Creativity and the Artist Within
by John Hegner
In five decades of involvement with the arts, I have observed three attributes vital to the pursuit of an artistic path, or any creative undertaking for that matter, which develops and reveals one’s unique gifts. These are:
Passion
Authenticity
Resolve
If you believe there's a God or Creator and that we are created in his/her/its image, then we must also be creators. Regardless what you believe, each one of us is born with certain gifts. One might say that the creative expression of these gifts is fundamental to the human experience. Whether long-lived or ephemeral, we are constantly creating so much - things, connections, and experiences. It is in the sharing of our gifts that we feel fulfilled, seen, and appreciated by our community. As far as I can tell, all ‘art’ is a reflection of, or reaction to, some aspect of the inner or outer worlds. For the rest of this discussion, let’s define ’artist’ as one who creates, thereby expressing his or her innate gifts, rendered through the filters of personal experience. By focusing on the three attributes of P.A.R., we can more intentionally tap our inner creative resources.
Passion
When attached to a pursuit, passion makes a person feel more alive and engaged when imagining, working on, or speaking about that pursuit. A person who feels passionately about a project, cause, or goal is likely to speak about it with excitement and enthusiasm. Don’t underestimate your enthusiasm, which holds great potential to engage others who resonate with your cause. Right out of the gate, your passion is put to the test by the second attribute, Authenticity. Passion without authenticity is like pouring water on concrete. Nothing will grow and the water quickly evaporates. The third attribute, Resolve, is also dependent on Passion. Without passion, it is difficult to sustain a long-term undertaking, engage others, or avoid the creativity killer, drudgery. If your idea doesn’t excite you, then find another that does by exploring your unlimited imagination!
Authenticity is the basis for true self-expression. “Authentic”, in the sense of being true to oneself “describes a person who acts in accordance with desires, motives, ideals or beliefs that are not only his/hers (as opposed to someone else’s), but that also express who he/she really is**.” With Authenticity, you endow your creation with originality and your unique style. “Very few ideas are original”, you say? Let us define ‘originality’ as putting your unique spin on anything known or unknown. Innovation sometimes occurs in great strides, but frequently in small, incremental changes. Your ‘unique spin’ on something commonplace, which is evolutionary, has as much potential (maybe more) to capture an audience than something completely new, which is revolutionary. What matters is that you are sharing something that is truly YOU. On a side note, when you create with Authenticity, it will definitely pass Rotary’s 4-way test. And will it be fun? You’re the creator, so that’s up to you! Personally speaking, creating is the most fun I’ve ever had!
Resolve means never giving up. Creating requires a commitment to not only value our ideas but see them through to completion. This presents quite a challenge as there are unlimited ways to talk ourselves out of acting upon or following through with our ideas. Resolve fuels your courage when putting something out there for the world to see. Depending on how honestly you have shared, it can be scary and thrilling, much like a roller coaster. Our creations can also be seen as ‘children’. People often refer to a passion project as “their baby”. Like children, our creations are vulnerable to the crushing forces of convention, doubt, and criticism. To effectively create, we must resolve to tune out voices of negativity, especially when our creation is in its formative stages. Sometimes it’s negativity on the inside, often echoing voices of authority or societal programming, that attacks our creative ambitions. Naysaying inner thoughts include: “it’s not practical”, “it’s too hard”, “no one cares”, “it costs too much”, and “who do I think I am?” When you resolve to not give up, and then continually make progress, no matter how slowly, your creation will grow, blossom and eventually bear fruit. We never really know what the fruit will be or how it will taste, in other words, the plot thickens…
Life As Art
Earlier, we established a broad definition of 'artist' for this discussion: One who creates, thereby expressing his or her innate gifts, rendered through the filters of personal experience. Someone who truly excels in their field elevates their work to such a level of excellence as to be referred to as an 'artist' of their trade.
Some 'life-art' scenarios in which you can express your creativity:
• The way you run your business
• The beauty of your home
• Entertaining, creating unique dinner parties
• Cultivating a vibrant circle of friends
• Being a great parent
• Creating 'pairings' in which you fuse two favorite experiences into one
Once you are on your way to creating something infused with creativity and your unique P.A.R. attributes, you will need to give time and attention to your creation, tending it as it grows. You may experience joy as well separation anxiety as you watch your creation find its way into the world. Many artists and creators experience a kind of postpartum depression when a project concludes. “What now?”, you may find yourself asking in the post-creation silence. The next thing that excites you and gets your creative juices flowing may hold the answer!