As artists or creators, it is an amazing feeling to take an idea out of your head and watch it come time life. Sometimes it feels like our creations have lives of their own. They go where they want and take us along. I can only imagine that this is what the Creator felt when he created us.
Recently, I sat down to write a blog post about a certain topic, a typical three-point reflection. And even though I had made an outline with my main points and a general direction, it was like something else took over, like a creative current that drew me into something much more poetic. I’m now planning to turn it into a recorded spoken word performance with background music. Even today, I opened a word doc and wrote a title planning to write about something else but quickly saw that my words were going in a very different direction.
Creative spontaneity is wonderful, but it doesn’t always happen, and we must take advantage of it whenever it does. We can’t make it happen; however, I think we can set ourselves up for it to happen more often. Jesse Cannon, in his book Processing Creativity, talks a lot about feeding creativity and then perspiring. By perspiring he means to produce a product as a result of our creativity being well fed.
So, let’s talk about how to feed our creativity.
First, let me explain, I believe that all humans are naturally creative because we were designed by the Creator to be creators like him. That means that our creativity is naturally built-in. Not everyone is artistic, rather people have different creative abilities, or they are creative in different ways and areas of life. So, I see creativity as a muscle, which can be exercised and developed, acquire creative muscle memory, and so on. In order for this creative muscle to be truly effective, it needs to be well-nourished.
Ways to feed your creativity:
1. ENJOY other creations in the same field as your own. By that I mean, if you are a musician, listen to other people’s music. If you are a painter, enjoy looking at paintings by other painters. This tip may sound a bit obvious, but it is something that we can often forget to do. As a musician, I have found myself in periods where I hardly ever listened to music, or if I did, I just listened to the same music over and over again. Now, I emphasize the word ENJOY because we are shaped by emotions. We retain information better when it is linked to an emotion. Those emotions could be negative, but I don’t want fear and negativity to shape me and feed my creativity, because then the output will be a product of those negative feelings. I want my creativity to benefit my society, therefore, I want it to be shaped by joy, peace, love, etc. Note: I do believe that art is a great form of therapy to express traumas and release negative emotions. I’ll talk more about this topic in another post.
2. VARIETY!!! If you only eat cheese and crackers, you won’t be very healthy in the long run. Likewise, our creativity needs a variety of inputs. That means giving other genres a try. If you make reggae music, it is helpful to listen to other styles like jazz, salsa or hip hop. Why? Because if you only listen to those of the same genre, you will produce music that sounds the same. However, if you enjoy other genres as well, you are more likely to bring elements from those genres into your music and create something original or unique. The same goes for writing, visual arts, photography, dancing and all other forms of art. Now you might not like a certain variety at first, but before you spit it out, take a moment to analyze it. Ask questions about it. What about it is unpleasant, why is it unpleasant? What about it do you like? What emotional elements can you connect within this style?
3. DIFFERENT TYPES OF ART. I enjoy listening to podcasts related to art and creativity, namely The Deep Place by Joel Mckerrow and Makers and Mystics by Stephen Roach. On these podcasts, they interview a variety of artists about their stories, creative processes, inspiration, and much more. One of the things I’ve noticed is that many of the artists talk about being inspired by other art forms that they don’t produce. Painters talk about being inspired by music and musicians being inspired by paintings.
4. EMOTIONS. As artists, it is important to connect with our emotions. I find that journaling is a very helpful way for me to express my emotions in a safe place. I often get ideas for songs, stories or other creative ideas while I am journaling. Practicing empathy is another way to get in touch with our emotions. This means trying to identify with or connect to the emotions of other people. Real-life people in real-life situations are optimal, but movies and novels can also be a good substitute.
In the end, you are creative and you will find creative ways to feed your creativity. The important thing is that we begin taking on a health-oriented mindset. What I mean is that we should train our thought patterns to prioritize the health of our spirit, soul and body. As we begin to nourish ourselves with the intent of being healthy, our creativity will come alive and flourish.
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