As I gave myself permission to put this blog on hold for a few days while we had a house guest (resulting in great, but long conversations into the night) and worked like crazy to get my jewelry website updated (almost there, but not quite!), I came across this article: "13 Reasons Why Original Art in the Home Is as Important as a Bed."
The title incited me to ask the question: “What is originality?” - hence this post. Definitions include “the ability to think independently and creatively” and “the quality of being novel or unusual.” But how does one achieve creativity so that something unusual or novel emerges? I have heard the opinion that everything is derivative, but I disagree with it. To start with, I find this to be a lazy statement, like any other blanket statement would be. Because…at least there has to be something from which “everything” is derived, and there you have it: the primordial original piece, contradicting the blanket statement!
Now, I do not claim to be an authority on the subject. But what matters to me is my own relationship with a work of art which consists of the emotional reaction that I experience when looking at a piece. As long as I have a strong reaction, whether it is bubbling happiness, or horror, or deep sadness, or even a moment of wonder, then I have the feeling that the spirit of the artist is shining through and having an impact on me. So in a way, I equate an artist’s spirit with the artist’s creativity and I will try to explain why.
I believe that originality stems from individuality, and this is why “thinking independently” is central to the process of creation. Now, because no two of us are identical, if we have the courage to dig down deep and bare ourselves to our own scrutiny, it is simply impossible to not have our own individuality emerge – and as a result, if artistically inclined, to be expressed in an original work of art. And herein rests the challenge: looking down deep can be difficult and sometimes even harrowing and scary. Curiosity is needed to start on this path of self-discovery and one can only walk this path with courage which, as I said in a former post, in my opinion cannot exist without fear. Because getting to know yourself and even more so, getting to know another is a time-consuming and challenging proposition. In my experience, I found out that most people will not put the required effort to acquire this knowledge first off because they do not really care to do so and second, because they are lazy! So they prefer nicely cruising along in the sameness of oblivion creating as little disruption as they possibly can.
In our society, where appearances are valued more than essence, where standing out as an individual is frowned upon, where people are afraid of what they may discover, in this society children are taught to be nice instead of genuine. And those of you who know me well already know that “nice” is one of the words I detest! Not to mention that god forbid, if you look too deep, you may be disappointed by what you find, and then there are two options: either you have to do something about it, which will take some (or a lot) of work, or live with the disappointment, which in turn will end up creating self-worth issues.
So I am stating the following opinion: The world would definitely be a more interesting place if more people would give themselves permission to find and express the core of originality within themselves. And in doing so, lives would be more vibrant, less set in stone, and I would posit that they would definitely be more filled with true happiness. I do not contest that those lives would also likely be harder, but we would also be afforded the opportunity to work on changing those traits that are not beneficial to us. And that work would be immensely rewarding. Because as our yoga teacher says: “Nothing grows from a place of comfort!”
So how comfortable are you? If you feel there is any value in what I said in this post, what are you doing to get yourself a bit out of balance and explore the edges your comfort zone?
Onward an upward,
Cristina