Creativity

This year Max has had some classes that have really encouraged him to explore his creativity.  And I m not referring to the Principles of Art course he is taking at school at the moment.  I'm talking about the engineering and construction technology courses he has taken this year. I'm talking welding, metal smithing, lathing and building.  Who'd have guessed?

Some of the things he has produced have truly gobsmacked me.  I mean this kid is 14. And it started me thinking about my own artistic bent and indeed human creativity in general. 

Creativity is a purely human trait.  It's something that's not found anywhere else. Now I'm not saying that what nature does is not amazing.  It's responsible for some incredible things.  From intricate spiders webs to awe inspiring coral reefs.  They are beautiful no doubt but nature is more adaptive than creative in my mind. In the human sense, we can imagine things and then create them. We can turn thoughts and ideas into tangible things.  To think something and then fashion it, to invent something. Now that is truly creative.  

And what Max has reminded me is that everyone is an artist.  All of us.  We might not be great painters or sculptors but each have us have the ability to be creative.  It's just about finding our thing.  Acting, building, cooking, writing, designing, sewing, gardening, singing, dancing, training, racing, making, doing.  And we have to allow ourselves to just be ok at it.  Unlike other things in life that seem like a constant competition, being creative is not about being the best. It's about channeling the divine in all of us. And as time goes by I realize how important it is to get in touch with that side of yourself. The side that is not about working, or parenting or paying bills.  The side that lets you dream something and do it.