I can only speak from my own experience. What I’ve deduced is the difference between how I see the world and how people might think who tell me, “I’m not creative,” is only how they think about themselves and their willingness to indulge in curious no-holds-barred exploration. I’ll be posting about what the research says, but this post is about how my mind works.
I follow my curiosities no matter how weird and unexplainable. For instance:
Viruses: When this whole coronavirus thing came out, I was both horrified, frightened, and fascinated by this beautiful, invisible thing that floated through the air and made people sick or die. I began drawing the images that came to me. You can see the rest here: I am still awed by this invisible world of bacteria and other things that can profoundly alter us but can only be seen by fancy microscopes by trained professionals. And then our changing relationship with them. For instance, we didn’t know anything about bacteria for thousands of years, just their effect. Then, we learned we had to be very clean to avoid the damage they caused and thought it was best to kill all of them. Now we realize they can be beneficial to us in the right circumstances. They are things that reveal their secrets slowly and in unexpected ways. See my work by clicking here.
I have a lifelong love of wedding dresses. I don’t think I’m alone here, but I started drawing designs in 6th grade. I was serious about it. The only wedding dresses I’ve ever worn were two white cotton ones I made for my two marriages. I faithfully watch every wedding dress show out there and own several coffee table books about wedding dresses. Why? If I ask what I love about them, it’s the myriad ways designers interpret what is beautiful. I mostly love the full-on frothy ones – bring on the embellishments. Glitter and rhinestones are not as much, but those are cool too. I don’t judge this interest; I indulge in it. Something about the thousands of wedding dress variants are made inspires me.
I also like fashion. Oh, I know that only the rich can afford it, but I consider it wearable art. My favorites are Alexander McQueen (whose show I went to twice at the Met in Manhattan – The best art show I’ve ever seen), Jean-Paul Gaultier, John Galiano, Vivienne Westwood, and the classics – Valentino, Betsey Johnson, Karl Lagerfield, Coco Chanel, Zandra Rhodes, etc. The splashier and more outrageous, the better. I would never wear those outfits – I don’t want to draw attention to myself with clothes, but the creativity and wild abandon is spellbinding. And then there is Isabelle de Borchgrave, who comments on the wealth and cost of exquisite, ornate clothing of the rich and powerful by recreating them on paper. Check out her work here: https://www.threadsmagazine.com/2009/06/30/paper-dresses-by-isabelle-de-borchgrave.
Wedding and Other Fabulously Decorated Cakes: I own several coffee table books of the most ornate, colorful, outrageous, and time-consuming-to-make cakes out there. I have drawn my cakes that are quite a bit weirder than the aforementioned versions. I plan to make cakes that comment on culture and politics in some kind of permanent medium in the future. Acrylic modeling paste and a piping tool will be involved. I’ve used this before with excellent results.
Dinosaurs and Spaceships: The ones I see in my mind are not anything that ever existed in reality. I’ve put them both in artwork in the past. Do they go together? I have no idea, and I don’t care. It fascinates me, so I follow it.
I could go on, but the point is, follow your musings. Don’t judge them. I don’t care what other people think about what sparks my creative musings. You don’t have to tell or show anyone. Trust that your mind is drawing you into a world where genius can flow.
I believe my fascinations are transferable; by being open to the weird and beautiful things that call to me in my art, I am open to ideas to solve problems in my day job. It’s a mindset. Consider everything that comes to you. Don’t shut it down even if you decide not to pursue it in the end. Rejoice that your mind can wander about and explore and that sometimes the most unexpected ideas can explode like a blooming chrysanthemum and take you down wonderful and astonishing paths.
#2 What’s it like to be creative?
June 25, 2022
By Leslie
