Creativity may be defined as a mysterious, life-affirming gift that requires passion, risk-taking, and the ability to surrender to its fullest power and potential. As Henri Matisse simply stated, “Creativity takes courage”. To ignite creativity and keep it alive we need to preserve our inner child, as Picasso reminds us, “All children are born artists, the problem is to remain an artist as we grow up.” We all have access to the unlimited magical supply of creativity, best told by Maya Angelou: “You can’t use up creativity. The more you use the more you have.”
The power of creativity is at the heart center of every artist, so how do they explain it? One of our artist friends Carolyn M. Abrams suggested an inspirational idea for an article about “The Power of Creativity”. She proposed we ask artists: “Where does creativity come from? How do you react to it? How does it manifest?”
Carolyn M. Abrams
“I refer to creativity as intuitive process vs technical process. Play, spontaneity, letting go, trusting the process, letting the work speak during the process of experimenting or letting go. Not attached to the outcome but letting it develop on its own. Being open to surprises. Creating the essence of an idea. Being inspired by the landscape but not directed by it.” She adds, “That’s where my ‘Soulscapes’ come from. The atmosphere of a place… The stirring of a word or phrase…”
I sent these spectacular questions to all artist members of The Healing Power of ART & ARTISTS online art gallery and asked them to provide an 80-word maximum statement. I know you will love reading the artists’ statements. May your own creativity flourish!
Artists’ Statements appear in the order in which they were received.
Their names will take you to their pages to view more of their art and find links to their websites. Please contact them directly to purchase their art.
Andrea Robinson
“My creativity comes in the form of images in my head. I’ve always had a great imagination, often in response to something I feel strongly about, what I read, or to my senses. I sketch these images loosely, and as I paint, I let my ideas develop. I find working serendipitously challenging, at times frustrating, but exciting as the method brings welcome surprises that couldn’t be achieved any other way. It is my language and my joy.”
Peter N. Van Giesen
“My creativity comes from my deep sense of my individual humanity. My state of well-being depends on me being responsive to that urge to create. My muse is Aura, the goddess of the gentle breeze that whispers to me to manifest the interconnected sensation of everything.”
Agnes Jorgensen
“Creating art connects me to a beautiful place within myself where stories lay waiting for an opportunity to be expressed. Oil paints, my favourite medium, have a richness and vibrancy yet warmth and luminescence that I am able to achieve using the Old-Master technique. With each layer I strive to create an expression of feminine softness within my art to communicate emotion, a sense of harmony, depth and texture.”
Debora Levy
“Creativity comes from an inner light, from an authentic instinct in our imagination where it is created and developed. Everything exists in our imagination seeking evolution, change and transformation. The reaction is a kind of vulnerability confusion and the goal is to combine various concepts that we already know in a new way with the aim of solving a problem and arriving at something new. It manifests itself after a lot of experimentation. The power of creativity can change the course of history.”
Monique J. DuFour
“My creative inspirations are life, music, and energy. When I enter my studio, I move into and become totally lost in the vibrancy and energetic frequencies. My tools ‘perform a dance ‘ and the story unfolds itself on canvas. My paintings are a journey not only for myself but also for the viewer. I seek primarily to move others through my artistic practice. I paint in a trance like state, not knowing what the creation will be or who it will be for.”
Roopa Dudley
“Creativity allows me the power to achieve that psychological gratification that has a lasting power. When it comes to spiritualty, I can make the mundane and ordinary into extraordinary. I utilize forms and symbols that make the otherwise intangible thought into evocative compositions. Lastly, when talent meets opportunity, it makes way for financial success. Creative people get rewarded for their grit and discipline when people use their hard-earned dollars to become staunch art collectors.”
Andre Chatelain
“My medium of choice is oil on canvas. I love the richness, the feeling, even the smell of oil. I challenge myself with the old-master’s technique with a personal and contemporary touch. Our environment, our planet and our small portion of the Universe are current subjects of interests.”
Sandra Belitza-Vazquez
“A heightened sense of observation and reaction to our environment sparks the creativity residing within many of us. Curiosity and the desire to explore and discover can spark one’s creativity and result in a visual, written, or performed work. A creator can even devise a new machine or instrument that detects eye disease or otherwise helps to alleviate pain. An idea comes to mind that explodes in the birth of something entirely new that can change or alter the world.”
Rajul Shah
“For me, creativity is bringing together the jumble of ideas in my head. Swimming, skiing, traveling and the cultural aspects of the places I visit; or sitting in silence each bring me a sense of peace that allows me to relate and organize ideas. Whenever I travel, I take photos of anything that piques my interest: texture of old walls on ruins, people, sand, nature, traditional costumes, array of colors from a sunset/rise or the sky right before a storm.”
Read More Articles About Creativity
Artist Members Share Their First Experiences with Creativity
Creativity is Good For Your Health
How Mothers Nurture Artists and Their Creativity
What a wonderful article. I so enjoyed reading everyone’s responses and how creativity is informed in their work! Bravo Renee!
Carolyn, you offered a fantastic suggestion and it worked! Much appreciation and bravo to you and to all of the participating members.
Thank you for these wonderful insights Renee. Really enjoyed reading the different responses to this question and seeing the common links between artists.
Thank you for participating. I love your statement and I agree. It’s wonderful to see each artist’s perspective and your shared links.