Creativity - Dipping into the Universal Well
As a teaching artist I read a lot about living creatively and how other artists go about keeping the flow of creativity open and fluid. I have always felt that during a creative session the process seems effortless and happens without any apparent active thought. Some call this the flow state. Some people who approach creative work from a spiritual standpoint theorize about a universal creative font that is accessible to all; and accessing this universal creativity plugs you into a limitless flow of creative ideas. This well of creativity is ever expanding and unlimited and one you can continue to dip into at any time. Having this mindset can serve to take the burden off of the artist who now only needs to serve as a vessel who draws from this well for creative ideas.
Instead of blaming lack of productivity on writers block, artistic dry spells or other cliché’s those holding to this mindset now need only to commit to making time to be creative a priority, get down to the actual work and allow creativity to flow. Rather than chasing the muse you simple need to learn to allow it flow through by showing up, by establishing good studio habits, by being there ready to work, be it for visual art, music, writing or performance.
Nothing will allow the creative muse to go silent faster than fear, neglect or procrastination. You simply cannot run out of creativity – the more you use it the more creativity you generate. Fear is a tremendous blocker for most people and out of fear comes self-imposed blocks like procrastination, and lies we tell ourselves about not being good enough, or having the time or any reason we use to not get down to the actual work of making and creating our art – it really doesn’t matter what medium you are working in.
The muse is what draws you into your practice but there is also other components to creative thought. Ones of delving into process and learning as much as possible about a subject, and then the transformational process that takes it beyond yourself and outside of the mundane.
