Saturday Conversation I: Unbridled Creativity
Over the last few weeks, I have regularly posted about all things creative on LinkedIn and set myself a challenge to post every day.
I have had a regular writing habit for some time, but if I don't post, I don't edit or do an illustration. So, instead of filling away uncompleted, unillustrated pieces daily, I have been putting them into the world.
Honestly, I thought it would be like shouting into the void, like yelling into an Anish Kapoor sculpture. However, I have been pleasantly surprised and inspired by many of the comments I have received, and I intend to share them in a weekly Saturday Conversation piece.
In some articles, I explored the idea of unconscious creativity, where there is no internal or external judgment. Many of the contributors articulated the idea much better than I did.
Andrii Michenko, whom I haven't previously been connected to, was poetic in his analogy of this creative experience and nature.
"This experience is like the experience of nature, which does not wait for a reaction to its creativity but simply expresses itself.
Each of us, as a child, drawing our first pictures, wanted to express ourselves. We did or drew what we truly wanted and were genuinely happy about it.
Unconscious self-expression without judgment is a confession to oneself about one's perception of life, desires, feelings, emotions."
Ike Levick, a previous guest on The Common Creative Podcast with Chris Meredith, shared an insight into her creative process.
"For me, art and expressing myself is also very much about how it makes me feel - while I am thinking about creating before actually doing anything, actually creating, or basking in the joy of having just created. Creativity gives us such a lovely long tail of happy feelings! Whether to do that in public or not depends entirely on the situation."
What I love about Ike's thoughts is the positive, happy feelings in the doing and the whole cycle from pre to post. Her last comment about doing it in public is a different can of creative worms I will explore in further essays.
I have never interacted with Chris Doherty, a kindred spirit - a brother from a different mother or creativity added this to the conversation.
"Intimidation is significant challenge for artists. I mean, go look at all the geniuses on insta making beauty and abstraction seemingly in their sleep! I like to propose that art is not however about the output as it is about observation and input. Removing your judgmental state from the mark and instead finding your expression in the mark."
I particularly resonated with his last sentence in its simplicity.
My good friend Scott James, another guest on the Common Creative Podcast, added a big YES to my statement;
"unconscious self-expression without judgment"
Thank you for your creative contributions.
#thecommoncreativepodcast #creativethinking #creativeexpression #saturdayconverstation #unconsciousselfexpression