Structuralizing Creativity

Creativity, for some, is obvious, for some it’s something desirable and for some, it just exists without care. 

But I still find it an intriguing topic. The topic is so abstract and wide so it's hard to put it into one specific structure. And that’s the fun part for me to think about it, as I really want to put it into a structure. 

My process of understanding creativity is to see it in personal examples and with examples of people around me. 

I saw how a certain idea about myself can limit or influence my creative flow. I saw how psychological trauma is blocking ideas to come and/or then to express them. 

How the economical state of the society influences one's ability to create.

And more, which I use to write until our country's neighbors decided to ruin our lives. 

But now, with that said I starting to see a pattern of the aspects that are combined in the creative process and added one more due to a new experience of my life that I’m facing, and its lack of energy. 

But to start I want to share what I think of the structure. 

I see it as Vertical which has an internal part that is focused on within and an external that is shaped by the surrounding. 

Internal: Energy => potential =>resources

Surface: Abilities 

External: Context => society => market 

Meanwhile, we have a horizontal part which is like a fire that heats the pot and is important to cook the ingredient so the outcome is yummy and juicy.

Volume and Authenticity. 

Energy is a moving part that helps to create. And that’s what is my problem this year. 

You can be creative (i am creative) but with a “lack” of energy that can flow into doing/starting would be hard to do anything. 

I write “lack” of energy because it just feels like Lack, but it’s not, energy always exists in you. 

The 1st Law of Thermodynamics says ‘Energy cannot be created or destroyed’. Meaning that energy can be just transferred! 

We take energy from things around us and wish us, and some energy that is available in us we can use/waste into other things, like traumas, fears, stress, survival mode, and so on. 

I guess my energy is focused on building a new life and keeping sane in such a bizarre new reality, and parts in survival mode, as I’m alone in a new place where I still need to make some living. 

I guess we all have different things where energy can focus instead of flowing into creativity. 

Potential. 

This is one of my favorite parts. I am always fascinated by discovering my potential, in things that are not obvious. I am an artist and loved to paint/draw since childhood, but I’m interested in writing, marketing, solving problems, music, etc. I like to discover and experiment on the potential I have, even though in every new beginning I start from almost 0, as every potential should be trained so it became your ability to really create things.

You do not become great from day 1. You become great and creative after trying, training, experimenting, and going deeper into the practice. 

And then the practice comes…

Resources are a pretty easy part. 

We can’t create out of anything. Resources is nice to collect, with experience, emotions, knowledge, and all kind of stuff that is possible to collect. 

Easy for curious minds that are always in search of things to consume and absorb. 

The ability is what everyone sees. How we do things. 

I have the ability to draw lines with resources that I gained before and during the practice. 

For the past 10 years, I train other abilities in me like writing, building branding strategies, and some other stuff. It’s also the skills that you are able to use for your craft. 

Obviously but when you are growing up to start something might be clanging and awakening to feelings of not being good enough in it, when you simply miss all points that developing any ability to create new things takes time, practice, energy, and resources. 

the outside world mater for our Creativity. 

Context. We need to be aware of the context of the industry where we create and the world we are living. You can’t be great in isolation, creativity is always considered in context. 

For example, simple a still-life is just not creative in the context of contemporary art. 

Artists as marketers and entrepreneurs, and everyone whose job is to create knows the power of research. 

You can be very creative as you are (like a child) but in comparison with other, you will be like everyone else which mean is not creative. As a child again… have you seen how every parent is amazed by her children's creativity? When if you put all parents together they will see how their children are actually overage in it because a parent is out of context of the world or comparing the child’s creativity to their own or a few kinds in a class when you are an artist you compare your creation to the much wider selection of creators. 

Society plays a huge role in our creative practice. 

If your surrounding doesn’t support your idea to become an artist, doesn’t matter how skilled you are, you would feel like a joke and won’t persuade it. Or even leave the “artist” in you as just a potential, and won’t develop it further. 

Another part influence of society is the economical aspect. Before was hard to even consider being an artist as all that you could think about is how to survive and feed your family. Now visual media like Instagram and other social networks are making it easier to present and sell visual content/goods. And overall the economy in combination with the popularization of art is not so bad and more people can afford and want to buy art or creative products. 

And the painful part is the market. 

You can have it all set but might feel like a piece of shit and lazy and not creative ass just because no one buys your work. (that feels too close to home) 

Maybe because you don’t know how to communicate/present your works, maybe because you can’t sell, maybe because you are just not a bit of good luck. It can be anything and sadly but honestly it is also part of the creative game. 

Wikipedia defines creativity: 

Creativity is a phenomenon whereby something new and valuable is formed.

so, Value is part of the creative game. 

And the essential heating of it all comes with 2 main aspects of Volume and Authenticity. 

Authenticity is the easiest one (for me….). Just be yourself (comes from creators “just don’t be sad” and “just quit it”)

I guess easier said than done. But it is a path of honest self-discovery, finding uniqueness within you that gives you a special voice, that voice that you already have. 

And finally, the most fun part is Volume. 

I can’t find a more right word for it, might change in the future. 

But it's something that David Lynch describes in his book “catching a fish”.

If your fish tank is small than the fish you will get will be tiny, and if your fish tank is an ocean then the fish you can have can be big.

Learning about different artists' journeys I learned that most of them build experiences beyond the classic artistic approach to widen their consciousness and deepen their understanding of the world. Experiences, religions, drugs (don’t do drugs!), spiritual practices, and more. I think it also can work when you diversify your practices, like scientists who showed that if they have creative/artistic hobbies they more likely will be in the top rank or even become a Nobel Laurent. 

Your inner volume is maybe impossible to measure but can be felt when practicing. 

I do believe is one of the fundamental parts of being good in anything. 

The process of creation is complex. 

And that’s maybe why it’s so hard to define it clearly as it contains many aspects that sometimes are not always dependent on us. And also when one part is stuck can bring a lot of frustration. And many small things can influence and stop the creative flow at every step/stage of it, and every stage has different fears, triggers, and challenges. 

What I learned in therapy sometimes is not about solving anything, but letting it be and exist then it can find a way out. 

So I’m trying to do so with my energy that is stuck in one place that left me feeling like I can’t catch the fish in my tank size of a lake (still a lot of practice to grow it), but now it seems like I got something.  

Holistic creativity.