CREATIVITY

As a writer and an artist, I have often wondered where some of my ideas have originated. A few years ago, I sculpted from clay a figure of a woman. It was my first experience working with clay. As I built up and formed the clay, I found that it was almost as if the figure itself took on a life of her own and was guiding me. She is now cast in bronze, but I have to admit I liked her better in the clay form as she seemed more alive and vital. 

 

I would guess that many people yearn to be more creative. We often feel we do not have creative talent and that only successful painters, musicians, writers, and other artistic people are able to produce artistic works. But within each of us are powers of imagination and creativity waiting to be discovered, unleashed, and shared. It seems that we think too often that creativity has to be some great masterpiece. Creativity encompasses many things. I’ve mentioned the ones often thought of–art, literature, music, invention–but the list is more extensive and possibly not as dramatic. It can be as simple as making a beautiful flower arrangement, cooking a gourmet meal served with elegance, crocheting a pair of baby slippers, decorating a room in your home, landscaping a yard, making a children’s toy from wood. 

 

Many ordinary acts we do are creative, and we do not always think of them in that way. Our simple accomplishments can bring us a sense of pride and satisfaction. And that satisfaction may not be any less than the satisfaction felt by a great master artist of the past. 

 

~Linda