Creativity is as individual as a fingerprint. Just look at a number of painters from the same time frame, like Impressionists. They may have agreed to certain ideas about the way they went about identifying themselves within a group, but their methods were widely varied.
As a hobbyist, there is no hard and fast rule about your creative endeavors. You don’t have to master a single medium before trying something new. I would even go so far as to argue that within the art community an artist does not have to focus on a single medium, as Da Vinci demonstrated for us. He drew and painted beautiful works of art, but he was also an inventor who worked in wood, metal and fabric.
So where does one begin to find a creative outlet? Childhood is a good place. I remember back when I was younger, there were certain things I loved to do. I would draw cartoons and color using anything my mom allowed in the home. My grandmother and mom taught me to crochet and sew. My dad taught me how to hang drywall, texture, wire electricity, and general remodeling. I loved working with power tools. I loved different textures, smell and sounds. When I decided to add creative endeavors back into my life, the problem wasn’t finding something to do; it was deciding where to start. I wanted to do lots of things. I had to pick one and start there.
My husband opened the door for me when my oldest children were still toddlers. He enrolled me in a tole painting class. I learned how to paint Bavarian folk style florals. It was amazing! I think I made doorcrowns for my entire family within the next two years. I am self-motivated and self-taught with most things I do and this was no exception. I researched and practiced until I was able to paint Bavarian, Russian and Norwegian style florals. At the same time, my husband and I did small woodworking and home improvement projects, fulfilling my need to build things.
Over time, I started teaching others what I had learned – women and children. It was fulfilling to see others enjoy creating things with their hands. We moved from California to Dallas, and finally to Houston, each time into a home with just a little more space than the last. This gave me opportunity to expand my art and craft supplies from the kitchen table to dedicated space for creating. In 2015, our garage became a wood shop and we converted the “formal” living spaces into an art studio and classroom.
My painting has morphed into mixed media projects where I could add scroll saw work and carvings. My woodworking projects have morphed from flat painting surfaces to furniture, scroll saw bowls and baskets, boxes, and Intarsia projects. I recently purchased a Dremel tool with diamond bits and pneumatic chisel so I could try carving into sandstone. Boy was that fun! I’ve made reliefs and actual carvings from rock. Carving is an entirely different animal from painting. The way you approach the project and work through its completion cannot be duplicated with 2D art.
The biggest thing I’ve had to overcome is fear of failure. An important lesson I learned from children – they will try just about anything. They are fearless. The worst thing that can happen from early creative projects is that they don’t turn out as well as I hoped. That’s okay; I have to give myself permission to learn. It takes time to develop the skills to do anything well. I just have to remember how many years I went to school before I started working and how many months it took to get good at a job. It takes time to learn something new, but its not really about the final product anyway, it’s about the process of creating that is the most gratifying.
A person has to step outside their everyday world and all its stress and responsibility to do creative work. That’s the beauty of taking up a creative endeavor. When you do it, you are separated from the worries and stresses of life. You can only focus on the project at hand. I know accountants that woodwork, businessmen who carve, scientists who build and moms who sew and paint. I’ve had to the opportunity of working with people of all ages and not one person has walked away without feeling a joy and uplifting of their spirit when the project was done.
So here’s the challenge of the week: Find something creative to do. If you have never done anything creative, pick up a coloring book (there are some great adult coloring books) and colored pencils or go to a hobby store and find a kit to build. The key is to find something that peaks your interest. Once the creative bug has struck, you can look for a class to take or check out YouTube for instruction on making something you have never tried before. But don’t give up if you’re first efforts weren’t all you had hoped try something else. Trust me you will like it!