17 Jun 2014

a creative life - what is it?


Before children I could while away hours, even days on some creative whim. The whole process from imagining to production could unfold within a day and the happy mess left behind was proof of pure, uninterrupted "making"  time. Nowadays, creativity doesn't often present itself in neat little parcels of time; an undisturbed few hours when all is quiet and the ideas flow. In fact, I find it very rarely does.  In the early days of motherhood I struggled against time constraints as I held fast to the notion of creativity as art or craft based. And while it definitely fits into traditional pastimes such as sewing, painting, knitting and sculpture, I have come to believe that creativity is so much more.

To me living a creative life has to be a way of daily thinking; a way of being. A challenging of the boundaries of "doing", thinking out of the box and exploring alternatives. To be ever refreshing the mind and allowing new inspiration to subtly mould  patterns of behaviour. The natural world, our own senses, and simply what makes us feel good should be our daily inspiration for expanding our days creatively. Begin observing your day to day movements and ask questions like, "How could I do this differently? How could I change this to make it more interesting? How can I use this differently?" What it?" . A twist on a salad dressing, a walk along an off beat track, bright red lipstick just because, painting that old chair bright teal because it's your favourite colour, a carpet picnic for dinner...

If we cast off the shackles of being creatively competent in an arts manner and embrace novel ways of doing things in our everyday not only will our souls be enriched but our imaginations will ignite. Live life with child like eyes and challenge what's proper, practical and conforming without censorship. Refuse to listen to that annoying little voice that says, "Why?" and silence it with a loud, "Why not?". But mostly, start to play.

Steph x


12 comments:

  1. how beautifully written, such an inspiring post!

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  2. So true. I have a very close friend who is a source of creative inspiration for me - she is not an artist or maker, yet every day of her life is a creative production. The way she dresses, the way she folds her hair. The fabrics and tones she chooses to surround herself with. I will never forget the way she hangs her washing.. by colour... by gradient. To turn the washing into an act of beauty... that is creativity!

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  3. You are so right - attack the ordinary from a different angle and the creativity should certainly spring to life! Thanks for always helping me to think outside the square!

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  4. I've never thought about it before but after reading these eloquent words, essentially motherhood is creativity. Changing a recipe because you don't have all ingredients at hand, inventing a way that's fun to get your child out the door, spraying the monsters away to get an overtired one to sleep with lavender and water in a spray bottle, the list goes on. Before I read this I wouldn't have thought I was creative! Upon reflection, I really am!

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  5. Love this! So beautiful and my very favourite way to live everyday! Xxx

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  6. Love, love, love this post. Thank you!

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  7. Yes! This is something i have struggled with since becoming a mom. I used to have days on end, uninterrupted, to make and play with my ideas.. and when i became a mom i struggled with how to give myself an outlet for these things... and I eventually realized that motherhood did not mean squashing my creative drive in order to be a good mom, but challenging myself in new ways. Thank you for writing this, and sharing it, so beautifully.

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  8. Beautiful thoughts!
    I wrote a post not long ago on creativity, it's been in my mind, challenging me, not just in allowing my kids to be creative, but in allowing myself too:
    http://misplacedbrit.com/parenting/3-things-every-parent-should-know-about-creativity/

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  9. What an inspiring post. I can relate to the challenge of staying creative as a mother with limited spots of time to create. I love your words on how "The natural world, our own senses, and simply what makes us feel good should be our daily inspiration." That really is all we need. I always enjoy your lovely blog, which embodies this philosophy perfectly!

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Your words brighten my day! Thank-you so much for joining me on my adventure. x