I’ve been thinking lately about what makes someone creative— what does it mean to be “creative?” In a world now where everyone has an opinion, where does creativity fit in? Is everyone creative, too? In an interview I did with my colleague Roz Chast recently, she said that when she went to art school, she was among so many excellent artists, she felt she was at the bottom of the rung. What ended up happening with Roz is that in her time at that well-known art school, she carved out her niche, her way of seeing the world (even though they told her to put away her drawings!) and she has become a unique voice as well as a hugely successful
I used to work in the advertising industry where one department is called "The Creatives", implying the rest of us are not. I bought into that for far too long. I'm now exploring my own creativity freely without any labels. I appreciate that some people (like you!) have immense talent that I don't share, but creativity is for everyone and it makes us better people when we explore it in whatever form it takes.
I think a big reason I stopped writing songs for 20 years was because I didn’t think I had anything new to say; it had all been said in far better ways than I ever could. But now, this year, taking a course called Songwriting as Truth-telling, I’m re-discovering my unique voice. I can write about subjects already written about, but with my twist on it. During that 20 years, I dabbled with other creative endeavors - photography, collage, poetry - but nothing has been as satisfying or felt as authentic as songwriting. Yah for second chances!
Totally! I took a course a few years ago to help me write in a screenwriting format and loved it. I also wonder why our culture forces people into a lane!
Peer pressure is one of the reasons. The other might be that some people follow a path others have already walked on. It's safe. They can see it and it has a fairly predictable outcome.
Being a creative really means doing your own thing, walking a different path, stepping into unsafe spaces, sacrifice and taking a lot of comments like, "When are you going to get a real job?". I've heard it all. Some people just don't get us.
Personally I feel that I transitioned from 'creative' to 'unique voice' when my creative work was validated by a company that wanted to invest in it. It was like a transition from trying to emulate my creative heros to "I am one." In that moment I no longer wanted to be anything like my heros and I started listening to my own creative voice exclusively. That was the wellspring from which all the good stuff started to emerge, and it was liberating.
So I feel like one must take that self-validating step away grom being 'creative' to "I am one"...which is difficult and requires a mountain of confidence.
Your comment is fascinating and very helpful. It makes me wonder how much I am relying on my "heros" and not listening to my own inner voice. I am to a degree, but the hero reverence may be holding me back in some way. Thank you.
For much of my life in creative fields (magazines, ghostwriting) I sublimated my voice in support of other people and other missions. It took decades for me to finally believe in my voice, my drawings, my own mission. What a relief to be there now! To arrive where I started and recognize the place for the first time, as TS Eliot wrote.
Jun 29, 2023·edited Jun 29, 2023Liked by Liza Donnelly
I think a lot of the time craft and skill is mistaken for creativity. I follow this dude on TikTok about the music business and ... gonna paraphrase because I can’t remember exactly what he said ... but the difference between a musician and an artist is a musician plays the music as written technically perfect and can do it every time but the artist is messy and makes music that has not yet been written or played ever and will never be recreated the same way ever again. Now I don’t know if that’s entirely accurate, but I’m also not not sure it ain’t because I’ve seen Prince live several times at First Ave. Messy comment, I know... 😁 But then I think maybe we don’t need to have a label on it all but then creativity exists so non-creativity must also exist like night and day but then we also have the gloaming and dawning overlapping the daylight and the night … so maybe we’re trying to define the outermost limits of stuff that fades into the other, usually an exercise in futility leading to insanity.
Sorting ... ^_^😶🌫️ ... Prince; grew up in Minneapolis, we’re the same gen.. he died way too young; always a bit unnerving when a contemporary dies... you do the math and it is not your friend 😬... so much more I need to do; First Ave was great when he wasn’t yet a world star.
Great points, Gerard. Music is loaded with examples of this. Jerry Garcia never played the same song twice the same way. Live Grateful Dead recordings are proof of that. In fact, that was one of the reasons the Dead allowed people to bring recording machines to concerts and tape their shows and share them globally. When asked why they allowed that he said, "I'm done with it. Do what you want with it." He knew he would never play those songs in that show the same way ever again. He moved on from that version and there was a beauty and freedom in that. He gave himself a blank canvas to paint the next night.
I truly believe we are all creative. I think the creative/not creative dichotomy is a construct. Because I'm a scientist, I was assumed to be "not creative". But the practice of science - problem solving, a lot of the time - is a very creative activity. And so I moved from science to engineering, and from engineering to design. I first started to believe I was creative through house remodeling. Ok, and music. There was always music. OK, and writing software. Slowly, I belived it.
Now I believe it, I find I can write! And take photographs!
Liza, you never make us feel like you're the performer and we're the audience. You invite us to co-create with you. You let us all be creative.
Thank you for your kind words, John. My father was a physician, and he would say to me, "You got all the creative genes in the family." To which I would reply, no, being a doctor is very creative! He said his job as an internist was to listen to his patients. His job was creative, I believe. You know what I'm saying!
I think you’re right. But unless you find your niche, your unique vision may remain unseen and unappreciated. I guess I’m also saying that the unique vision has to resonate with someone(s), hence the need to find a niche. Thank you for thoughts, Liza. You make every morning brighter!
As an internal medicine physician for 34 years, I really didn't have much time for creativity. When I was planning my retirement, I thought about both those things I recommended for my patients, like exercise, and the things I had done as a child and enjoyed. So I prioritize exercise now, but I also started piano lessons again - now on hold to make time for other things, and I started working with a ceramic artist I know and respect. She is now my best friend, and has shown me how creative I can be. I love the work and I love that I am getting to explore my own creativity, partially a version of hers, and mostly all my own. So much fun!!
