What I've Learned about Creativity

If you asked me ten years ago if I was creative, I would have said no.

To me, creativity meant artistic talent, original ideas, perfection in making things. And I didn’t feel any of those applied to me. I considered myself imaginative. I wrote stories, had conversations with myself, could look at something and see it a different way. But creativity and imagination weren’t the same thing, at least I didn’t think so.

My journey of creativity began as a child. I loved to color, but not draw. Stick figures were my go-to and when I attempted something else, the proportions were always off. I remember watching Bob Ross on Saturday mornings — I even got out paper, paint, and brushes — and becoming more convinced I lacked creativity because my trees never looked happy; they were blobs of green with streaks of brown for a trunk.

I loved to read and write stories so I took that to mean my only form of creative expression was words. I majored in journalism, continued to write, read stacks of books, and journaled and made lists about everything. Free time in my college and early married years continued to be focused on books and writing. Then I went to a ladies church activity where we made jewelry with beads and wire and fancy clips. I bought some supplies at Hobby Lobby and made an assortment of earrings and necklaces, but it didn’t seem creative to me. I was just following someone else’s pattern and idea.

When my daughter was about two, my crafting adventures really took off. She loved all things cutting, pasting, coloring. When my mom would visit, they would sit and watch Pinterest tutorials and create a dozen different animals with paper plates, suncatchers from tissue paper, paper chain snakes, and colorful cards. My daughter’s skills increased with age and soon, she could figure out how to make just about anything she thought up, no instructions needed. 3D flower arrangements, ballerinas that twirled, her own puzzles; I was blown away by her creativity and ability to make her designs a reality.

But it also forced me to think about what creativity means. Even though she was gifted at visualizing how to put something together, she still had to learn to hold scissors, she had to try and crumple and start again. And sometimes she was copying an idea or pattern, but it never looked exactly like the example. Her own take on it was always present.

Around the time my son was entering the craft age, I read “Life Creative: Inspiration for Today’s Renaissance Mom.” I’ll admit, I felt like anything BUT a Renaissance mom. I was spending my time on laundry, feeding my family, trying to keep the house clean, learning how to homeschool a kindergartener with a toddler who wouldn’t let me out of sight. I barely managed my favorite pastimes — reading and writing — let alone the variety of pursuits I attributed to a “Renaissance Woman.” However, even though I loved being a mom, I enjoyed being with my kids and watching them learn, I still found in myself a desire to learn something new. And that’s what drew me to the book.

The authors talked about balance, how we create in different ways, the importance of our kids seeing us try…and fail…and try again. So much of it resonated with me. So I decided to step out and try things I’d written off as having no talent for. My daughter and I made cards with scrapbook paper, baked together, tried oil pastel crayons. Some things we tried once and decided to move on but other endeavors we kept coming back to.

That leads us to 2020…the year of infamy. With all our plans and schedules scratched out, the future a question mark, I had trouble concentrating. I wrote in my journal and read but my mind was always wandering. With spring flowers blooming, I found myself drawn toward anything of beauty. I randomly stumbled on a YouTube channel with simple flower doodles. Even with my limit stick figure drawing skills, these flowers looked doable. So I tried and kept watching. The channel included introductions to loose watercolors and that seemed doable too. I ordered the cheapest supplies and started.

I was amazed how relaxing it was! Watching water and color pool and move across the page. I needed practice but I enjoyed every bit of the process, even when my flowers all looked the same. I searched for other beginner watercolor sites, watched videos on color mixing, blending, brush types and holds. I wrote out Bible verses and framed them in watercolor vines and leaves and rosebuds.

My kids watched along and joined in. I wondered what other things I might enjoy that I had never taken the time for, assuming they were too hard for me, that I wasn’t talented enough, that I would be wasting my time trying. I set up a game table in the basement and pulled out a puzzle. Last spring, Tommy cut a section of our background grass out and I filled it with flower seeds, hesitant because I knew nothing about gardening but drawn to the appeal of nature and beauty and outdoors.

Now, I want to say there is such a thing as natural talent. No amount of practicing my violin will turn me into Hilary Hahn. However, unlike how I used to think, you don’t have to master something or be perfect at it to be creative or enjoy the learning process. Part of creativity is experimenting, trying something just to see how it turns out, learning what is fun and relaxing and enjoyable.

I have loved the process of creativity for myself! I feel no pressure to master a certain skill; I just learn and enjoy the process. When people used to ask what my hobbies were, I would say reading. Which, don’t get me wrong, I still love to read. But now I also like to watercolor, doodle, garden {flowers, not vegetables}, work puzzles. I have friends who make amazing crafts and decor, who knit and crochet, bake bread and sweets. My daughter loves origami and drawing and sewing. So many creative outlets!

