I’ve been thinking about creativity a lot lately, what it is and isn’t, and how we use our creativity in so many ways throughout our lives. Not infrequently I hear someone state that they aren’t creative. How anyone can say that is beyond me since we must be creative to navigate daily life. I think they mean they aren’t good at arts and crafts or can’t draw or sing. Creativity is so much more than that.
Creativity is a mindset. A creative mind is one that is open to possibilities and new information. Creative people tend to ask “Why and why not?” and are willing to step out of their comfort zone. They don’t mind being thought of as silly or eccentric. In fact, we sort of enjoy being seen as a bit out of the mainstream.
Embracing a creative mindset not only opens us up when we sit down to color, draw, sing or play an instrument, it walks along beside us all day long encouraging openness and a willingness to experiment. Allow yourself to consciously embrace the idea of you as a creative person and see what new avenues of thought and experience open for you.
As you do this, a book by Jerry Saltz might be a good companion to seek out. Saltz is a winner of the Pulitzer prize and is senior art critic at New York Magazine. Art is Life, Icons & Iconoclasts, Visionaries & Vigilantes, & Flashes of Hope in the Night is a collection of essays, profiles and reviews that covers two decades of work. Those who have followed the world of art will be familiar with many of the events and people Saltz writes about. For the rest of us, the book is an introduction to interesting people and happenings we didn’t know about.
To be honest, many people, events, and ideas are mentioned that I know nothing about. Some of the art and artists I have no idea who or what he’s talking about. However, what’s also true is I find his writing to be interesting, challenging in some cases, and I am learning a lot by reading the book, not just about art but about creativity in general.
Saltz includes a lot of personal information regarding his and his wife’s choices and behaviors. He discusses the infamous Covid year 2020 and how it affected the world of art as well as his own life. I was frustrated by the art being discussed not being shown. The internet came to the rescue, however, and I was able to find much of what he referenced. Visual artists as well as other creatives will find this an interesting and informative work. Art Is Life will certainly be recommended for those studying art history. I hope people also see it as a record of our creativity.
Is there anyone in the creative world who doesn’t know who Julia Cameron is? She is the best-selling author of more than 40 books, fiction and nonfiction; a poet; songwriter; filmmaker and playwright. She is credited with starting a movement in 1992 that brought creativity into the mainstream. I think her best-known book is The Artist’s Way where she first introduced the idea of Morning Pages, three pages of long-hand morning writing about anything and everything.
I met and interviewed her during one of her book tours back in the pre-internet days when authors went on physical book tours. When I read that Julia had a new book coming out, I pre-ordered my copy. Living the Artist’s Way: An Intuitive Path to Greater Creativity (St Martins Essentials) is one of the most personal books Cameron has written to date.
In the introduction, she writes, “This is a book about guidance….direction that comes from a higher source of wisdom than we usually encounter. It is the response of the Universe to a question, ‘What about X?’” The book is personal and vulnerable because she shares how she uses guidance to handle her daily life and doubts she might have. Besides sharing how she uses guidance, Julia also tells about her friends and colleagues and how they approach the idea of guidance in their personal lives.
Divided into six weeks, she approaches ways to ask for guidance while sharing what is going on in her life at the time and how she uses asking for guidance to approach her life. Week one is about grounding; week two is about inviting strength; week three is about inviting calm; four is about optimism; five is about stamina, and six talks about inviting commitment.
Besides learning some great concepts about asking for and using guidance in your life, Living the Artists Way is a delightful first-person look into the life of an incredible creative who is highly successful and from whom we can learn so much about how to use guidance on our own creative journey.
Creating with joy, grace, and ease,
Krysta
Twice in my life, I've had a close person tell me that I'm "not REALLY creative." Both followed up trying to find a word that would more correctly describe my lifetime of writing, drawing, and teaching. "Inventive" was one attempt. I can't recall the others. I was shocked. (Hurt came later.) My art teacher mother and my close friend had a couple of things in common: 1) They both were doing other things than working on their creative projects and 2) they both had never made money from their projects. While I've done pretty well in getting paid for anything I create. That was also thrown at me as a reason I couldn't qualify as "creative" as I was "working" instead of creating for its own sake...in their perspectives.
Recently, I've had a couple of people leave one of my long ongoing writing groups. Each of them gave the reason that some members weren't knowledgeable about the facts in "writing theory" or educated enough to know forms of feedback on projects. My experience is that groups thrive when some members come primarily with readership contributions, rather than complex writing skill discussions. Some of each, is delicious. Ariele