Creativity
{credit}
Do you think of yourself as a creative person?
I do. In fact, part of the reason I started this blog was as a creative outlet. My day job is full of Excel spreadsheets and PowerPoint presentations and plenty of research on the internet. But, it’s not really a place where I can express myself. Or at least I can’t express myself on my own terms with my own rules.
Enter my blog, where I am able to write about whatever thoughts float through my head. Experiences I might live. Dreams I might have. I can write about them matter-of-factly or poetically. My blog is my creation. And I love that I have continued to mold this body of work through the years I’ve written in this space.
But, writing wasn’t always how I expressed myself. Starting when I was 5 or 6, I began playing the piano and continued playing until I was in college. I never enjoyed recitals. I rarely played for friends or family. I always played for me. It was a release for me—sometimes an energy release and sometimes a creative release. Either way, I loved making those chords come to life. It was a time where I was able to express myself, by myself.
Same goes for photography when I started taking classes in high school. I loved my time behind the camera. Creating photos of family and friends and landscapes and still lifes. Even more, I enjoyed my time in the darkroom, making those photos come to life. Small tweaks here and there made people’s eyes sparkle and horizons glisten. Again, it was a time where I was able to express myself, by myself.
So, it was no surprise when I took a creativity test the other day and the results suggest that I use creativity as a form of release. My results suggest, the most important thing for me is to be able to release my emotions. I need to be able to touch them or look at them in concrete form, and to do that I have to find a way to make them come alive … Keeping things bottled up creates a tension that can only be resolved once I have expressed how I feel.
So, back to the initial question: do you think of yourself as a creative person? If so, how would you describe your version of creativity and what it means to you?
August 17th, 2010 at 8:04 am
I think its awesome that you played the piano for so long and typically only for yourself. Do you ever go back to that, just sit down and play for yourself now when you’re near a piano?
I consider myself a creative person as well. Writing has always been the way I best express myself. Most of the time it takes place in journal form or on my blog.
August 17th, 2010 at 8:15 am
I think of myself as creative but, it gets put on the back burner as life and work take over the majority of my time. I used to paint, make jewelry and take photos. I have not been doing a lot of that lately and I have been thinking on how much I need to get back to that place where I can mine the creativity that is just stuck in my head.
August 17th, 2010 at 8:29 am
I think I have the potential to be creative, I just don’t make time or have the time to be as creative as I would like to be. Writing, scrapbooking, and other crafty things like cross-stitching, decorating are my outlets. I plan to reacquaint myself with these things come mid-october :)
August 17th, 2010 at 8:58 am
I am creative but I can’t really define why. I love designing websites and I have a knack for creating one for marketing purposes e.g. what suits a person, how would it work for them, how will the target audience respond. I’m also quite creative when it comes to assignments but unfortunately at university you have to write a lot of essays and there is a set way to write them which frustrates me. I can also sing well, and teach other people to, but is this talent or is this creativity? I can’t write my own music, but I like to create things around music. Oh I don’t know lol!
August 17th, 2010 at 9:25 am
Yes! I think I’m a very creative person. In fact I don’t even think I have a left brain. I walk around with my head tilted to the right. ha ha. Obviously it’s become my career with video editing. I can “see” how I want it to look so clearly. It may be difficult to sometimes execute it, but the vision is there. As much as my good imagination has served me, it’s also led me to some dark places as well. I guess you take the bad with the good.
August 17th, 2010 at 9:31 am
I don’t think I would necessarily describe myself as a creative person, but after thinking about it, I do think I’m creative.
I played the oboe for years. I miss it, but it just doesn’t fit into my life right now. I love taking pictures with my camera even though I have no idea what I’m doing. And, obviously, I blog.
I think the way that I’m most creative, though, is through my job. I’m not talking about cutesy preschool craft projects or designing bulletin boards. I actually kind of hate that part of my job. Bulletin boards make me gag. My creativity really comes out when I am trying to put together the many puzzling pieces of my students’ little brains. My creativity comes out when I’m finding just the right type of intervention to bring out the best in them, to teach them to talk, walk, relate, and love.
August 17th, 2010 at 9:41 am
You know, I don’t think of myself as creative but other people are always describing me that way. I like to release stress in physical ways (running, for example) so maybe that’s part of it and I should take up painting or playing an instrument!
August 17th, 2010 at 9:47 am
I am creative. I write of stories and poetry and even a screen play. While my writings are profound and important to me, I have no illusions that they are good. I have only let a few people read my writings because it makes me feel totally vulnerable -- which is a yucky feeling for me.
August 17th, 2010 at 9:49 am
I think I’m a fairly creative person. I have to think creatively a lot at work to come up with interesting and, for lack of better words right now, “out of the box” solutions. I also really, really enjoy creative writing and photography. I don’t write creatively as much as I’d like anymore. It’s something I should start doing more of.
August 17th, 2010 at 10:13 am
A creativity test?! SO EXCITED! lol I just did it and I got the same result as you.
