Two quotes today on creativity:
"The trick to being truly creative, I’ve always maintained, is to be completely unselfconscious. To resist the urge to self-censor. To not-give-a-shit what anybody thinks. That’s why children are so good at it. And why people with Volkswagens, and mortgages, Personal Equity Plans and matching Lois Vutton luggage are not."
"It's not Art unless you can fail miserably."
I am not a big fan of quotes because anyone can say anything and that doesn't make it true. However, lately, I have found myself in many positions where I am looking at the things I do in the context of it being a creative work. I like to view myself as a creative person, which is sometimes more true than others, but I am learning it is a scary place to be. Mostly because, you can fail miserably. That idea that I had, that I spent alot of time on, maybe it is not as interesting to other people as it is to me? Maybe it is really stupid and I am just being really biased?
Failing is really scary in Science. Not failing in that your experiment didn't work type of way but failing in that your ideas are wrong or not completely thought through. Scientists are always asking, "What did I miss?" I have spent years honing my craft and trying to develop my mind into a creative knowledgeable machine and I don't want to be told it is not. BUT I know it is not always going to have the most spectacular and brilliant ideas. I know sometimes those ideas will be wrong or crazy, that's part of Science and part of creativity.
I try and be unselfconscious as much as I can but it is hardwork.
This is the life of an Artist and Scientist though. You should be afraid, have the crazy ideas and have people tell you you're wrong or give you that look(you know that look people give you when they think you are crazy?). You should be challenging yourself everyday and sometimes that means challenging others who also proclaim to be Artists and Scientists. That is how we make each other better, that is how we respect the craft.
If you had a hard time being "creative" lately. Ask yourself how much you really care what other people think.
