What Does It Mean to be Creative?

Creativity. What is it? Why do we deem some to be more creative than others, what are their credentials? This is something that I constantly think about. I think most people think of some form of art when they think of creativity. They think of a painter, someone who can draw, or design, or create. But the concept of creativity goes so much deeper.

As an artist and designer, I have developed an eye for creative things. I have studied both extensively and still learn new things every day. Throughout my life and my career, I have heard at least some version of “I wish I was as creative as you”. While hearing things like this are nice, it gets me thinking. Why do they think I’m creative and they’re not? 

I believe anyone can be creative, even if not in the traditional sense. There is so much more to being creative than being able to draw or paint. Some people show their creativity by the way that they talk, or dress, or act. By how they get somewhere, how they cook their food, why they make the decisions they do. It’s these reasons I think it goes so much deeper than just art. The creative decisions we make in our lives shape who we are.

These observations and questions have helped me look deeper and discover other ways outside of traditional and performative art that people are more creative than they think. I began to look at my friends and my family. I looked at the different personalities, hobbies, likes, dislikes, career choices, and what I found there were so many creative things that we don’t even think about. 

We tend to link creativity with art because creative expression is often at the center of it. Art can exist simply because someone had an idea, a feeling, or something they wanted to put into the world. We admire it, study it, and connect with it. Because creativity is so visible in that process, I think it's easy to associate being creative with being artistic.

The first person that made me start to realize that you don’t need to be an artist to be creative is my dad. He likes to build things, woodworking, welding he does it all. But each project has had its tweaks over the years. Whether it’s using a different tool, or a different method, or even just having better skills than before, I have seen how creativity can be applied to anything. Whether it’s the way you frame up a deck, or what colors you choose for your walls, or even how you build picture frames, there are a lot of creative ways to do things. 

This is a 10-part series that addresses these things. Creativity is in all of us, it just shows up in different ways. I am diving in for a closer look to find some answers or at the very least, get the questions out there for others to hear.