Creativity As Survival
(We are honored to announce that Elkie Burnside joined us for a guest interview this past week. That interview will be the heart of our next episode. She was also generous enough to write up a companion post below revisiting some of the topics we touched on in the interview. Think of it as a preview for next weekend’s episode. It’s going to be really good.)
When Harley & Trauman asked me in a pre-interview list of questions, “What drives you to be creative so often?” I will confess – my first reaction was to think, “Am I actually creative?” You see, in my self-perception, I am NOT super creative. My difficulty in answering this question – in pinning down AM I creative or not really depends on what you consider creativity to be (or not to be). #MakeWillyShakesProud But that is one of the things I appreciate about what these humans are exploring in this podcast – Just what is creativity? How do YOU consider defining it? Is it something formal? Is it something submitted? What is it, and how do we find this in our lives? Why do we need it so much? All of these are great questions!
When I think about it, I do have early memories of feeling creative. I remember in high school that the first time I thought, “oh, this is something I crafted and created,” would be in connection with photojournalism and the yearbook design stuff that I was doing. Those projects allowed me to explore individual creativity – one way was by playing in an actual physical darkroom. I also remember getting to play with physical objects that created a digital piece as well. We did a lot of layout in physical space using mockups measured in picas – that is what the measurements were called – and then that would be digitized. #PicaStickMemories So that was the earliest time that I remember thinking about – oh, this is creative, this is an active role that I’m taking in creating an object outside of myself, that wasn’t just for me.
Thinking along my journey from these early efforts to where I am now – I see now that in a way, the many activities and hobbies I do are actually coping mechanisms; things that I have slowly built up over time and connected to my life in a way that makes them integral to my mental and emotional growth and health. In all honesty, I don’t think I know how to answer the question of what drives me to be creative so often because I don’t see it as a drive – I see it as integral to my survival to be able to express myself and to be able to continually share those expressions with other people in a way that is hopefully positive for them. I guess in that case then the answer of what drives me to be creative so much is just that: survival.
So the things I do, like singing and playing the guitar, sharing my outdoor photography, and the design work in my knitting, in my quilting, and thinking about how much document design I actually do in my crafted projects… all of this isn’t creativity to me – it is activity that sustains me to find my way from one day to another. I also can see that in my excitement when I am creating a hosting experience – choosing location, people, activities, and most importantly of all – getting to cook and share that with others! I can see that what motivates me is actually an impulse to shape and share something – not just creativity.
My background and journey so far have led me to encounter different cultures and locations, to travel a lot, to have experienced a lot – in both positive and negative ways – and so I think the creativity part of me, that survival, this is the output that I need to have to feel comfortable with myself. Pausing to explore that connection between creativity and survival – there is some negativity to it. I think it can sometimes feel overwhelming if I don’t feel connected or get the chance to create or produce. And so, I have had to learn how to have moments in my life where creativity isn’t the focus; to understand that being at rest is just as important. But in most other moments, I’m pretty much always continually creating.
Thinking about creativity in my life this way – you could say that my current most creative project is life. #LifeIsCreative I know that that is a little weird to think about, but if creativity is a part of our daily work or our daily activity, if that is the goal, then honestly, living should be the most creative part. And in that sense, then living, enjoying, and finding something in little moments… it is the most important creative part of what I’m doing right now.
I struggle, don’t get me wrong. There are many days when time is the number one limiter of any creativity. Deadlines, commitments to others in my life and community, and a number of uncreative pursuits are also part of my days. #PayThemBills I also think my own perceptions can cause me frustration. As Harley & Trauman have mentioned in previous episodes, we may be the worst enemy of ourselves – thinking less of the process and wanting a project to be perfect right away – not understanding that the process is part of the project and sometimes the process IS the project, IS the final output – this can be a roadblock at times. #PerfectIsIllusive I also struggle with wanting to consider how to make my creativity and connections developed through sharing as positive as possible – even in the midst of struggle and frustration.
In that way, another main challenge to my impulse to be creative is asking myself: Do I have the time, do I have the resources, and do I have an output, can I share it? I have tons of ideas, I have tons of things that I would do, share, say … but I just don’t want to just shout into the void I guess. However, this podcast has also helped me think about how shouting into the void – being creative for yourself is also okay. That is something that I’m still learning and thinking about – creativity for the sake of being creative – not productive, not just as a mechanism for survival.
So that is what I’m really turning my current creative efforts to in the daily things that I do. I’m taking walks and really just thinking about creating memories for myself and capturing those things – for me. And I do share pictures on my social media, but I have tons that I don’t share. I see now that sometimes they’re touching for myself, sometimes these images are revealing of something that I’m not ready to share with people, so I do document that, but keep it private.
It is a challenge to think about my own impact both in my community and on my life – how do I bring my creativity into balance? This part of my reflection is because of where I’m at in my life journey. I’m making major life changes. I did a lot of downsizing and am making new relationships, making new patterns – and so all that has influenced me to want positive creativity as a part of my life while I build a new community and not make it an afterthought. And not make it the product of work either – that my creative outlet is non-commodified, non-monetary, there’s no timeline to it. I just want to have fun with it – pick it up, put it down – and bring that enjoyment aspect back to it – whatever IT is. #CreativeLifeGoals
Contributed by Elkie Burnside
