Reasons for this Blog
I decided to go ahead and blog (that's such a funny word and it kind of sounds like you're spewing words --BLOG -- I guess so!) because I wanted to talk to myself with a purpose and if anyone was "listening" they could pop in for a visit with their ideas on creativity and how it all comes to be. You know, that driving force that pushes, pulls, prods, then starts with the yelling and shouting when we don't heed the gentle nudges to get down to it and do what we do -- in my case, paint. So, you're invited to share your thoughts here. Welcome to Studio de la Paloma!
I read a “This I Believe” article by Loudon Wainwright III on creativity on the NPR website from June 19, 2006. He speaks of creativity as a mystery. He does what I’ve been trying to do for some time now, to find a way to speak about inspiration without sounding hokey, sappy, weird or strange. Here’s what he says.
"When I write what I consider to be a good song, when I realize it's going to hang together, when I somehow manage to get it into the boat, so to speak, I invariably find myself looking upwards and thanking something or even, dare I say it, Someone. . . .
"I believe in the power of inspiration, in the mysterious gift of creation -- creation with a small 'c' that is -- creation as in one's work, hauling in the day's catch. When I write a song, I'm happy for a few days and it's not just because I've been reassured that I still have a job, though that's certainly part of it. Mostly I'm happy, I think, because I've experienced a real mystery. I haven't the slightest idea how it happened or where or from whom or what it came. I'd prefer not to know."
I, too, believe in the power of inspiration. I depend on it. Inspiration is so much better than my own ideas. It’s exciting, exhilarating and feels so right. That’s how I know the difference.
Creativity is a subject I’ve long been interested in. I think there is Advanced Creativity called Innovation. I think innovation requires one to go deeper. Look further. Think harder. Question more. Push the obvious out of the way. When the new thought becomes familiar, do the process again.
Along with Inspiration there is Intuition. That thing in the creative process that you just put in or make because it feels right or you feel compelled to do without knowing why. That happens to me when I’m painting. I can remember putting in a checkerboard floor pattern in a painting of a mother and her daughter. At the time, I thought it was because I liked black and white checkerboard floor patterns. After the painting was finished and hanging in a show someone asked me if the floor asked the question, “Who was going to make the next move?” Maybe. It certainly worked with my thoughts as I painted the piece. Inspiration? I think so.
The Muse: Another “inspirational” something or other. Usually referred to as the feminine inspiration of a creative male, but why not the inspiration to the creative female? Like a girlfriend. Ya. Hey, Girlfriend! Whatcha got for me?
I read a “This I Believe” article by Loudon Wainwright III on creativity on the NPR website from June 19, 2006. He speaks of creativity as a mystery. He does what I’ve been trying to do for some time now, to find a way to speak about inspiration without sounding hokey, sappy, weird or strange. Here’s what he says.
"When I write what I consider to be a good song, when I realize it's going to hang together, when I somehow manage to get it into the boat, so to speak, I invariably find myself looking upwards and thanking something or even, dare I say it, Someone. . . .
"I believe in the power of inspiration, in the mysterious gift of creation -- creation with a small 'c' that is -- creation as in one's work, hauling in the day's catch. When I write a song, I'm happy for a few days and it's not just because I've been reassured that I still have a job, though that's certainly part of it. Mostly I'm happy, I think, because I've experienced a real mystery. I haven't the slightest idea how it happened or where or from whom or what it came. I'd prefer not to know."
I, too, believe in the power of inspiration. I depend on it. Inspiration is so much better than my own ideas. It’s exciting, exhilarating and feels so right. That’s how I know the difference.
Creativity is a subject I’ve long been interested in. I think there is Advanced Creativity called Innovation. I think innovation requires one to go deeper. Look further. Think harder. Question more. Push the obvious out of the way. When the new thought becomes familiar, do the process again.
Along with Inspiration there is Intuition. That thing in the creative process that you just put in or make because it feels right or you feel compelled to do without knowing why. That happens to me when I’m painting. I can remember putting in a checkerboard floor pattern in a painting of a mother and her daughter. At the time, I thought it was because I liked black and white checkerboard floor patterns. After the painting was finished and hanging in a show someone asked me if the floor asked the question, “Who was going to make the next move?” Maybe. It certainly worked with my thoughts as I painted the piece. Inspiration? I think so.
The Muse: Another “inspirational” something or other. Usually referred to as the feminine inspiration of a creative male, but why not the inspiration to the creative female? Like a girlfriend. Ya. Hey, Girlfriend! Whatcha got for me?
posted by Kate at
5:43 PM
4 Comments:
I have a blog. It does sound like some sort of a medical condition, doesnt it?
I have thought about this creative vs innovative process on several occasions since we first talked about it.
Have thought how that going from a rotary dial phone to a cell phone is creative. But going from a rotary phone to email is innovative.
How do you go back to a basic idea and not go down the same road? Or is that even the right question to ask in trying to go beyond being creative to being innovative?
By
Janets Planet, at 10:50 AM
I think you don't go all the way back to the original beginning. The result (cell phone) becomes the new beginning and the process starts from there. The thought process and the questions to ask begin again from the new starting point.
By
Kate, at 1:01 PM
Just got back from seeing Cars. A nice movie. Go see it and tell me what you think of the part the tractors played. Creative or innovative?
By
Janets Planet, at 7:15 PM
I love saying the word blog, it just rolls off the tongue. I've met a lot of nice people since I started blogging.
By
Lynette, at 12:25 PM
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