Never have I understood the law of inertia so well as when doing a pirouette or writing. After crushing through the late and most recent blog post, I immediately had about twelve more ideas for what to write about next, however, that last post took so long because I felt like I had nothing to say, no idea, no kernel of inspiration anywhere in sight.
Creativity is all around us, every minute of everyday, just waiting to be picked up, noticed, played with, found. This past weekend we made massive progress on our guest room renovation with the help of our family and the determination of my wonderful husband. Being six months pregnant I kept my part down to getting food, running for water, music manager, and generally being an active participant in the peanut gallery. Watching them work and helping put all pieces into place from ordering supplies, manoeuvring materials upstairs, and doing the actual thing, sparked an appreciation of the creative juices flowing from labour skills to problem solving solutions.
I feel like we in the creative community tend to think of creativity in terms of, almost exclusively, art. Even when we do concede to the practicality of some creative endeavours they are usually of furniture makers and potters making beautiful things, their function an added benefit. Although art is a fundamental part of the human experience the lessons we learn from it have far more practical applications than we give them credit for. If we need to think of creativity in terms of art or entertainment or beauty or form instead of function, let me break down the fundamentals of this renovation into art parallels.
Demolition - deconstruction of a known form
Repurposing materials - multi media project using recycled sourced materials
Framing a wall - spatial awareness, understanding structure
Drywalling - spatial awareness, jigsaw puzzle
Building - craftsmanship skills
At every stage of the process we are using creativity to fit pieces together, come up with solutions to roadblocks and enhance specific skill sets to create a new space. I believe the reason we often don’t think of work like construction as being creative is because it has such rigid parameters and codes that have to be followed. But creativity doesn’t mean chaos. Creativity isn’t only occurring without boundaries or rules - even in art - there are proportions, the edges of the canvas, a finite number of words, limits to how the human body can move. There are parameters hedging in every form of creative and artistic expression. It frustrates me that we draw a line in the sand around what we deem to be creative and what is simply procedural work because it limits our own understanding and perspective when it comes to viewing, recognizing, and embracing creativity in our own lives.
To me, the essence of creativity is its fundamental versatility in the world. Arguably the most creative endeavours in human history were not ones in pursuit of art and beauty, they were driven by a need, a practical concern that needed to be addressed - they were ones of innovation and invention. There shouldn't be a divide between art and science and engineering and construction and movement and politics and reasoning. Each of these disciplines are facets of creativity in our world. What changes and defines them is not the absence or presence of creativity, it is the approach we take and the problem we are trying to solve, it is the goal we are working towards.
Creativity is not messy, fun, colourful chaos. It is not a vacuum of endless possibility that exists outside of time and space and is pure and whole in its own little bubble. Creativity is the way we operate in the world, the only way forward into a future of newness. It also doesn’t happen alone, no matter what the great's may tell you. Inspiration isn’t plucked from a single moment of genius created in one brain without any other source of input or influence. Creativity is driven by discussion, need, a search for a solution or answers to a question. The best part of this project has been the lessons learned in creative collaboration. The idea that different perspectives can facilitate change not challenge it. Creativity is not a competition, it is a collaboration.
If I had to boil down the essence of creativity in relation to the practicality of it I would say it encompasses three main ideas; perspective, skill, and innovation; all of which can be cultivated and learned!
Creative Collaboration - Perspective
Creativity is all about shifting perspective - especially when applied in the sense of problem solving. We often hear it described as thinking outside of the box, or off the wall ideas. In reality, problem solving at all levels is creativity in action. This is the epitome of integrating creativity into our lives, but this takes it one step further. Not only is it integrating creativity into our reality of everyday living, it is integrating the practice of creativity into our very thinking, into the way we view and operate within the world. The secondary piece of this is the idea that creativity does not happen only in isolation in our own brains, but rather happens out in the world as a result of collaboration whether that be with other people, our environment, or other ideas we’ve come across in passing, creative solutions and problem solving are never developed in a vacuum without any outside influence. Being able to come together with others to problem solve is a life skill that is applicable in every aspect of our lives from beginning to end. Learning to do so respectfully and without being in competition leads to the best outcomes all around and the most satisfying leaps in creative understanding.
Craftsmanship - Skill
Practice makes progress - and in creativity we continuously progress in our skill development whether that be specific skills associated with a craft, getting better with tools of the trade, or becoming more adept at problem solving in new ways, creativity is the catalyst for skill development. This is where those aforementioned trades like construction become synonymous with creativity instead of an entity outside of the creative realm. Construction, building, and functional labour skills are trade skills, they are learned, practiced, and specific to a particular trade or craft, just like oil painting, sculpting, or writing fiction. It is also important to note that you don't have to do any of these things professionally to hone your skills or call it craftsmanship! Creativity in all its forms can take on the position of hobby, or rather, as our new approach indicates, simply becomes part of your daily existence without title or distinction. Developing new skills is a foundational element of engaging with creativity, putting them to use in unconventional ways is creativity being showcased.
Understanding of Materials and Space - Innovation
Necessity is the mother of invention. Creativity is the driving force for innovation. Understanding our tools, materials, and space in which we are creating are the puzzle pieces we need to manipulate in order to innovate effectively. When we understand what we are using in our creativity we can better change the rules and conventions that govern how we use them and repurpose materials, tools, skills, and space to better serve new ideas and develop new frameworks in which to explore and expand our horizons. Creative problem solving all comes down to innovation; using what we have around whether that be tools, materials, spaces, or systems already in place in new ways to new ends, or in pieces to create something entirely new that serves a purpose other than that which was intended for the original pieces or processes. This doesn’t always mean reinventing the wheel. Sometimes it means bending within the rules or conventions to achieve a different outcome. We don’t need to dismantle the system to innovate, we need to make room for change within the system itself. For example - instead of being frustrated we don’t have time to go to the gym, use the playground you bring your kids to as your jungle gym too, using the structure built for children in ways to challenge your adult body with specific goals. You don’t take apart the playground or take away time at the park altogether, we find a way to work within the system and with the pace and material provided within it.
IT's always interesting the people I hear say "I'm not creative at all". Like a dance teacher who thinks this because they aren't an illustrative artist and don't dance anymore themselves, yet they teach children how to use and grow that creative spark that uses their body as the tool. Or someone who organizes a family get-together from the accommodations to the food to the entertainment while they are doing a hectic job from the road and thinks because they don't make art, they don't have a creative, problem-solving bone in their body. The problem isn't a lack of creativity. It's a lack of perception.