Jess Boctor

Tag: Creativity

  • Baseline Creativity

    I’m just not creative.

    Too Many People

    I have a strong reaction when people tell me they aren’t creative. I think part of it is because I believe we all reflect the creativity of the one who created us, and are all therefore inherently creative.

    But mostly, I attribute it to misunderstanding creativity. There are so many tangents I could follow on this, but I am trying to compose a coherent thought (something which has become harder since becoming a parent).

    So here’s my thesis:

    Creative work doesn’t always look creative.

    Here is one of the creative things I did recently:

    It has been a while since I put my dirty laundry on a blog post.
    The shelves are labaled by the type of laundry and what day of the week they should be washed on.

    It isn’t glamorus. I am sure there are many who would argue that sorting your laundry is not a creative endeavor. On the surface, it looks like I would have to concede that they may have a point. There is not much that is new, unusual, or novel in having clearly labeled laundry. It definitely doesn’t look like some of my creative pursuits of the past.

    A self portriat I did based off an image from a younger version of myself. Completed in my journal in 2015.

    The point I want to make here is that not all creativity is about being shiny or pretty. I think creativity is about how we solve problems, both real and imagined. Oftentimes we overlook creative work because it doesn’t look like how we think it should. The simple solutions we come up with everyday aren’t tagged as creative and the dreaded words begin to echo…I’m not creative.

    So while the laundry baskets aren’t stylized or pretty pops of colors ( I am sure there are many pinners out there who would see opportunities for improvements) they are simple, maintainable, and one piece in solving a larger problem in my life. To me, that is incredibly creative.