Are you creative?
If you would’ve asked me this question somewhere between the ages of 12 and 24, I would’ve answered with a quick and definitive no.
You see, in 6th grade I began my decade-long belief in my non-creativity.
I played sports and it only took one 30-minute sitcom or an insult from a classmate to know that jocks had a better chance of climbing Mt. Everest than they had of painting it.
My brother was the one gifted with the ability to play piano, beautifully set up like a living, breathing Thomas Kinkade painting in our living room; my greatest creative contribution to the family was to simply not tackle a friend through it. A contribution I excelled at with extreme moderation. I still swear it was Frank’s fault.
For most my adolescence I shoved all creatives pieces of me deep down into the basement, locked the door, and sold the key. It took me years of pain and struggle to learn that it is actually our creativity that has the power to transcend the muck and mire of our twenties into something more profound and beautiful.
Life After Art
All these thoughts have been prompted by the book I’ve been reading this week titled “Life After Art“ by Matt Appling — a book that has encouraged the creative core inside of me that has fought to emerge these last several years. Yes, Matt is my friend and a writer who I’ve always respected, so when he asked if I wanted a review copy of his book I jumped at the chance. I was not disappointed.
Matt Appling’s witty, wise, hilarious, and yet profound prose about his experience as an elementary school art teacher and his own personal story of growing up with art, poured water into the dry parts inside of me that I’ve been scraping my bucket against for far too long.
As Matt describes our transition from the creative kid with imagination galore to the budding teenager with layer after layer of protective shells, it was as if he’d used my middle school journal for research. I’ve always known what has stopped me from being creative — insecurity and fear. And as I start to straddle 30 years old, those are two shells I still hammer away at even today.
I’m sick of “living life by ‘good enough’”, as Matt describes. I want to live my life as a Creative with a signature print that no one else can replicate. I want to create as the Un-Replicable Me.
And you know what, no matter who you are, in your own special way, you have your own signature print. As we grow up, we can’t limit our creativity, no we must fight to reclaim it. As Matt writes:
“The world needs you, and it needs your gifts. You must become generous with yourself again…What are we created to do? That is the final lesson of the art room.” – Matt Appling
Are you willing to give the world the gift that only you can offer?
Or are we going to live our life under the Christmas tree, that beautiful gift that stays there forever unwrapped?
A great first step to living a creative life should be snagging “Life After Art” for yourself. It might pour water on the dusty parts of your Un-Replicable You, as it did me.
I would love to hear from you in the comments below:
What’s a lie you’ve believed that has kept you from creating?
If you were going to create one thing in the next three months, what would it be?
Definitely a lie that kept me from creating was that if what I was making wasn’t completely and totally original, then it didn’t “count” as something creative. Basically, I wanted to create art (crafts, writing, etc) in a total vacuum for a long time – no imitations allowed! Now, I don’t see art that way – and though there certainly *are* artists who truly invent something brand new, much of art builds on, and incorporates past trends and motifs. And of course then there’s pinterest – the motherlode of imitable art.
As for the next three months – I’d love to create more art with my son – finger painting, collaging, and other silly little crafts to introduce him to color.
Great thoughts Beth! Completely agree. Creating as the Un-Replicable You doesn’t mean not building off of what others have laid out before us.
And love what you want to create in the next three months! As a father of a two year old, I know the priceless value of these creations.
I am a creative person, by nature, and have been all my life, thanks to encouragement from my family and friends. But, somewhere in the muck of growing up, I just stopped doing the creative things I loved, and when I tried to pick it back up I did the worst thing I could do for my creativity. *cringe* I compared myself to others. Ouch. Comparison really is the thief of joy.
Anyway, I’m boldly finding my way back to my creative self by starting my own blog for creative and intentional living. Just a few more things to set it up and then I’ll be creating the content, very soon! My main goal is to just enjoy it as a creative outlet and inspiration for myself, and if that is all it is, then I consider it a success. Though, eventually generating some income from it would be welcomed, too.
Thanks for your post and for sharing your review of this book- I will be checking it out!
Great advice. I’m gonna check out that book. In the next three months I’d like to write a novel or a self-help book. I think one of the biggest lies about creativity is this idea of being ”realistic”. Like you can’t do anything outside of the everyday mediocrity like going to work, paying your bills and being a good little slave. Love the blog; keep it up!
Thanks Stacy! Love this line: “Comparison really is the thief of joy.”
Especially as you jump into this online space I encourage you to continue to put blinders on to others creative, site growing “success.” I firmly believe that most websites/blogs die the unglamorous death from our obsessive comparison disorder. I know I was almost there myself.
This is great. I always thought I wasn’t a creative because I couldn’t draw or paint well, which makes no sense. Until I didn’t get a job because I was “too creative”. That’s when I decided that creativity wasn’t limited to the art room and I was creative, just not necessarily in the traditional sense. That unlocked an expressive and brave side of myself which allowed me to be creative within my own identity. I now love to do crafts and have even done a couple of nice paintings! Who woulda thought, right?