to nurture in adulthood … not for it to be boxed off as the type of thing we remember doing in school as children. We can all recall painting clay pots, learning how to knit (and if you were persistent enough you could make a lovely but albeit very itchy scarf) … constructing glitter-covered cardboard decorations for the school’s Christmas tree. Those times where we were set creative challenges, where you could just get lost in the process are those that I remember most fondly … I have to admit maths and Tables Champ were never my thing! We nurture children’s creativity. Parents are elated when their little ones bring home pictures, paintings and crafts from school, putting them pride of place on kitchen fridges.
Creativity as we age
Yet, when we hit secondary school all this pretty much goes out the window. Creativity I feel is discouraged, both academically and socially. Academically, the aim of the game is to replicate what has gone before - to pass exams by regurgitating an ‘A standard’ essay, to provide an exact number of words, paragraphs, points - all in a limited time frame. Socially, it is all about blending in. You wear the same type of clothes, makeup and hairstyles as your peers. If you wear something a bit more ‘out there’, it will most likely be seen as ‘weird’ because it doesn’t follow the status quo …
However, when we go to college and then enter the workforce, a little bit of creativity is welcomed in order to make yourself stand out from the crowd, with an aim of getting yourself noticed - having an attractive CV that grabs a bit more attention, branding yourself in such a way that is engaging yet professional. Arguably, most employers favour employees who are ‘creative and innovative’ - these type of people come up with the big ideas, they aren’t afraid of shaking things up nor of looking at solutions to problems from a different perspective. And of course, in the case of visual designers and artists - they make things look good, they make products and services more appealing to a company’s target audience. Even so, a creative career is not the first thing society deems as the ‘most worthy’ putting something like medicine ahead of it. However, I would argue creatives in the professional world are just as important, serving an evidently different yet unique role from their counterparts.
Value to be found in creativity
Think about lockdown. How many of us were listening to live-stream concerts of our favourite musicians, buying beautiful prints by local artists to decorate our homes with, sending around our favourite books to our closest friends and family who we couldn’t be with? … The arts are what bring us alive as human beings, a single photograph, a song, or book can bring us to tears or make us laugh uncontrollably.
For someone to exercise their creativity they don’t have to be artistic per se. This is not about becoming a Picasso or being able to paint a hyper-realistic still life. This is about experimentation, imagination, empathy, and curiosity. I think about all the wonderful creative friends I have in my life … they are all talented in different ways and their creative efforts can be seen in all sorts of realms - photography, design, writing, fashion, film … The process of engaging the creative mind allows us to better understand ourselves, to empathise with others and to see the world in a new light. This is why so many of us are fascinated by museums, theatre shows and concerts to name a few - we go to these places ultimately to be inspired and to marvel at the beauty (and at times suffering) of this world.
Create for fun - without judgement or expectation
As I’ve mentioned, separate artistic from creative. Get lost in a creative task for the fun of it and revive that childlike wonder you might have lost. Take inspiration from the world around you and start creating. Grab a scrapbook and start gathering photos, thoughts, inspirations. A friend of mine recently mentioned to me that she really wanted to start something ‘creative’ because she felt this was lacking in her life, although she’s not artistic. She sends me the first page of a notebook she had started with and in it was her first ‘creation’ - a pen drawing of a face and flowers ... adding that by the end of the notebook she hopes to get better! How lovely is that? I was delighted that she was challenging herself in this new way and was enjoying the journey!
Co-creating
For myself, I went through some years in college never picking up a pencil or paintbrush (I used to love sketching in school) … because well, I thought it wasn’t something that was going to add much ‘value’ in the grand scheme of things. However, when I began sketching again it opened up another world, adding such joy and peace to my life. A deeper meaning to all this comes to mind whenever I think of the process of creation that encourages me no matter what the outcome. When we as human beings create we are co-creating with the ultimate Creator who is God … He has created us to create and therefore when we engage in the act of creation we actually tap into who He has made us to be and what He has made us for - and this, in my view, has to be of the utmost value.
