Out of Bounds Creativity

Corporate America has practically worn out the phrase "thinking  outside the box". It has become so cliche it has almost become its own paradox. Aside from the fact that those who use this phrase usually have a very tiny box they like to think inside they seldom stray very far from that box in their "creative" thinking. 

But I know artists and writers and others who truly do defy convention in their perspectives. Unfortunately finding a market for those things they create can be a struggle.

How do you market science fiction that focuses on sexuality and genetics, customs and strong female characters? So many critics are very uncomfortable with my friend's writing, but her message is important and well thought out. Her plots and characters work well. But she has gone out of bounds and people keep telling her to come back inside the box. 

I know jewelry and clothing makers who specialize in "adult" items (sexually stimulating, or sexually graphic) and they end up marketing to a very deep underground market, because they are too far outside those narrow and confining boundaries. The reality though is that there is a market for these things and often a very big market. Just have to find your way into this market, if you want to.

Did you ever wonder who decides a nude portrait was sensual or sexual? Is it erotica or pornographic? Whose penis gets to make that decision? 

The boundaries are not just about sex, there are other things that make us uncomfortable. Death, hunting, birth, anything that might fall under the heading of ugly by conventional definitions. Did you ever notice how the witch has warts and moles along with the nasty personality? Guess what? Real people have moles and warts and odd tufts of hair and strange bald patches and wrinkles.

Sometimes thinking outside the box is just saying no to the conventions the bind our thinking and feeling and reactions to one another. 

Looking Forward, Looking Back

I think that the process of creation is a process of looking forward. Its not about what did I do wrong its about what can I do better. 
Now that isn't to say that I do not glimpse the places I have been and things I have done in the lens of the rear view mirror, but I try not to spend days and weeks agonizing over what went wrong. Maybe the outcome of an idea did not match my vision, or something I saw or experienced in the past may inspire me in tomorrow's efforts. 

I know people who spend a lot of their time thinking about what used to be, or what should have been, or what could have been. Like there is no room for potential still. But that is a difficult way to live. Those shadows haunt and cloud everything from being seen as it is or how it could be. 

People call me a Pollyanna, always doing my best to look at things as they could be; How can things be changed for the better? And what are the good things we can take from the now into the future? Of course I have a bag full of miserable failures. But if I truly can not salvage something from them then they can either stay in the bag until they are useful or they can get tossed out. I mean this in the literal as well as the metephysical sense. At the very least I should have the knowledge that something didn't work for me and I can take that forward.

Ah there is an image that inspires a story. Guess I once more have something new to create today.

Original Ideas

One of the things I have noticed about crafty people is they (we) are really good at seeking out the cool the clever and reimagining it with our own twist on it.
I figured out awhile back that anything I make that is unique or new to the folks in the local area has a shelf life of about 1-2 years before other crafty folks have put their spin on it and compete with me at bazaars. In someways this keeps me happy because my crafting ADHD gets full reign and I can keep looking for the next new thing to bring to market. But then it also makes me a little sad when I am creating something that is heartfelt and true art and the version that is similar is much more mass produced and quickly made.
I have not seen it but I have been told that another local crafter is now painting skulls. They are using spray paint and marbling to do their work.
I admit I have also used a marbling overlay to achieve an effect, but the under-painting and ink work is all done with direct inspiration from the piece itself and it takes time.
I have not seen these other skulls, but I would like to.

And usually I am ok with people who enjoy making 300 of the same thing and selling them, after all I would be terribly bored doing that.

The Value of Creativity

There are so many returns for the investment of being creative. I keep my mind agile. seeking new inputs and developing new outputs.

When I first get an idea I explore different facets of it in my mind. I picture the outcome I want and then plan what I need. I spend time rehearsing the how. Everything from what type of glue to exactly when and where I would use it in the process of whatever I am creating.

That is not to say the reality matches the planned and imagined outcomes, but sometimes it gets close enough and sometimes there is a better outcome and sometimes the result goes in the junk box for failed designs.

So the mental payoff is big from keeping myself creative. There is some financial payoff as well.
I do try to sell many of the things I make or create or paint. And when my husband brings home a 20 inch length of copper cable that might be worth $3 at the scrap yard I can take it apart and make it into $70-$100 worth of jewelry.

