In this final blog on creativity, I want to put some of the ideas together in a concrete example and focus on why we need creativity in our lives.

Over the past few years, I’ve attend an annual mandala painting workshop in Nelson, BC. I’m not a trained artist, and I’ve never taken an art lesson. Painting, for me, is about exploration and learning; it’s a time to dive in and see how my creativity wants to express itself. My last painting captures some of the elements of creativity that I want to highlight today, and so I am using it as an example.

One of the elements that often spurs our creativity is necessity.

When we encounter “need” and “restriction” together, creativity often comes to the fore. In my case I wanted a picture for my bedroom. How often have you heard of people creating things out of scraps, or used materials because there was a need, they didn’t have any other way of meeting it?

Creation Flows from Necessity

I know a woman who needed to raise funds for a non-profit and she came up with the idea to ask a variety of artists to “paint a chair” which would later be auctioned off. The response was fantastic, and the artists really stepped up to the plate. Having to use a plain wooden chair as their canvas really kicked in their creativity, and the results were awesome—ranging from silk ties used for a woven seat, to themes and jewels for elegant creations. So necessity being the mother of invention was certainly true in this case.

Back to my painting… in my case, it was born out of desire. Early in the process I selected an image that really moved me. My friend Julie Prescott, a very talented creator of wonderful jewelry, is also a photographer, and I fell in love with one of her photos—a beautiful rose. This is what I chose as the subject of the painting that would, one day, adorn my bedroom wall.

This leads me to another element that’s key in creativity: finding what speaks to you. You need to be moved, or fall in love with something, to get the juices flowing. It may be a piece of music, an article, nature, spirituality. We are each moved in unique ways be a wide variety of things or experiences.

Going With the Flow… and Allowing Creativity to Emerge

So, now I’m all set to paint this rose. When you paint, you begin with the background…and so I started with a plain background colour. The paint didn’t go on as smooth and silky as I wanted, however; there were streaks that just didn’t look great. The answer to this problem turned out to be sanding. So I sanded the canvas, but not just once, I sanded it over and over. Layer after layer of paint. For 2 days I painted and sanded, wondering if it was ever going to be done. But I really believed I would know when enough was enough, and sure enough I did. This is another element in creativity. The willingness to go with the flow and let the experience speak to you.

Finally, I was ready to paint the rose. All that preparation just to get to the main event!

It’s All About Discovery

I think this is often how it works with a creative endeavour. We have to be willing to stay the course as we do the background work, in order to let the magic appear. Now, I really have no idea what it takes to turn a two dimensional image into a three dimensional, living, breathing creation. The skill required to do this was beyond me, but help was near by. I was supported by other people in the workshop who had painted flowers, who knew about shading and shadows, and all that stuff. The learning for me was amazing, and this is what I believe creativity is all about. It’s about discovery.

What Does Creativity Mean to Me?

So why is creativity important? How essential is it… really? I’m suggesting it’s so vital that it’s linked to our very survival.

Allow me introduce you to a book called Abundance – The Future is Better than You Think by Peter H. Diamandis and Steven Kotler (See a great TED Talk by Diamandis HERE). This book is full of creativity in action, and begins by describing the incredible changes that have occurred over the last 3 decades. They show that the world’s really in much better shape today than it ever has been. They go the distance to show how technology can help solve humanity’s greatest problems, and create a life filled with possibilities for everyone.

It’s a totally inspiring book, but it’s also a very challenging read. For some people, the changes they describe will be invigorating and inspiring, and for others the changes will be frightening. We need to recognize those situations when our beliefs and fears are limiting us, and take steps to change this. We need to be open to innovative solutions that are sometimes way out of the box, and not back away from things that are unfamiliar. The more we are open to embracing the future and being part of the changes that are headed our way, the more exciting and fulfilling our lives will be.