I’m definitely a creative person, I love making beautiful things and learning new techniques- it’s such a wonderful feeling for me and I’m excited that I’ve been letting myself explore that side of me more in the past year :)
August 17th, 2010 at 10:29 am
I don’t really consider myself to be ‘creative’ in general, but I do enjoy my creative outlets. I also played piano and found it to be so therapeutic. Like you, I did not play for others, I played for me. I can’t wait to live somewhere with room for a piano… I really miss playing…
I took the quiz as well and it basically says that I feel that creativity provides insight into who I am. I think it’s actually pretty accurate. One quote is: “You are more attracted to artistic activities that demand reflection, planning and solitude…” So true.
I have pretty much zero opportunities to express myself in my day-to-day job, so I am very thankful for the creative outlet my blog provides!!
August 17th, 2010 at 11:25 am
I can be creative, in that I can think of outside-the-box solutions if need be and I like to write and take photographs, but my job isn’t specifically creative most of the time and I don’t miss it. I can’t imagine yearning for a creative outlet if I didn’t have one, though it would bother me if I couldn’t write.
August 17th, 2010 at 11:43 am
We’re very much alike, Nilsa.
I am a very creative person and have been since a very young age. I loved to play the piano, and like you, I’d enjoy to mostly play for myself. I never liked to play for others.
Even though, it seems like I didn’t have the same outcome when taking the creativity test, this description fits quite well. Creativity enriches you. [...] You would love to use your creativity to retreat into a world that is kind and reassuring. For you, being creative means having the chance to become one with what you create, bathe in the glory of it and allow yourself to be taken over by it.
August 17th, 2010 at 12:29 pm
I always wished I had learned how to play the piano. It’s not too late.
I do not think of myself as creative, but that is because in my profession, the “creative” types are doing things much differently than me. I am very pragmatic thinker.
August 17th, 2010 at 2:10 pm
Hazel (my g/f) is the creative one in our house. She does crafts & draws & paints. I can’t draw a straight line with a ruler. But I know what I like when I see it with my own eyes. So I’ve generally gravitated towards photography.
August 17th, 2010 at 2:49 pm
I consider myself creative. Writing has always been my outlet- even when I was a pre-teen I wrote in journals or wrote poetry. Then I took to making jewelry and felting and some sewing. I would like to devote more time to my creativity as I feel like more myself, more calm, when I get to express myself.
August 17th, 2010 at 3:24 pm
You forgot your creative penchant for decorating!
That’s so cool you play the piano. I never learned to play an instrument and I don’t think I’m disciplined enough to do it now.
I’ve been creative since day one. I knew I wanted to “be a writer” when I was 9. I’ve always written, always drawn and loved to do crafty things. There’s something about cutting fabric or paper or stringing beads—watching your creation come to life—that truly lights up the soul. Creativity is like meditation to me. It absolutely restores. Good thing, considering I’m making my own wedding invitations… ;)
August 17th, 2010 at 3:57 pm
For the longest time I never considered myself creative. Oh, sure, I used to play piano and flute. And dance. Oh, and I did colorguard for like 8 years. And taught it. And choreographed. But that’s just…stuff I did.
It wasn’t until I started blogging (honestly!) that I realized I was creative. It might not be in the way my husband the artist is, but my job requires creativity, my problem solving is definitely creative, and I enjoy “tinkering” with writing and photography. So…I guess I am creative.
Which pretty much proves that EVERYONE is creative in some way, shape, or form :-)
August 17th, 2010 at 4:45 pm
I used to be creative.
August 17th, 2010 at 4:59 pm
I consider myself a creative person. I create to express myself. I love sharing things I make. I feel defined by them in a huge way. If I’m not being creative, I feel completely lost. Like many creative people, though, I am not naturally organized. That’s been a massive struggle.
August 17th, 2010 at 9:33 pm
For me, creativity means thinking outside of the box and looking at things from a different angle. I absolutely feel I’m a creative person, that’s partially how my blog came together too.
August 18th, 2010 at 3:53 pm
I consider myself a very creative person. I take subjects, ideas and write them down all the time and find ways to be clever, funny, entertaining and cool about what I create. I enjoy it a lot and wish I dedicated more time to my creative side.
Alas, my only issue is the number of distractions that get in the way of my creative side. Someday, I hope to work past it and make a living at being creative.
August 18th, 2010 at 4:53 pm
I’m definitely creative as an outlet for thoughts and emotions. I primarily express that through dance (which I still do despite aching hips and shoulders), but also through blogging, personal journaling, keeping idea boards, putting together outfits for myself and others, and decorating a condo in which I don’t (yet) live.
Co-workers might say that I’m also creative in dealing with people and helping them work together, but I don’t enjoy that nearly as much.
August 20th, 2010 at 12:39 pm
Well, I took the test and got creativity as release too. It makes sense, I write to expresses myself, sometimes vent and most of the time just makes sense of what’s floating around in my head. I dance, paint and take photos to express myself and also to capture the beauty I see around me. I’m very rational, which sometimes I think interferes with the natural flow of my creativity and expression and I seem to censor myself quite a bit too, but when I’m in “the zone” I would say I am pretty creative.
August 23rd, 2010 at 1:30 pm
That test was cool! I have always thought of myself as a creative person, but I also tend to feel like my creativity isn’t always well-received. So the response to that test really helped me to recognize the kind of creativity I possess: I want to feel like I’m a part of what I create. It’s really less about making something for OTHERS’ enjoyment, and more about being “me” in every way I can fathom. :)