In one of my mind's eyes I see pretty much all 'creative folk' as motivated, organized, uber productive and effortlessly talented. We are creatures who constantly compare and more often than not, our creative endeavors (and ourselves) don't measure up. "Artists are people driven by the tension between the desire to communicate and the desire to hide" (hat tip D.W.Winnicott, whoever you are) For me I find this quote to be so true. Having the desire to communicate, or to create- is easy, but sometimes doing the deed, is not. Julia Cameron, in her book 'The Artist's Way' talks about creative blocks- excuses, fears, comparing to others and perfectionism. We are ALL creative, but most of us lose that innate joy of creating that we had as kids.
From Picasso himself: "Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once he grows up". It is so beneficial for kids when schools give equal attention to the arts as other subjects- where creating, using imagination; learning to problem solve through play and lateral thinking is encouraged. Kids, teens, adults- all need to be given time (or as adults to allow ourselves the time) to play, doodle, try stuff, make mistakes, make a mess, come up with ideas, de-stress, find your voice... it's how the best ideas, solutions and innovations are born.
"So you see, imagination needs moodling- long, inefficient, happy idling, dawdling and puttering"- Brenda Ueland. It may not lead to the next 'Picasso', but chances are that will lead somewhere unexpected and good.
