ON BEING CREATIVE

For most of my teenage life, I have built my jobs and hobbies around creative arts. Be it writing, music, hand-lettering, photography, designing, refurbishing furniture, or drawing, if there was a possibility of it being used creatively, I was interested. I've dabbled in just about everything, taken online courses on various topics, studied and practiced, both scratching the surface of some arts and diving deep into others.

Creativity fascinates me. The fact that someone can start with an idea, flesh it out, piece it together with their own mind and hands, and present it to the world as their art is just beautiful to me. And each person's style of art is completely different! There are no two alike. The possibilities are endless, and that is tremendously exciting. There are few feelings greater than when I can look at something I've created from my imagination and be able to say, I made that. My goal is to construct my future happenings around creative arts, somehow incorporating my main loves - photography, music, and writing - into one big, creative business (which will include travel, if I have anything to say about it).

So with all that being said, I have to admit something: I struggle with creativity.

I fully accept that creativity is not always something you can force, but you do have to work at it to some degree, and it's a struggle for me. I have a hard time coming up with what I think are original ideas. I lack confidence in my work. I negatively compare my endeavors to other people's. I often allow outside influences to convince me that my ideas are not worth pursuing. I am easily distracted. I procrastinate. I feel restless and unsettled as to which direction to take my art. I have difficulty just sitting down and working hard on one thing for a long period of time. I am indecisive and unsure if my work is good enough to market.

I'm still praying and seeking direction on what exactly to do with my creative work, but in the meantime, I'm nailing down some guidelines to overcome these obstacles (i.e., setting deadlines, sharing more of my work, practicing what I learn). I guess I'm saying all this because if any of you are like me and want so desperately to make beautiful things but find it more difficult than you imagined, you're not alone. And I think creatives - artists, photographers, writers, musicians, and craftsmen alike - need to support each other, building up a community of encouragement, challenges, and inspiration. Because in a world full of cliches and trends and fads, creating beautiful originality is a hard task.

"I feel such a creative force in me. I am convinced there will be a time when, let us say, I will make something good everyday, on a regular basis. I am doing my best to make every effort because I am longing so much to make beautiful things. But beautiful things means painstaking work, disappointment, and perseverance." - Vincent Van Gogh

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As a bonus, here's a shout-out to a few of my favourite creative inspirations...
ellie be & unfolding passions | acacia rachel | jess mcghie | a beautiful mess | mr. and mrs. globetrot  | benj haisch | wyn wiley | grafted | leaking hearts