Emotion = Creation
Are we all creative beings? Why are some people seen as creative and others not? Is it a question of talent or perception? Is having a creative outlet a productive way to work through your emotions good or bad? Will being creative make you better in touch with your feelings? These are questions that have hit me this morning and I thought I should write them down. I don’t have answers to any of these things and I’m sure someone out there has done a lot of research into this already. But what if it isn’t that complicated? I’m not saying that we all have the potential to be a da Vinci. Obviously some people are more talented than others. But what if we could all create a little something to call our own, something that gives us joy whether the world acknowledges it or not.
What is it to be creative? I think it is an honest expression of your emotion at that moment. Easier said than done, but what if from early childhood, we were given the tools to discover what our creative voice is? Whether it is through art, music, building, cooking, writing, sport, any activity that taps into your emotions. And what if there wasn’t a standard you needed to reach, just a level of self satisfaction. When my kids were little, they went to a school that was called “the gifted and talented school”. The premise was all kids are gifted and talented in some way, it’s the school’s job to figure out what that is and nurture it. I’m not sure they were really that successful, but it is a great premise for a school.
Because I was never any good at art at school, I went along thinking I wasn’t creative. It turns out that I am but producing a drawing of a school building on a piece of paper is not how it manifests. Also something else I found out as an adult, you can be taught to draw. Now I know there’s a huge difference between being able to draw an object and being an artist but if the act of drawing gives you pleasure and provides an outlet, then why not? Of course if you then think you should show it in a gallery, that could be a problem. But my dad has a friend who does just that. He loves taking photographs and sometimes when he gets back from a trip, he holds an exhibition. He rents space, has the photos blown up and mounted and invites his friends to come along. Obviously he has the resources to do this, but it gives him great pleasure. The photos are good, but mostly you see his passion and delight.
I guess it’s a long shot to think that you could implement something like this in the classroom and maybe it’s not practical given the current class sizes. But really, while it is important to learn to read and write and reason and all that academic sort of thing, ultimately, isn’t it more beneficial to have a society of emotionally well rounded people? People who can channel their emotions into something that gives them pleasure and is not harmful to them or any one else? I think with this blog, I hav added writing as one of the ways that I create. What’s yours?
I wish you could have had dinner with me and my friends, Honmare and Mamiko! I put some photos of his art work on my wall but couldn’t get a picture of her animation clip she showed me. Hopefully, she will get it onto Utube soon. They both center their lives on creating (art in their case) and I was very impressed with their lifestyle. I do think there is a direct correlation between creativity and happiness. They both admit to being used to the economic hardship everyone else is struggling with but are grateful to enjoy their work. As they say – bankers talk about art, artists talk about money. Nana
Thanks Nana, I wish I could have been there too. I think surrounding yourself with people who are creative and happy is a great thing, it’s very contagious.
Such a provocative post, Hiromi! Your question at the end re well rounded people made me think about The Social Network (the Facebook movie), which I saw a few weeks ago. In addition to being a brilliant piece of filmmaking, it also was an intriguing character study about a genius with no emotional intelligence (i.e., not a well rounded person, though his bank account certainly is robust!). Earlier in your post, I was thinking about the difference between being a good technician and being an artist. A technician CAN do a certain thing (e.g., write; draw) whereas I believe an artist MUST do a certain thing. As for me, I MUST write. I also CAN make beaded jewelry. Both result in art. The writing releases emotions, while the beading calms me. Having an audience/buyer for either or both is always gratifying, but I do it for me first. (And, boy, could I use a loan from Mark Zuckerberg!)
Thanks for the comment Katie, I haven’t seen Social Network yet but maybe that’s another aspect of creativity, when it obscures everything else. Maybe when you’re so tapped into your inner voice, you don’t need the world. You’ve just given me more to think about 8)