The Creative Act: A Way of Being

We have stories about ourselves, and those are not who we are. We have stories about the work, and those are not what the work is.

Creativity is an exploratory process to find the concealed material within. We won’t always discover it. If we do, it may not make sense.

Any framework, method, or label you impose on yourself is just as likely to be a limitation as an opening.

If you never see eye to eye with a collaborator and after many iterations of the work can’t arrive at something special, it might not be the right match.

Content can come from jobs that have nothing to do with your passion. Great ideas often originate from unexpected places. Many memorable songs have been written by people in occupations they didn’t like.

In play, there are no stakes. No boundaries. No right or wrong. No quotas for productivity. It’s an uninhibited state where your spirit can run free.

Take art seriously without going about it in a serious way.

This energy is not generated by us. We are caught by it. We picked it up from the work. It contains the charge. A contagious vitality that pulls us forward.

Artists are ultimately craftspeople. Sometimes our ideas come through bolts of lightning. Other times only through effort, experiment, and craft. As we work, we may notice connections and become surprised by the wonder of what’s revealed through the doing itself. In a way, these small a-ha! moments are also bolts of lightning. Less vivid, they stil