My husband has been talking about the creation account with our kids during family devotions, and I love to think about how creative God is, to give us the plant, animal, and geographic variety that surrounds us. He made such beauty and diversity, all with a word. When we display our small attempts at making, we are mirroring our Creator. We are acknowledging the design and purpose he has given everything. Out of all the things he created, humans are the only ones capable of creating close to the same way. No, we can’t make something physically appear just by speaking. But we can imagine a project or item or idea and set about forming it, using clay, wool, paper, words. Creating something for our enjoyment and the enjoyment of others.

Now if you ask me if I’m creative, I would say yes. I’m not perfect at any one thing, I haven’t mastered any of my hobbies. But honestly, is that even the point? I’m here to encourage you to pick up a paintbrush, grab some embroidery floss, sharpen a pencil, or buy that French pastry cookbook. Maybe it’ll look more like a Pinterest fail the first few attempts. But find something you love, something that forces you to slow down, and simply try. Creativity is part of everyone, just in different ways.

Photo by Toa Heftiba on Unsplash

The Balance of Mothering and Creating

For years, I’ve had this struggle: finding the balance between being a mom and being a creative.

I love my kids and I love homeschooling them and watching them learn and grow. I’m so thankful for the things they have taught me and the ways they have stretched me. But I miss working on a project without interruptions. I wish I could sit and write when the inspiration hits instead of scribbling disjointed thoughts on a paper that lays beside my computer for weeks until I get to it. It’s hard to pursue what I love while fully giving attention to the people I love.

I don’t think this is an unusual struggle. I think moms everywhere are trying to find a balance. Maybe for you it’s painting, photography, baking, DIY projects. There’s something you love that inspires you and pulls on you. But you are reminded daily {hourly?} that there is a more important pull, one that won’t always be there. The desire to play and create with your kids, to teach them new things and read your favorite stories aloud. To answer their questions and comfort their fears. You know they won’t always run to you or climb in your lap. So you put your dreams aside with a sigh and embrace the joy before you.

In my quest to spend my time wisely and make room for my hobbies, I’ve read books and blog posts about this delicate balance. They all suggest working while the little ones sleep, rising early, dedicating Sunday afternoon/evening to your craft. But sometimes those aren’t possible. Kids who don’t nap, seasons of sickness and transition when you have to grab any rest you can get, obligations that take the first of your limited free time. These are all real struggles. It doesn’t mean you aren’t seizing every moment. Sometimes there aren’t many moments to seize.

The last few years have been the most difficult for me. Two children in a row that didn’t nap or sleep well at night left me exhausted. Going from two kids to three upped the laundry, cleaning, cooking, argument settling. Changing up our homeschool routine meant I needed to spend more time planning and prepping and overseeing. My desire to write never left or diminished. It just got pushed to the side. And while I’m okay with that because I love being with my family, there’s still the urge to journal and research and read in every moment of space — no matter how small. I’ve been known to stand at the stove, stirring sauce with a book in my other hand. I carry a notebook in my purse and sometimes scribble a question or thought before I climb out of the car to grocery shop.

I have no great advice on pursuing your creative dreams and desires while balancing mom life. I haven’t found a magic formula, a golden hour, a tried and true routine. When my family needs me, I try my best to be there. I try to put them first in my time and energy, even when that means I don’t get ‘creative space’ every day. But I also acknowledge that they can join my creative pursuits. I take my pen and paper outside while they play, I tell them my ideas while we eat lunch together, I turn the music loud so they can dance behind me while I’m typing. It’s not perfect. But we make it work. And I continue to wait. And write. And trust God to meet me where I am.

Photo by Carolyn V on Unsplash.

Finding Our Creativity

I wrote last week about why creativity is important. {If you didn’t see that post, click here to read.} So today I want to piggyback off of that thought and address you specifically. Are you creative? Well, if you read last week’s post you know the answer is YES! Everyone has a creative side - just in different ways.

I hear adults say all the time, “I’m not creative. I could never do the things you do.” But I want to stop you right there. As I mentioned above, there are differences of creativity. Some people look at a room and can visualize the perfect colors, styles, furniture for the space. Others see a collection of objects and know how to fit them together to make something. Maybe it’s looking in the pantry and throwing together a gourmet meal or a beautifully decorated cake. Or planting just the right flowers to fill a space with a variety of height and color. Or maybe it’s following the directions and pattern from someone else but putting your own flair on the finished product.

The product of creativity is all around us. But most of us still insist, “I’m not creative.” I believe much of this is thanks to the internet. It’s hard to consider your own efforts when you look on YouTube or Pinterest and see the amazing things people are able to create. We immediately think we could never do that {I’m guilty of this also} and bemoan the fact we didn’t get a creative gene.

