Talk Amongst Yourselves, I'll Give You A Topic: An Uninspired Musing on Creativity

Does anyone else feel like all their best ideas come exactly when they have no opportunity to execute them?

Jewelry designs come to me during a yoga class, writing topics while I'm driving to run an errand, clever Tweets when my hands are full and by the time I get to my phone, I've forgotten the wording and it's less funny (the most real of all the tragedies here, let's be honest). I feel like maybe that's simply the nature of "The Creative Process", but it's honestly maddening. I guess the alternative would be to stay home in front of all my "tools" and wait for the ideas to come, but I'm pretty sure there's a Catch-22 in doing that.

I'm staring at my list of potential blog topics (I figured I ought to write them down while I had the opportunity since, as I previously mentioned, that's not how it usually works) but nothing is inspiring, nothing is sparking that little flame inside of me that gets those opinions flowing and the rants a-rollin'. They're all great topics that I could probably expand upon at some point, but as I look at them right now, the words aren't there. The only topic I'm inspired to write about right now is my lack of inspiration.

This idea of being presented with a topic from which to create, be it writing or art or what have you, makes me think of a couple of things. First, it makes me think of Coffee Talk with Linda Richman.

Then it makes me think of all the times in grade school when a teacher would be like, "Write about this thing- 3 pages, double spaced, due on Tuesday," and we did it. Maybe it wasn't our best work, but we got the words out on paper- or at least I did, because I was one of those kids who, in spite of an anarchistic attitude and a penchant for being a snarky clown, got my work done and on time and was actually pretty academically savvy.

However, I do recognize this as an exercise- working that part of your brain that generally tries to create something from nothing- except instead of "nothing", you're given a prompt which should- in theory- make it easier. IN THEORY. After 6 years of art school, 4 of which were spent studying photography, I can say from firsthand experience that "forced creativity" can be extraordinarily draining, disheartening, and uninspiring. Maybe this isn't everyone's experience, but it certainly was mine- I put my camera down at graduation and now I compose photographs with an iPhone (sorry, mom & dad...I teach yoga now). ON THE OTHER HAND...

I think, sometimes, the best way to get the ball rolling with creativity- be it writing, music, art, or whatever your endeavor happens to be at the time- is to just start rolling it. Maybe you don't know exactly where it's going and maybe you'll get all the way to a destination and decide where you landed is total garbage. I saved an Instagram post the other day that was "Reminders for the Anxious/Depressed Creatives" and one of the items in the list was "Not everything you make has to be important, significant, or even good." I loved that. 

As a creative who has spent the better part of the last year studying a non-creative field and is now trying to flex her creative muscles again, that was such an important message- and one that's so hard to swallow (can I blame that on being a Capricorn/Virgo/Pisces? 'Cuz I'm gonna...). My practical side worries about wasting time and materials on something that's "no good". My artistic/emotional side knows damn well that creating anything at all is part of the journey and process of creating something that IS "good" and worth the time and use of materials. It's a constant battle between art and practicality over here- it's exhausting, I take a lot of naps these days.

I think the point I'm trying to make here, now that I've finally found some direction with this post, is that creativity and creation and expression and art can be very elusive sometimes, and we creatives can get really frustrated or hard on ourselves when we're not constantly creating something we deem to be of value. We need to be easier on ourselves and sometimes, we just need to "put pen to paper" so to speak and get started on something. ANYTHING. Stare at your materials for awhile. Draw a line in your sketchbook. Put some paint on a canvas. Hit "record" and play a note on your guitar. Start writing a blog post about how you're uninspired to write a blog post. Maybe somewhere along the way, you'll find your direction and end up somewhere satisfying.

PS Pro Tip: Surround yourself with other creatives, like-minded folks, and people you admire/find inspiring. I'm not necessarily talking about, like, famous people or people who have been wildly successful or whatever. Just people in your life that are living their lives and "doing the work" in such a way that you think is great and admirable. It's an excellent reminder that you're not alone, that you have a community, and often times their energy will rub off and inspire you. For all you know, you're that person for someone else- isn't that so nice?