I used to work in the advertising industry where one department is called "The Creatives", implying the rest of us are not. I bought into that for far too long. I'm now exploring my own creativity freely without any labels. I appreciate that some people (like you!) have immense talent that I don't share, but creativity is for everyone and it makes us better people when we explore it in whatever form it takes.
I so agree!! Thank you for your kind words and for being here!
I think a big reason I stopped writing songs for 20 years was because I didn’t think I had anything new to say; it had all been said in far better ways than I ever could. But now, this year, taking a course called Songwriting as Truth-telling, I’m re-discovering my unique voice. I can write about subjects already written about, but with my twist on it. During that 20 years, I dabbled with other creative endeavors - photography, collage, poetry - but nothing has been as satisfying or felt as authentic as songwriting. Yah for second chances!
Totally! I took a course a few years ago to help me write in a screenwriting format and loved it. I also wonder why our culture forces people into a lane!
Peer pressure is one of the reasons. The other might be that some people follow a path others have already walked on. It's safe. They can see it and it has a fairly predictable outcome.
Being a creative really means doing your own thing, walking a different path, stepping into unsafe spaces, sacrifice and taking a lot of comments like, "When are you going to get a real job?". I've heard it all. Some people just don't get us.
YES!
Personally I feel that I transitioned from 'creative' to 'unique voice' when my creative work was validated by a company that wanted to invest in it. It was like a transition from trying to emulate my creative heros to "I am one." In that moment I no longer wanted to be anything like my heros and I started listening to my own creative voice exclusively. That was the wellspring from which all the good stuff started to emerge, and it was liberating.
So I feel like one must take that self-validating step away grom being 'creative' to "I am one"...which is difficult and requires a mountain of confidence.
Your comment is fascinating and very helpful. It makes me wonder how much I am relying on my "heros" and not listening to my own inner voice. I am to a degree, but the hero reverence may be holding me back in some way. Thank you.
I once made a short comedy about this, you may recognize some of the cast 😉: https://youtu.be/dyKaD1fNJX4
Oh, how great. WIll watch now.
I love it, so funny! The actor did it perfectly. Love your choices all the way to the end....Rosebud. Loved the improv bit, so funny.
Thanks, Liza!
For much of my life in creative fields (magazines, ghostwriting) I sublimated my voice in support of other people and other missions. It took decades for me to finally believe in my voice, my drawings, my own mission. What a relief to be there now! To arrive where I started and recognize the place for the first time, as TS Eliot wrote.
That's so great, Peter!!
I think a lot of the time craft and skill is mistaken for creativity. I follow this dude on TikTok about the music business and ... gonna paraphrase because I can’t remember exactly what he said ... but the difference between a musician and an artist is a musician plays the music as written technically perfect and can do it every time but the artist is messy and makes music that has not yet been written or played ever and will never be recreated the same way ever again. Now I don’t know if that’s entirely accurate, but I’m also not not sure it ain’t because I’ve seen Prince live several times at First Ave. Messy comment, I know... 😁 But then I think maybe we don’t need to have a label on it all but then creativity exists so non-creativity must also exist like night and day but then we also have the gloaming and dawning overlapping the daylight and the night … so maybe we’re trying to define the outermost limits of stuff that fades into the other, usually an exercise in futility leading to insanity.
Love your comment, it's not messy. You're sorting it out, right? I love Prince. Now there's a master of his domain. Miss him.
Sorting ... ^_^😶🌫️ ... Prince; grew up in Minneapolis, we’re the same gen.. he died way too young; always a bit unnerving when a contemporary dies... you do the math and it is not your friend 😬... so much more I need to do; First Ave was great when he wasn’t yet a world star.
Great points, Gerard. Music is loaded with examples of this. Jerry Garcia never played the same song twice the same way. Live Grateful Dead recordings are proof of that. In fact, that was one of the reasons the Dead allowed people to bring recording machines to concerts and tape their shows and share them globally. When asked why they allowed that he said, "I'm done with it. Do what you want with it." He knew he would never play those songs in that show the same way ever again. He moved on from that version and there was a beauty and freedom in that. He gave himself a blank canvas to paint the next night.
I truly believe we are all creative. I think the creative/not creative dichotomy is a construct. Because I'm a scientist, I was assumed to be "not creative". But the practice of science - problem solving, a lot of the time - is a very creative activity. And so I moved from science to engineering, and from engineering to design. I first started to believe I was creative through house remodeling. Ok, and music. There was always music. OK, and writing software. Slowly, I belived it.
Now I believe it, I find I can write! And take photographs!
Liza, you never make us feel like you're the performer and we're the audience. You invite us to co-create with you. You let us all be creative.
Thank you for your kind words, John. My father was a physician, and he would say to me, "You got all the creative genes in the family." To which I would reply, no, being a doctor is very creative! He said his job as an internist was to listen to his patients. His job was creative, I believe. You know what I'm saying!
I do!
I think you’re right. But unless you find your niche, your unique vision may remain unseen and unappreciated. I guess I’m also saying that the unique vision has to resonate with someone(s), hence the need to find a niche. Thank you for thoughts, Liza. You make every morning brighter!
True! Although in the art world sometimes, it just has to resonate with a few influential critics....which doesn't seem fair, does it?
Isn’t that the truth? And the current zeitgeist, too, I guess.
As an internal medicine physician for 34 years, I really didn't have much time for creativity. When I was planning my retirement, I thought about both those things I recommended for my patients, like exercise, and the things I had done as a child and enjoyed. So I prioritize exercise now, but I also started piano lessons again - now on hold to make time for other things, and I started working with a ceramic artist I know and respect. She is now my best friend, and has shown me how creative I can be. I love the work and I love that I am getting to explore my own creativity, partially a version of hers, and mostly all my own. So much fun!!
That sounds so great! My father was an internal physician, I know how busy that can be and how time consuming. Enjoy!