The Vital Importance Of Creating Like Only YOU Can...

[Dan Goodwin]

Many people who come to CCS are on the brink of a kind of creative rebirth, rediscovering their creativity and the enjoyment they get from it in a way they haven't done in years, maybe even decades.

Consequently, every step feels like a leap of faith, and from the feedback and conversations I have, one of the biggest doubts people have is "What do I have to offer?" or, put another way, "Is what I create significant or important?"

The answer to that is a big loud YES!

Each of us can only create in our own unique ways, no-one else can create the same. The world needs you to create like only you can, not to try to be a carbon copy of whatever's popular or in fashion at the time.

Follow your passion, create what you long to create, and it will always be the "right" thing to create.

Maybe you've felt these kind of doubts yourself?

Share your thoughts and experiences below:

[Jules]

Thanks. I like to hear opinions from all available viepoints.
I could walk into my studio space- randomly pick up a painting...7 times out of 10 if I flip it over on the back will be the words 'inspired by....'. So many times while I am working something I am listening to will inspire me to take the painting a new direction. I usually note it on the back...in case I need the same type of inspiration again. Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata, for one example, has 'unblocked' me many times :-)

[Alfredo]

Inspiration is a wonderful thing and I think many of us are inspired by other people's work. I listen closely to other artists and how they work. Sometimes I hear something in a song and go: "That's the energy I want to capture." It takes me from there to a world completely of my own where the unexpected happens. My greatest fear before each album starts is that no inspiration will come when I need it, since it happens at random. So far, it is getting better with each album, but one never knows. I just trust that it will be so.

[Jules]

I really love that you said it was the "energy' you wanted to capture. That's really it isn't it? The energy or vibration...We, as creatives, can take that energy- add our own energy to it and create our own thing.
The energy and spirit of Monet's work stirred me deeply..I know that i cannot capture that energy...but I can allow that energy to penetrate- allow it to stir mine up- to energize me - so I can create my own thing... I wonder how Monet would feel if he knew I just now mentally compared him to the energizer bunny ?

[Barbara Ann Storrier]

I can visualize him smiling about it, Jules ... or maybe dancing around in circles pumping his arms and yelling YES!

[Alfredo]

Well, you really do not want to capture someone else's energy anyway, just the energy that was within you when you were exposed to that work of art. I think that is what we try and recreate. For example, someone may feel a certain something listening to Enya, but she has a trademark energy (and sound - such as her synthed pizzicatos) that is her. Trying to imitate that energy would only result in a cheap version of. However, reaching to achieve the energy one felt during that particular song will inspire one to create something totally unique, not at all like Enya. Still, there are styles you wish to learn from and recreate. Artists are trained all the time using other artists methods, after all. Always remember, you can only copyright the expression of an idea, but not the idea itself.

[Jules]

"The ancients stole all our best ideas. "
Mark Twain

[Barbara Ann Storrier]

Very kewl visuals! Free publicity rocks :)

[Alfredo]

I agree! Sad thing is I cannot really acknowledge or promote it. With you guys in here I can post it's link as I did, but that is pretty much where it ends. People seem to be finding it though. I had several people letting me know it was there, starting with my PR company who does these kinds of searches. I cringed when I heard about it until i actually saw it. One never knows what one's music could be attached to!

[Barbara Ann Storrier]

So true ... there have been times when searching for a song title, comedian's name, or whatever, on youtube has brought up garbage ...

[Memi]

This discussion has long been in my mind Dan. thanks for the prodding. I often catch myself asking why create? And why create this way or that way? Most of my creative expressions are in a form of recycling. this i supposed can be traced back in my childhood days when my family collected scraps from households to anywhere where there are used bottles and cans specifically to salvage for money. Recycling in that sense started of as a lifestyle for us. Earlier in my adult life i thought it would be easy to spot opportunities for creativity knowing that recycling has been so much a part of my life, but I was mistaken. There was this something that stopped me from creating. And i reckoned that those were voices, assiduously speaking to a thousand of artists perhaps. The same voices gnawed on me as it repeatedly ruffle to my ears "Oh someone has done that' before" or that "you are not really creative you are just seeking for attention." So i retreated for a countless time. And ended up collecting and collecting different scraps that made my room looked more of a "dumpsite" than an art room.

On your question on "what did you think what you were creating was frivolous?" For me Dan, it is self-consciousness and self centeredness. I was sooo afraid of being compared to anybody so i chose not to create to gain a sense of control of the things around me. This was a tough battle for me.

But i guess the word "beauty" is really such a powerful word. It overhauled my lopsided self. I learned that it is not just our creative self that make us creative but beauty itself (be it in things, surrounding, people or even pain) calling us to what it can offer.

On the thought of the "vital importance of creating like only you can" yes it is soo important. And i guess the way you respond to beauty defines your creativity.

Just my two cent worth of thoughts ... thanks for all the wonderful sharing below

[Jules]

I like to make discarded 'junk' into something new and beautiful too. I have a
huge container that I am filling with stuff. Not sure what it will be yet LOL
You said "And i guess the way you respond to beauty defines your creativity"
I never thought of it in those terms.
What is most important for me is the process. I find that when I am enjoying the process, the end result takes care of it's self..