And that allows my husband to keep supporting my creative endeavors. It keeps our relationship strong because I know he understands my need to be creative and I feel his support. That is yet another payoff; the relationships I have with my husband and others who know and support this "thing" I do.

I think that everyone is creative in their own way. From being organized and seeking efficiency, to developing strategies to be more successful at sports or a job. All are manifestations of creativity on some level and there is always value to be found there.

Passing passions

Once upon a time...
I used to watch movies and shows about this or that person who had dedicated their lives to a cause.
Saving elephants, educating the poorest children, fighting poverty, reintroducing wolves, monitoring bird migrations, saving rainforests.
I grew up in an era of doing good works. peace corps, save the children, unicef. A world filled with a passionate need to improve their world beyond their own front yard. But that era seems to have diminished.
And people seem more plugged into the idea of making enough to get by and get a few goodies along the way. "He with the most toys when he dies wins" or something like that.
 As I shift my work situation from working with youth at risk to a more varied and nebulous mission I feel a bit lost from all the dedication and passion I felt at my last job. I am hoping I will find it again as I get my feet firmly planted in this new job, but I wonder. when I take a step back and ask myself where I would like to find my passion, my practical side reminds me about bills to be paid and possibly huge medical expenses. I have no interest in having the most toys, but I would like to not be living out of a dumpster when I die.
I also have to ask if passions are temporal. focus on the now and dedicate yourself to whatever you are doing, rather than do what you are inclined to dedicate yourself to.
When that question comes up of who I would most like to be like when I grew up my heroes were wildlife conservationists and educators. Maybe someday, when I can catch my breath and focus on more than the here and now I can once more follow that passion instead of trying to bring passion to something else.

Wandering the Rabbit Trails

Once upon a time in my teaching days, we were warned not to let students lead us down the "rabbit trails" with diversions and stories that kept us from making our points as we explored topics like ecology, aquatic biology, mammology, and ornithology. And yet on those time when I chose to let a student lead us down some trails it proved to be an opportunity to enrich the lesson and provided a chance to bring more relevant information to those students.

The internet seems custom made for rabbit trail wandering. From random videos, suggestions by our friends on Facebook, to Wikipedia articles to following links from one page to another. We could get quite lost from our original intent, but we could also end up rather enriched by the experience.

A sample from two such recent wanderings:
first question: can you make chocolate bread that is a yeast bread and not a quick bread. (muffins and such quick breads are ok but not my favorite. I want something that is chewier.) I found a recipe and from there I learned about making my own bread flour and then I went on to find information on some ancient types of wheat, such as faro and spelt. I had no idea that wheat came in so many varieties and that some of them are neolithic.

And another:
following a link on making geodesic domes to videos and making 3 dimensional spheroids from aluminum cans and some origami techniques. I may have to try some of them just to see if they come out as awesome as they looked in the videos. from there I found videos on paper mache from egg cartons and creating bowls from paper. When I came up for air I Had lost a couple hours of my day, but gained lots of ideas that are now in my idea book, so when I get some aluminum cans and tins snips and free time I know what I am doing next. and egg cartons I am gonna start saving those too.

I can hardly wait to see what I find down the next rabbit hole.

Creative connections

Creativity never happens in a vacuum. However it may happen while vacuuming. When I am sitting in a waiting room with boring old magazines, or sitting at the bus terminal, or waiting in line at the bank, I try to find ways to allow colors, patterns, phrases, or the position of objects seep into my creative mind. They can go into the nooks and crannies without being anything big or spectacular. but something as simple as the way two colors look next to each other. like that ladies purple coat against the mottled grey and white wall, can add to the richness of my next quilting project.
Watching how a girl colored a picture of snowflakes was inspiring to me and I am looking forward to my quilt retreat next month so I can play with that inspiration.
I try to stay open to inspritation and I keep a notebook in which I sketch and not down interesting observations as well as ideas.
If I am ever faced with time unfilled I have my notebook right there able to help me find my next idea and put it into action.
Do you have methods you use to keep yourself creative?

This wall hanging is not sideways. It is inspired by the emotional turmoil I was going through as I was forced to absorb a lot of difficult information, process it it quickly and still give every indication that the world was still bright and sunny. Making this quilt was very satisfying and it seemed relevant to anyone who heard what it represented. I still need to finish the quilting and binding this piece.