Creative Expression: The Apollo/Ring Fingers

A Plehora of Creative Expressions

Regurarly, I am in conversation with a people about creativity - what qualifies? It seems there are some very narrow perspectives on this. 

"I'm not creative" I hear from people when it's OBVIOUS they are SO creative...(duh!)

I'm feeling inspired to share part of chapter from my published book Unleashing Your Inner Artist (on Amazon or directly from me).

Let's identify a bunch of different expressions that qualify as " creativity" or "artistry." 

Starting with dictionary definitions:

Adjective definitions for creativity 

• having the quality or power of creating
• resulting from originality of thought, expression, etc.; imaginative
• originative; productive (usually followed by of)
• involving the use of skill and the imagination to produce something new or a work of art 
• having the skill and ability to produce something new, especially a work of art; showing this ability

artistry: artistic quality of effect or workmanship; artistic ability

Let’s not get hung up on “new” as I can hear people telling me, “I never come up with new ideas.”  New doesn’t mean it never has existed before. For example, you could be singing a song that was written by somebody else. How you sing it is your style. That would be new in terms of your expression, your “work of art” as the definition includes.

There is no limit or definition on what the expression can be.  

Your creative urge may fall into the standard “arts” like painting, sculpting, dancing, singing, musical performance, acting, writing, needlework or photography. 

Yet it may be something totally different like creative solutions to math problems.  

What are your “canvases of choice?” (It’s ok to have as many as you would like - really!) 

Here are some examples and yet not limited to this: 

• Decorating your classroom walls in a school or cubicle at work 
• Decorating a table setting or décor in your home 
• Planning weddings and/or events 
• Teaching in any form or preparing materials to teach 
• Flower arranging, interior designer, Feng Shui consultant 
• Auto mechanic with creative instincts for problem-solving 
• Problem-solving in the business world 
• Creative solutions to almost any situation, consulting 
• Food preparation, new recipes, modifying others’ recipes 
• Creating kitchen innovations, appliances for ease in food preparation 
• Using engineering skills to design production equipment, freeways, bridges 
• Résumé writing, copywriter for marketing materials 
• Creative selling, how you sell your product(s) and/or services  
• Sales, marketing, advertising  
• How you chart your sales process, record keeping, tracking results
• Landscaping, gardening, architecture, construction contractor (homes and commercial buildings) 
• Childcare and how you work and play with children 
• Hair styling and/or or make up application, fingernail decoration  
• Clothes and accessories design and sewing; adding something extra to clothing 
• Being a doctor, lawyer, dentist, veterinarian, chiropractor with creative problem-solving skills, innovating in these fields (and many other fields) 
• Website design, computer programming 
• Designing cars, airplanes, houses, buildings, computers, and bridges 
• Being a mother and father, relative, helping children learn about life
• Book editor or cover designer including layout 
• Dancing in your living room 

Here are two of my many expressions: singing (I love to hear my voice in the headphones at a recording studio!) and painting complex pictures (this is on a 20" s 20" canvas with fabric paint and rhinestones on a Flower of Life graphic.) I created 11 of these Flower of Life paintings over an 18-month period. So fun for me!

Suggestion: take a serious look at what you do as falling into the category of self-expression. It is common that people who are creatively expressive don’t think of what they do as “creative.” You may need somebody else to help you see your artistic side. 

In a class I was teaching a few years ago, I told Deb that arranging flowers is an artistic expression. She still reminds me I told her that. She could step into the reality of that creative endeavor. 

Maybe you are fabulous at problem-solving or discovering inventive answers in your accounting or financial planning business. Being a creative-solutions insurance agent could be a style of expression. Don’t limit your idea of what ingenuity is. Look at your life from many angles to see how what you do lends itself to something that is creatively experienced. Write down a list and be generous with yourself about how good you are at individuality in expression!  

Your style may also be following somebody else’s design, like producing needlework projects that come in a kit. You apply the yarn in the specific places pre-identified because it’s relaxing and satisfying. Because you didn’t design the kit doesn’t mean you don’t express yourself creatively. 

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Love
Pamelah
p.s. honor your creativity. It's energizing for your soul!