How do you find your medium? What if you’re not “creative”?
First of all, I think my view on “not being creative” is pretty apparent. We have all been so conditioned to think of creativity as a specific niche, and if you don’t fit in that niche you can’t “sit with us”. WRONG!
What is a medium?
A medium is a raw material that you turn into something bigger. For me, one of the most exciting things about my process is taking string and turning it into something – giving it form, shape, purpose, and function.
So, if you’re not “conventionally creative”, how do you find your medium, or your means to create?
There are two big things that come to mind:
- Passion. It drives so much in life, if you let it. Healthy passions thrive when they are explored and given room to grow. And yet, they are so often buried for one reason or another (fear of failure, “I’ll do it later” mentality, “not enough time”, other things take priority, etc).
Think back to a time that you felt on fire. Where your heart felt bigger than your chest. When your veins felt like there was lava flowing through them. What caused that feeling?
I know that there is something that makes you feel like you’re doing what you’re supposed to be doing. And in that is your medium.
Are you creating with your body through movement? Are you creating nourishing meals? A beautiful home that you feel proud of? A hairstyle or makeup style that makes you feel empowered? Words are also a powerful medium, whether it’s poetry, essays, journaling, or writing, the expression that is possible is endless! All of these things count, as well as many others that I’ve failed to mention or even consider.
I want to differentiate quickly between healthy and unhealthy passions. Healthy passions are controlled by you, your drive, and do not interfere with everyday life. Unhealthy passions control you and pull you away from friends, family, and interfere with your health and life.
But, how do you find your medium? The one that feels like an extension of your body.
- Play. Be curious. Explore. Be courageous. Try that thing that you want to try. Who cares what other people think? Own it. And most importantly, don’t think about the outcome, focus on the process. Did you enjoy it, or did it feel like work?
Even if it was a complete failure, if you enjoyed it, there’s potential. My first time attempting weaving had me so frustrated that I left it alone and didn’t try again for a few years. Yep. Years. I was teaching myself and didn’t have all the information. A few years later, I stumbled across an article that told me the thing I was missing, and it all fell into place. There are still many things that I need to learn, and sometimes my weavings still fail for one reason or another, but it’s all learning, and it all still lights me up.
My curiosity was so important to getting me to the place that I’m in, and it is still important to furthering my art. Taking the pressure off of creating a finished look, and allowing yourself to play is where technique is fine-tuned and ideas flow.
Think of yourself as a child – whether you played with lego, barbies, colouring, tag, hide and seek – there was a constant need to create! To try new things. If it didn’t work, we just moved on or tried something different. That inner child is still there, waiting for you to open up to them, waiting to play again.
So. Take some time (away from social media, away from Netflix, away from distractions) and let yourself go. I cannot stress enough that the finished product is not the important part. The important part is the process! The finished product will come, and it will evolve as your technique is fine-tuned and as you explore new things.
Just let yourself get lost in creating again, because being lost is a beautiful thing. Who knows what you’ll find?
Crooked Cedar Collective 