Elizabeth Gilbert in a recent Ted Talk shares the idea that all of us “have” a genius, an artistic flair.
In this surprisingly moving video she describes creativity like a divine attendant spirit that came to human beings from some distant and unknowable source…
Extremely interesting talk by Elizabeth Gilbert. Don’t be fooled by the intro, the lecture touches on esoteric theories to the creative process but she also mixes in a lot of commonsense advice.
Honestly, I’m not so critical of Elizabeth’s talk that hints that creativity is not within us naturally but that it is aided by “External” forces.
When I think about how I construct my blog articles and graphics I end up going slightly mad. I’m not a natural writer and I “see” things rather than think them in a prose context. I know what I want to say but the words are often jumbled. Instead, the picture that forms in my head is very clear. That is why I start with the graphics and then use that to construct the written article.
What I find scary is that when I look at the finished piece (both graphics and text) I can’t believe I did them. Honestly, I don’t recall the details of working on the piece. It’s as if I was in a different state of consciousness when I did them; perhaps it is a form of meditation or trance. I’ve even gone as far as to add a gallery page to my blog that I treat as a personal diary. A diary in which I immediately document the last article I posted in order to remind me how and why I created the post and graphics. Whatever the process, I agree with Elizabeth that the real fear is not being able to better the last work. I always want to draw and write better but the fear of failing is terrifying.
In the end the keyword is “relax” and go with the flow. When I try to distance myself from the thought of criticism or praise (that can be even more vexing) then the creative juices start flowing freely again. I try to take one project at a time and most importantly, I do what I do, creativity wise, primarily for myself. If others like it good, if nobody else cares, well, their loss…I’m happy to spend my time doing something that makes me happy.