Where the Creativity Grows

Where does your creativity come from? Do you know or do you ever even think about it? Do you know what makes you an artist? Or perhaps many of you reading this blog never think of yourself as artists. I know when I first started writing it felt strange even terming myself a writer or an author. Instead, I just dabbled because God forbid I state I’m a writer or author and I write something terrible, something not worth showing to the public. If I just did it as a hobby or merely dabbled then nobody would really take it seriously anyway.

As an author and writer (because I’ve acquired the guts to term myself as both), I have to shake my head at my hesitation, especially as I feel so passionately about writing. I won’t say my prior position and thoughts were stupid as I feel they are necessary to the process of discovery. Very few people are born knowing they are creative and artistic and they are meant to be that way or if they are born that way, our society usually does a good job of quashing their excitement and filling them with fears. Still, in time, most of us learn to navigate the world and get past our fears to show our creativity.

The other day on NPR, I heard about an Oscar-winning documentary of young girl named Inocente who has spent much of her life homeless. Despite the difficulty of her life experiences she paints beautiful, colorful paintings. Inspired by local California artists, she lives for and depends on her art. In her interviews she comes off as shy and almost hesitant to call herself an artist, and yet anyone who sees her work wouldn’t think of her as anything else but an artist. In time, Inocente, like many artists will come to see herself as such but it all requires a process of discovery and growth.

It’s funny that when we hear music, look at art, read poems or books or watch movies, we don’t think about the people behind the art. They are artists, not too young or too old, too blind, too deaf. They aren’t too fat or too thin, too black or too white, too religious or not. When we find art we love, all that matters is that to us in that moment, everything about that creation is just right.

Happy writing this week and be sure to let your creativity grow.

Filed under: Emotions, Toni Kelly, Writer's Life