Are you creative?

To kick start this blog, let’s think of the term 'creativity'. What does it mean? When asked "Are you a creative person?” the majority of people who will answer "no". This is because Creativity is perceived by way of the Arts e.g. painting, drawing, dance, etc. If you do not believe yourself to be adept in an activity dubbed as creative, then you do not feel as though you are a creative person..."No, I can't draw for toffee" "I've never held a paintbrush in my life." Sound familiar? If not yourself, then you will all know someone who would respond in this way.

This is where the confusion surrounding creativity lies. Yes, skills such as drawing and painting are creative traits, however, creativity stems much further than possessing these abilities.

Every human being is creative. We all have gifts and talents that are unique to us as individuals, although in our society, we are taught that you have to be exceptionally brilliant and you must shine above all others to be classed as having a talent or a gift.

To illustrate this point, think of these old sayings: 'Beauty is in the eye of the beholder' or 'Each to their own.' Being that we are all individuals; we all see things differently, to which we have different tastes and preferences. We all work in different ways and it is this fact that helps creativity flourish. If a group of people are given a problem to solve, there will be many answers, all differing from each other. A small example would be: a group of people are stuck on a dessert island and need to build a raft to get off it. One person may be better at the construction of the raft; however another may be better at figuring out which materials would be best. Another person may realise that the raft is an inadequate size to accommodate everyone, whereas one person may suggest a shelter be built upon the raft, to guard them from the hot sun and offer a way to resolve that and another may go about gathering food/water for the journey.

According to Sir Ken Robinson "Creativity is the process of having original ideas that have value". (2010)

(See video below)

When building a raft, the construction and planning aspect may involve 2 or more people and may seem like the only creativity involved. However, the person who suggests the size ought to be altered has just made a crucial point that would save lives and a lot of time. The person who has gone to collect supplies and the person who suggests a shelter has set out to prolong their lives and comfort whilst aboard the raft.

All these ideas have value. As an individual, your ideas may seem linear, but as a collective group, there is only lateral thinking. Therefore we are all creative. We all have something to offer. Just because some of our ideas are not ground breaking or life changing, it does not mean that they are not creative. It could be as simple as cooking, following a straightforward recipe, but adding or taking something away depending on your preferences, thus changing the taste of the food to satisfy your own tastes or those of your family.

We need to embrace creativity and stop perceiving it as a singular, linear concept. It encompasses all that we are as human beings and needs to be nurtured.