But wait! We did! We are all capable of some form of creativity - even if we feel like we’re all thumbs. Maybe we have to practice at things that come naturally to others. Maybe our product will never look good enough to sell on Etsy. But we can do it! I offer myself as an example.

I was always more into the writing creative process than the art/craft/drawing creative process. And somehow my creativity with words seemed less stunning than a watercolor painting done by a friend. But as my daughter got older, it became clear that she was going to be a crafter. Coloring, drawing, cutting, and gluing were fun for her. While she did dress up and play with dolls, those things always led to a craft {“I need to make a paper rug for the dollhouse”, “I want to make a tiara”, “Let’s make a paperchain necklace”, etc.}. I found myself attempting a whole list of things I never thought I’d be creative enough to do because my daughter wanted to try. And I wanted to encourage her interests.

Now I’m not a master crafter and it doesn’t bring me quite the joy it brings my oldest. But I have discovered ways to let my creative side out that I never tried before being a #momofacraftqueen .

So what is stopping you? Even if you feel your creative brain is running on empty, I challenge you to give it a try! And let me say that being creative doesn’t mean being the first to come up with something. I am terrible at coming up with paper plate craft ideas, but my kids love making things from paper plates. A quick Pinterest search gives us loads of options of animals to make by cutting paper plates just so and then we get creative by decorating them how we choose! Let me encourage you with a few things I’ve done.

1. Start with coloring. The adult coloring phase is still going strong! You can find books with detailed pictures or just geometric shapes. Grab a book and some Sharpies, gel pens, or colored pencils and go to town!

2. Watch tutorials on YouTube. You can really get sucked in here! Think of something you want to learn {knitting, painting, doodling, sewing…} and search for “XYZ for beginners” or “Learning XYZ”. I’ve watched several tutorials on handlettering, watercolors, and drawing flowers. I’m no expert yet, but these gave me a start to begin practicing.

3. Ask. If you know someone who does something well, ask if they can teach you. I recently asked a friend if she can teach me and my daughter to knit. This becomes a fun time together and a chance to learn something new.

4. Start journaling. Even if you don’t know what to write, even if you think you have nothing to say, grab a beautiful, inexpensive journal from Marshall’s or Ross and just write! Write about what happened today, what you learned from your Bible reading, funny things the kids said or the dog did. Describe the weather or what you plan to do tomorrow. Once you start, it’ll become easier.

I could go on but you get the idea. The only thing holding your creativity back is you not trying. Even if you can’t visualize a project on your own and you need directions start to finish, you are making it and that makes it unique. Don’t let the fear of failing keep you from trying. Made in God’s image we have the ability to create for his glory. And when we do something we never thought we could, we can be quick to bring all the credit to him.

Photo by Elena Tudor on Unsplash

The Importance of Creativity

One of the joys of parenting is watching your children express themselves in different creative ways. When I was little I never really considered myself creative. I loved to pretend, I loved to dress up, but I was never good at drawing or painting and I considered those the ultimate form of creativity.

Once I grew up and watched my children - especially my oldest daughter who is very crafty - I realized that creativity takes all forms. It is not just painting or drawing; it is anything that you can create. Creativity is seeing in cooking, in decorating, in writing, and even in gardening.

I think sometimes as adults we lose the creative part of ourselves. Maybe we've tried something and failed so many times that we feel like it's pointless to keep on trying. We don't have the same wonder and excitement that children have when they first try something new. Maybe we've been told that we are not good at something or we feel we can’t do it as well as other people and so why should we even put forth the effort? But I think we need to remember that the God we serve is creative. He created everything that is around us: the seasons, the universe, the varying landscapes and ecosystems, the animals. I think when we give up on being creative, we are not glorifying him in all the ways that we could.

Don’t see the connection? Think about this. We read in the opening chapter of the Bible, “Then God said, ‘Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.’ So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.” (Gen. 1:26-27) We are all created in the image of God and he set us apart from everything else he had created. This means we have a soul, the ability to choose right or wrong, emotions, and creativity.

We are also told in I Cor. 10:31, “So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.“ Whatever we do, even if we don’t think it amounts to much or matters, we are to do everything for God’s glory. I think one of the great examples of this is composer Johann Sebastian Bach. At the end of each piece of music he composed is written the phrase, “Soli Deo Gloria” - glory to God alone. Some, but not all, of Bach’s music is sacred but he saw everything he did as being a way to glorify his Creator.

I think it is also important that we encourage our children to be creative even if it is in different ways then we are comfortable in ourselves. So how, if we do not feel creative the same way as our children, do we foster and encourage their creative process? I’ll address ideas for this in a later post. But for now, consider yourself creative! God created you in his image with a unique ability to glorify him! How will you practice that today?

Photo by Tim Arterbury on Unsplash