Creativity

I think creativity is something most people have.  I'm not saying that we all use our creativity because that would not be true.  But creativity does not mean that you are going to paint a masterpiece or that you can design a formal gown for your next event.  Creativity is all around us!  It is in taking the leftovers in your fridge and making a new meal.  It is swapping up the clothes in your closet to create a new outfit with different accessories.  Creativity is rearranging the furniture in your living room, hanging pictures on the wall.

So why do we hesitate to be creative?  There are some places where creativity is not really needed.  I certainly do not want my accountant using creative math on my balance sheet, nor would I want the driver beside me to decide that she needed to choreograph her next stunt on the highway.  But sometimes, creativity is just what we need to solve problems, to think outside our little boxes.

Do you have ways of fostering that sort of creative problem solving?  What about ways to foster creativity in your arts and crafts endeavors?  How do you learn to trust what your creativity is telling you?  Are you afraid of failing?  When it comes to arts, I don't believe that we truly have failures.  I think of those things are learning experiences and teaching tools to share with others.  Sometimes they are happy accidents that lead me down a path to new explorations.  If I hadn't tried to do something new, I wouldn't be where I am now.

Sometimes, we just need to let that creative voice loose and let it try something new.  It may not work, but it might be something even better.