This week’s class discussion was about creativity, which got me thinking about what creates creativity. I have been a reporter on and off for the past 16 years, starting back in high school and really, before my daughter came along, it was the only really creative thing about me. I had never considered whether or not I was creative or if my work inspired others to be creative though I can remember pouring over my lead for hours at a time, organizing the words in just the right way to draw readers. I always believed that my job was to bring the facts, and just the facts, to readers so they could then come to their own conclusion. But thinking about where you can find inspiration for creativity, I found myself gravitating toward a couple of key outlets.
I believe children can be an inspiration for creativity. Have you ever looked at a child’s art? I often think of Jackson Pollock when thinking of children’s work, not just because of its supposed randomness but its use of color and abstract tendencies that draw creativity from the viewer. (Just as children make us guess what they have drawn, is it daddy or a chicken?, Pollock makes us wonder, but typically about how it makes us feel.) Pollock created work that on the surface could mean nothing, but inherently held emotions dependent upon the viewer. Pollock liked to number his work instead of naming it, in the hopes of not leading viewers to an idea but letting them create an idea on their own. Each time I see a Pollock, in a book or in person, I am amazed at the depth of feeling I get from it, in fact, it is a feeling of the same caliber as when I see my daughter take a piece of chalk into her tiny little fist and scrape it across our asphalt. I feel a part of the painting, as I feel a part of my daughter’s “work” because the artist has allowed me entry into his/her mind. I think the more abstract art is, and let’s face it, both Pollock and children meet that qualification, the more it forces the viewer to dig deeper and experience more of his or her own creativity.
I also believe religion, faith, and spirituality can be great places to find or at least make room for creativity. It is a means by which 86% of the world can relate and though the concepts may not all be the same, finding enlightenment and inner peace is a dominating theme for all religions and spiritual paths. With the evolution of cell phones, laptops, the internet, mp3 players, etc., consumers (and creative types) can find themselves inundated with messages they don’t necessarily want to receive. Attending your favorite local church service, doing some meditation, or going to a yoga class can help you focus your creative energy and help you unplug from the rest of the world. Plugging in to religion/faith/spirituality can help us relate better to consumers and ourselves, thereby helping us be more creative and more in tune with the needs of our consumers and our clients. Inherently, religion involves thoughtful reading, soft music and a quiet place to harvest your own thoughts and these methods of getting closer to ourselves and to a spiritual being can certainly allow us to become closer to our creative side. I found a nice quote about meditation:
“No great work has ever been produced except after a long interval of still and musing meditation” – Walter Bagehot
