Are You Experiencing Creative Growth?

I may not paint as artistically as some of the artists I know, but that doesn’t stop me from painting, which means I continue to grow creatively every time I paint. I’ve never been threatened by the brilliance of others because I adore the creative arts. I respect and admire individual creativity, including my own. Those of us with minds that are swirling with images and ideas should be grateful that we can support each other around the world.

We are in a time of creative revolution, a cycle of change. Today, technology and inspiration can be combined to bring about works of creative art inspired by a wide range of talents across many different ages and cultures.  I don’t care what age you are growth should be a part of your life.

Every challenge for an artist, be it in the field of painting, writing, sculpture, graphic art, film, music and the list goes on, is a potential for growth.  This growth is not just limited to building on a person’s technical ability. In some cases it’s about breathing new life into spiritual and psychological growth.

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Some artists find a sense of peace when they create. Others develop new ways to push through the emotional  sides of life through their creative work. Whether you like the idea of this being classified as growth is irrelevant, because it happens naturally for most creative artists. But sometimes as artists we get blockages, and sometimes we refuse to change the way we view things.

What about writer’s or painter’s block? When the words won’t come or when the imagination settles like sediment on the bottom of a river that has stopped flowing. How do we stir up the thick sludge, abundant with nutrients, but now stationary from the lack of movement?

Well, we have to step into the river and stir it up ourselves. Sitting on the riverbank won’t do anything. It’s the same as the notion of a character in a story that only has things happen to them rather than the character making things happen.  Go searching for inspiration because inspiration is everywhere. All we  have to do is actively look and in some cases actively listen.  Encourage yourself to create the growth you desire.

 I’ll leave you with this quote from CS Lewis.

Mere change is not growth. Growth is the synthesis of change and continuity, and where there is no continuity there is no growth.  ~CS Lewis~

 

Until next time, be brave and bold in your chosen field of creativity. And never be afraid to explore new techniques.