Creative Process: The Light and Dark

I think there are many ways to describe the rollercoaster, or spiral, or total bagunça (this is the Portuguese word for “mess” that is used in my household) that is the creative process -- but the common theme is that creating something from nothing will always feel like organized chaos.

Creativity is an expulsion of self-expression through a medium.  For me, it’s fabric and the body.  (Or on any given day it’s paper, hot glue, or cake fondant!)  The context of the idea or project helps give me direction, and the rest is just letting ‘er rip.

Given the right headspace, that immense freedom of building something from imagination can feel liberating.  When a creative block occurs, though, craving parameters and fending off the crippling doubt that creeps in can feel exhausting and like grasping at straws.

This sense of darkness, misdirection and doubt happens at least once a project, in my experience.  And yet, it surprises me every time...every single time.  It somehow looks different every time, and it just never feels comfortable.

But, when I can loosen my grasp, instead of fighting the resistance, I remember that my history of attempts has formed a pattern.  My projects have all had a resolution - one where I was either satisfied, or had learned something new with which to revise, adapt, or log for the next time.  That pattern is the one thing that helps me to remember, and trust in, the way forward.