----------------------------
The
Pink Room: Thoughts About Intentional Living
Chapter
18/ Creativity and Others.
Part
2 (Previous post contain the previous chapters.)
----------------------------
Not too long ago a girl I know asked
me what the difference was between two people I knew that were credentialed to
perform a wedding. Because
she was getting married and we worked with a guy who decided to get “ordained”
online to be able to marry some of his friends.
I said, “Well, the first one went
online one night and 10 minutes later was ‘ordained.’ The other one has a
Bachelor’s Degree, and Master’s Degree in religious studies or something
related, 15 years working in a church and with people and is working on a PhD.”
I described the difference and this
young woman had no idea that there were minister with knowledge and then
ministers with a calling and experience serving people.
There
is a nice simplicity that many of our current technological advancements have
permitted us. Immediate knowledge based on a Google search and the convenience
of so many things including being ordained online.
There
is also a danger in motivating toward conveniences without also having wisdom
and healthy boundaries. It might not seem like a big deal to get ordained
online to see some friends married off, but there is a spiritual responsibility
to the care of that relationship that may not be fully accounted for. There is
a precedent set where it is clear that some people are “called” and spend time
becoming equipped to care for others.
The beauty of boundaries in life,
and in art, is often overlooked. Our culture often minimizes or makes this type
of thinking seem antiquated or old school. Boundaries might be old fashioned,
but the practice of setting healthy boundaries also is time tested and it shows
its value in the end.
In art, even your “support,” the
canvas, is in itself, a boundary. People think of painters and sculptors as
magicians if they don’t feel they have the skills themselves. The reality is
that there are sets of skills that allow artists to thrive that have nothing to
do with skill. The reality is that once the accept their boundaries and limits
set by the project area, the canvas, or whatever the media is in sculpting,
then they can create.
There are the principles of design
and the elements of art, there are the limitations of your supplies and the
support you choose. There are the restrictions of the shape or form and the
list can go on and on. Once an artist embraces the limitations and begins to
bounce ideas off of them things begin to flow.
When I think about boundaries and creativity
there is a list of things that come to mind--sharpening this skill takes
practice and there are a few approaches that've helped me:
·
Fluidity is key in managing your own
expectations of the final result
·
Flexibility with the materials at
hand and the expected result
·
Boundaries-- giving yourself a set
of criteria or a theme will help
·
Being open to experimentation along
the way
·
Being open to chance occurrences and
embracing them
·
Looking at accidents as happy things
that will eventually make the work better
·
Giving yourself freedom to vary
what's happening
·
Find a place that feels safe to
create--don't ask for input until you are really ready to hear it because it
could derail you
·
Use all your senses, understand the
elements of design as foundational and the principles as building blocks
·
Be present
·
Don't view a limitation in supplies
or materials as a stopping point--press forward and see if you can finish with
what you have
·
Embrace your limitations and the
limitations around you--being tired or crabby or having an irritation can
impact your ability to create
----------------------------
If we are honest, boundaries help us
thrive and be healthy. Practically, they also help with creativity and problem
solving. God gave himself boundaries when he created everything.
