Maya Angelou says " You can't use up creativity. The more you use, the more you have." And she should know. What an inspiration she has been for decades, for thousands and thousands of people.I wonder if she ever experienced nearing completion of a book, or a project and felt that little niggling, "Oh, can I do this again? Is there something else out there for me to latch onto? "
Early on, with my painting, I felt that way. I might surprise myself with some piece that felt successful and then want to stay there, to work those ideas out. Part of that is valid. We come up with an idea that could be improved with some playing, tweaking, sweating, moodling. Part of it may also come from some fear that moving on means leaving a safe place, that maybe we won't be able to birth a living thing, but only some little stiff replica.
And I've given birth to many odd little things along the way, to be sure. We aren't guaranteed that our efforts will always produce wonderful meaningful stuff. But it does feel to me that my creativity has increased - in other areas of my life besides just the painting. It's as though there are more neural pathways running through my brain. The scary part of that is there are more ways to get lost. The wonderful part is that I'm having some great adventures that I never would have anticipated.
How about your journey - where has it taken you and does that come as a surprise? Do you feel more confident as you go along? Or is it still a little scary?
2 comments:
Thanx Becky, great things to think about. I've tried lots of different creative mediums throughout my life and enjoyed them all. Some I wasn't very good at, others I excelled. Once I started beading, I felt complete. I felt a focus for all of my creative energy. It is never boring because there are so many techniques and styles that I still want to try. There aren't enough hours in a day for all the beads that I want to turn into jewelry. It's still very exciting to me still after years of beading. My problem is that don't want to recreate things that I have already done. I have no desire to make anything more then once, which is not good for a business.
I feel the same was as Debi. I have done all kinds of art throughout my life but I didn't feel complete until I found jewelry design. I have so many ideas but can't keep up! I also don't love recreating the same thing over and over, but I do it because that's easier than taking new photos! :)
Great quote Becky. Thanks!
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