Creatrix

“Everyone is born creative,?

Everyone is given a box of crayons at kindergarten.

Then when you hit puberty they take the crayons away and replace them with dry, uninspiring books on algebra (and) history.

Being suddenly hit years later with the ‘creative bug’ is just a wee voice telling you, ‘I’d like my crayons back, please.’ "

Hugh MacLeod

I wrote a few years ago about a book I had delightfully happened upon: 'Creatrix: She Who Makes', by Lucy H. Pearce.

I hadn't come across that word before: 'Creatrix'.

As Pearce quotes, from the Oxford English Dictionary:

'"From classical Latin: creatrix mother, creatress, authoress (of a situation), feminine form corresponding to creator – first usage 1620."

I revisited the book a couple of weeks ago and I'm getting back in touch with the ideas. Lucy H. Pearce, academically, is into the history of philosophy, and the philosophy of ideas.

Her passion is to weave together the feminine, the creative, the intuitive and the spiritual.

I love how she positions 'creativity' e.g. it's not about being an 'artist', it's not about conforming to some notion of creativity which we see 'out there' in the world and which is validated and approved of by our society and culture.

Rather, it is about finding out what we individually enjoy about being creative. Where our interest and intuition takes us. How we develop our own 'brand' if you will, of being creative. Pearce:

"The way that is right for you will be hidden in plain sight, covered in the weeds of shame, the need for approval, the fear of failure, the desire to be perfect. There's no 7 step magical formula. There are no shortcuts.? The creative way necessarily incorporates failure as well as success. The richness of the creative path is that we must each take it in our own image for it to nourish our souls."

I believe creativity does feed our soul.

Most people I work with professionally find their creativity through their work - a 'good enough' creativity, and a creative flair which is appreciated by those they work with. But being creative in our lives outside of work can be a different matter. If life and work have left little time for anything else, it can be hard to know how to explore and experiment with one's own deep, inner creativity.

And I see and hear a yearning for this in many conversations I have with people, particularly those coming to the end of their career, or projecting out several years to the end of their career.

So what IS creativity??

Pearce:

"When people hear that I'm passionate about creativity one of the first questions that they ask is what exactly do you mean by creativity?

Most people confuse creative with artistic, and associate creativity with its end product – an accomplished painting or a beautifully iced cake. But creative does not necessarily equal artistic.

Creativity is a basic quality inherent in nature that's responsible for making energy come into form. Creativity is all around us, all the time.

Plants produce flowers and fruits.

Birds and insects lay eggs.

Spiders weave webs.

Creativity’s basic biological purpose is to reproduce and sustain life. But it seems to do so in the most dynamic, beautiful, bizarre, extravagant and elegant of ways.

Think of the exquisite markings on animal fur, the iridescent plumage of birds, the elegant design of a seashell, the lustrous sheen on a ripe berry, the intricate pattern of a braided river, the vivid colours of leaves in autumn, the seams of precious stones in caves... none of these beautiful forms are strictly necessary. And yet, this is how creative energy expresses itself."

'Making energy come into form'....the form could be anything at all!

E.g. for me, it is often writing.

I love writing these blogs. It's not always easy, at times it's a pressure, and my mind can go repeatedly blank.

But most of the time, I am absorbed in the task. Thinking, shaping ideas, reflecting back in time and forwards in time, wondering what emotions are going on inside of me, feeling what feels 'true'....Getting excited. And then the actual committing of words to paper; it interests me, it grabs my attention, it forces a discipline of mind-working and image-seeing and searching.

I have other 'forms' of creativity which I'm reclaiming over time. Some of them are easy to put into words and others aren't.

The 'tangible' ones are - perhaps very obviously - easiest to describe e.g. my love of cooking; my love of basic-but-beautiful photography (the nature around me, often in it's close-up form); my gratitude for the miracle of successfully growing vegetables, and being able to eat them within seconds of picking them.

The less tangible forms of creativity for me circle around 'ideas' and 'intuition' and 'seeing the bigger picture' and 'a deep need to understand our world, what is happening in it, how I make sense of it, and how I convey my sense of it to others' and - 'spirituality'.

Because 'the form' can be anything at all....if you're interested in finding out what your creative forms might be, you're at the start of a great adventure! It might feel frustrating to not know, and not know the perfect route to finding out (because there is no 7 step magical formula') but you can at the very least commit yourself to the endeavour. And give time and space and curiosity and intuition to it. And ask for your crayons back!

You might choose to read Lucy H. Pearce's book. I personally highly recommend that.

And some final words of wisdom from Lucy H. Pearce:

"We don't make art because we've perfect lives or immense privilege; we create in order to live through the lives that have revealed themselves through us, because of, in spite of, the chaos, the confusion, the grief, the anger, the overwhelm, the terror, the trauma, the tragedy, the feeling of powerlessness."

And....

"...the brain is only half of the creative equation. And creating merely from the head produces soul-less objects and disconnection. (Instead.....we need to reintegrate.....) The soul, the body and feeling - the innate, energetic flow of creativity, traditionally associated with the feminine....

To fully integrate our creative potential as a species, for it to be life affirming rather than destructive to our planet and our health, it needs to incorporate mind and body, thinking and feeling."

And Before You Go:

There are different ways of getting into conversation with me. I welcome hearing from people who read my Blog and are stimulated, provoked, intrigued, reassured or comforted by my words.

As you know, I offer 1-1 and group supervision for coaches, and 1-1 coaching. I am also starting a Professional Practice Group next week (18th October) which I am very excited about. This is a place to come to, and meet with others, for professionals of any background. The purpose is to give you the support you need, to do your heart's work.

If you'd like a no obligation conversation - about anything I write about (honestly!) - I would love to hear from you.

....'Til Next Time....Go Well

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