To be Human is to be Creative
From the moment we are born, our creative nature is evident. We explore, and this the beginning stage of creativity.
We see it when as a baby we want to connect with eye contact and we explore the boundaries between ourselves and another. We desire to make sense of things by putting everything in our mouths to discover what we are holding and seeing. We learn by touching, and moving our muscles to discover our environments. We roll over, crawl and then walk and the exploration only increases. We discover words by listening to sounds and trying to make sounds with our face muscles. We create understanding when the connections between words and objects finally associate meaning through some sort of acknowledged praise from a parent; and thus we speak! These are the first spaces of exploration which is the foundation of creativity; the discovery of life around us, relationships, our bodies, materials, touch, and language. We do not grow unless we explore new realms, and we do not create unless we have explored ideas and materials and our own inner world.
But somehow as adults we tend to start thinking in ways that “put ourselves in little boxes” after awhile. The challenge is to not lose that curiosity, but to fan it into flame. We might continue to explore physically in sports as we push our limits and discover the capacity of our bodies, or in science as we discover the elements of our world and create inventions from the raw materials around us. We also might keep discovering with math, physics, music, as we take in the world around us. And through all of this, we are creating a history, a narrative, a journey of choices and experiences…we are creating our lives. Being creative is a part of who we are as humans because we are designed by a Creator, and bear the mark of His image in our very essence.
“ For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place, when I was woven together in the depths of the earth.” - King David also an artist song writer (Psalm 139: 13-15)
Art is no different in creativity than other spaces…it is merely a realm to explore freely and boldly. It is a place to touch tools and mediums and see how lines and colors and images interact. We explore concepts between visual spaces until they create meaning without words, like a new language, and a new way to connect to others.
This painting displayed was the result of playing, discovery and curiosity. “I wonder what it would do if I mixed these colors?” I played with my curiosity when I laid stripes of torn paper over the top and painted black over it. And guess what? It’s one of my most favorite memories of painting. Why? Because I was the most childlike I had been in a long time, and I needed it that day. So often the best things are made, when we are just learning to let go, relax, and have a little fun and discover something new. To be creative is not to repeat the same things that have already been, but to playful stumble upon something new that has value and purpose in the midst of all the fun you’re having.
And sometimes I just wonder, if God didn’t have a complete blast making you and I as well. Because creating should be fun!
As I look back at the painting now though, it continues to be a place of discovery for me. When I first made it, I just enjoyed the process and the way it looked, but as I looked at it longer, I realized what it meant for me and finally the visual images, created meaning in words. The streaks of red, yellows and orange remind me of a sunrise breaking through after a long dark night. And it strikes me as a gentle sense of God speaks to my spirit the name He gave me. I was given my middle name along with a verse at birth, that says, “Weeping lasts for the nighttime, but JOY comes in the morning.” And now as i look at the picture I painted many years ago, I see my life.
There have been hard seasons like my first name represents, Melanie, or like it’s root - Melanin - meaning darkness. But my middle name, JOY has been that constant reminder that no matter what, the morning will shine again, and break through the darkness of the night.
So do you see? Art then is not always about deciding what I will draw or paint, or analyzing what the meaning is suppose to represent until you are so philosophically confused by the “academic verbage of intellectualism” but sometimes, it’s simply about connecting with the Lord of the universe who created us. It’s being playful and spending time creating together; enjoying how we are made in His image in that way, because He was creative and therefore so are we.
Melanie Joy