Being creative is not unique, but what we do with it can be unique. I believe we are all creative, it’s just that we are not all confident.
We need to learn how to use the tools that we possess. The most important way to learn to draw is by drawing. The best way to develop confidence, I believe, is by taking risks. When we step outside of our comfort zone, our circle expands to include that new thing. Unfamiliar experiences can be intimidating! We tend to stick with what is comfortable.
Learning a new skill is usually frustrating at first. We don’t know what we are doing yet. Progress is slow in the beginning. That’s because we’re rewiring a part of our brain, not simply learning a language, building a wall or learning to throw pots. It gets easier with practice.
To get into a creative state of mind, I have to pick up a pen or paintbrush. You can’t steer a parked car, and you can’t develop eye-hand coordination without using your eye and hand.
To be truly creative… to create something that illustrates your own personal story, I think it needs to come from within you. It’s less creative to look to others for your motivation.
We are all inspired by what we see, whether that is a natural landscape or a piece of art made by someone else. When something inspires us, it gets absorbed into, and becomes part of us. If it comes back out, or influences what comes out again, it will have mixed with what was in there, and appear with our distinct flavor.
Our eye is the scanner. Our brain is the hard drive. Our memories are the database. Our imagination is the software to put it all together. Our hand is the printer.
My creative process benefits me in many ways. It helps me to process my life, and express it back out again. It is something that I enjoy, and something that helps to ease financial pressure.
My creative goal is to do exactly what I am doing now. It focuses my mind to make sense of my experiences.