By Nattie Raybould
The past few weeks I’ve been thinking a lot about creativity and our innate creative potential. My mum is always saying how she feels sad that she’s not creative, and I’m always telling her that we’re all creative- we just have different outlets, some may just be lesser recognised than others. So, in order to support my claim, I’ve done some research and decided that for this blog post I really wanted to encourage and affirm (my mum) and those reading, that even if you think you’re not a creative- you are!
So, let’s dive in to what I found out with a definition. Some scientists have defined creativity as “harnessing the forces of nature for the betterment of the human condition”. (As a slight aside, what a GREAT definition for crafting with a resource as natural and abundant as wool!)
This definition made me think not only about my woolly crafts, but other areas in my life that I could harness circumstances that I have no control over; to allow them to open the door to creativity- whether its creative problem solving in an unexpected moment to create a new outcome, creativity in friendships and relationships when someone or something throws a curve ball, creativity in work with an unexpected hiccup, in how I approach movement and exercise when I really just don’t want to get out of bed, the list goes on beyond the many knitting projects. That’s one way we all use our innate creativity, whether we know it or not – in how we navigate moments of feeling out of control, or overwhelmed (hopefully once we’ve taken a moment to have a deep breath and a cup of tea if there’s time).
This led me into reading about the way some researchers have distinguished between a type of creativity we all tend to think about when we hear the word, and the kind that we all inherently possess. They’ve classified one type as “Big C Creativity” and one as “Little C creativity”.
“Big C Creativity” refers to what we would call “creative genius”- lone creatives who appear to have very high levels of intuition and refinement in their crafts- for example Mozart with the piano, Frida Khalo with paints, Kaffe Fasset with wool, or Jane Austen with words. Big C Creativity relies heavily on the creator being alone, exclusive and removed from others in their creativity, although hopefully drawing others in and together with the beauty that they create.
(You're never too young to be a Big C Creative!)
“Little c” creativity is the kind that I found really exciting for this blog post. It’s the kind that we all have immediate access to- the every-day innate creativity that everyone possesses, no matter who you are and whether or not you think you’re creative. Whether you work in finance, medicine, are a parent, a friend, a son or daughter, learning in school or a cleaner in a school - whatever setting and life stage you’re in, you are constantly creating, deconstructing and recreating all around you- in a way that connects you to the people and places around you.
So that’s the thought I’d like to land on- I really hope this blog post encourages you and those you spend your days with, that you are creative. Even if all the creative outlet you feel you have time for is the 3 minutes you spend making your morning tea or coffee- that in itself is a creative act. Remember and soak in the fact that you’re making and something that wasn’t there before, using base materials, in order to better your current condition. Even down to the “smallest” things, I’d love to invite you to dwell in your creativity this week, in whatever way you have time and energy for.
3 comments
Thank you Nattie, we are all creative, and all have something to learn from one another, and something to share with one another.
Such a lovely blog Nattie, I hope your mum is convinced she’s creative now!
What a lovely blog. You are right creativity is just a state of mind. I will remind all my course participants of this when we do our round weaving in Saturday x