Your creative genius

Since starting this blog about art and creativity I have asked myself many questions. What is creativity? Does everyone have it? If not, why not? How do you get more? Can you learn it and cultivate it? And if so, as a teacher, how do I teach it?

During my childhood, I saw creativity as something I possessed. It seemed I was born with it as a personality trait -  it was just a part of me. Then in my twenties I seemed to have lost it, or at least it was greatly diminished. Rather than a personality trait it seemed more of a skill. And I was out of practice.

Looking for answers I turn to the dictionary. One definition describes creativity as: the use of imagination or original ideas to create something; inventiveness. Another states: Creativity is the act of turning new and imaginative ideas into reality.

Both of these definitions imply that creativity is an act or process. For many, creativity is a magical and mystical experience that isn't well understood. I think that's because the first step in the creative process is inspiration - the spark that sets fire to our creativity. This creates more questions! What is inspiration? Where do I find it? How do I get it to stick around? Inspiration can be so fleeting! I had struggled with creative block for a decade. I thought of inspiration as something I had to work for, cranking my brain to find an idea from within. After much reading this past year, I believe I was wrong.

In many ancient religions it was believed inspiration came from the Devine. In Greek and Hebrew literature, inspiration is found to mean ‘breathed upon by God’. In Christianity, inspiration is thought of as the gift of the Holy Spirit. Sufi’s see it as an ecstasy beyond the control of mind, which they view as the embodiment of God. In modern times, however, Sigmund Freud saw inspiration as an internal process coming from the subconscious mind. This influenced Surrealist artists who turned to dreams and automatic writing in order to find theirs. I understand now why I had fallen into thinking inspiration came from the mind.

Where Heavens Meet - Rassouli

Elizabeth Gilbert has revolutionised my views on inspiration. In her book Big Magic she speaks of inspiration as being a type of consciousness, a buzzing energy that we can all tap into. She believes inspiration resides not within us, but everywhere, like wi-fi. This whirling cloud of ideas wants to work with us because it can’t make an idea manifest without a human. Inspiration needs a human collaborator. The problem is that most people aren’t taking any notice. This fast-paced world has made us so distracted that if inspiration does knock on our door we tend not to notice. Or, perhaps we do notice but we tell it we are too busy/tired/broke for it right now. If an idea can’t get our attention it will move on and find someone else. Inspiration is looking for the swiftest route to the physical plane, like lightening, so don’t count on it to stick around while you watch tv or whatever. If inspiration strikes, you should at least write some notes down to show your commitment. As an inspired teenager, ideas would often come to me as I was falling asleep. I would leap out of bed and scribble a sketch or some words on a piece of paper. Then I would put it in the middle of my bedroom floor as a signal to inspiration that I had not cast it aside. Most of the time I was able to tap into that inspiration the next day, but some ideas were obviously impatient and ran off to find someone who was awake.

"Write down the thoughts of the moment. Those that come unsought for are commonly the most valuable."
 – Francis Bacon.

Inspiration doesn’t mind working with more than one person on a project either. If it can get through to one person, good! More than one, great! I’ve often wondered about the multiple discovery phenomenon – how do two scientists working independently on opposites of the world make the same discovery at the same time? It happens a lot more than you think and in other industries too. Gilbert’s theory on inspiration seems to explain it. It appears to me, that particular idea really wanted to be born so it hedged it's bets on two people.

The ancient Greek and Romans also believed in an external force of creativity which they called one’s genius. It was a sort of creative angel that followed a person from birth ‘til death. I like this concept because it seems more personal and it implies that genius is not something you are, but something you have; something you can work in partnership with. It makes your work a collaboration between you and the unseen forces of inspiration.

So, what is creativity? I see it as the experience of working with your genius. An experience, however fleeting, that allows the flow of inspiration to make itself manifest in collaboration with you. 

“There is only one of you in all time, this expression is unique. And if you block it, it will never exist through any other medium and it will be lost.” - Martha Graham

There’s plenty more to be said on the topic, and I'll be writing more on practical ways to harness inspiration (once I figure it out!) What do you think? Does the idea of inspiration being an intelligent force resonate with you? Where do you feel your inspiration come from? Comment below!

Until next time,

Erin