I was pondering the other day why many artist studios are such a mess. Regardless of how the rest of its house looks like, a creative soul will always need a space of its own where to leave behind all order, all the rules and all the structures. Well yes, from time to time one needs a leap from all that’s known and – frankly – creativity is the best (the most productive?!) way of being spontaneous.
I guess some artist spaces are being messy so they (the artists) can shut themselves in a place where they can pick the first thing that comes in hand and still being surprised. Creativity… is being surprised.
The “Oh!”, the “Ahhh…”, the “Wow”.
We are habitual creatures and to some sort of extent we tend to make the things we enjoy… a habit. The morning coffee, the evening news, Sunday’s night movie… It gives us a sense of control and stability. But the process of being creative shouldn’t be one (a habit). When one starts to use the same steps with each creative endeavor it takes, there are more chances that the solution / idea / end product will look (or function) the same as others made before.
Many times it is happening to myself to fall under a sign of habit – sometimes due to the lack of time, sometimes due to the client’s requests or sometimes simply due to a lack of diversity at a daily level (especially when i have to follow a particular work routine). But i know it’s time for a change when what i do starts to bore me. Nothing extraordinary has been accomplished from a place of boredom or plain routine. Common things speak to common situations.
Creativity is the surprise. The unexpected end of a book, a movie that keeps you guessing, a shape you haven’t seen before, a certain color combination, a tool or fabric that you’d never think of, a different way of laying things together…
The “Oh!”, the “Ahhh…”, the “Wow”, the startle of an unpredicted touch upon your heart.
