Generative vs. Creative
On What We Produce and Why
Do you wrestle with seeing yourself as a creative person? I grew up thinking that creativity was for play, and art was something meant for Artists. Who were they? I didn’t know, really, only that some invisible, inaccessible dividing line separated me from them.
Despite the fact that writing has been my full time work for a couple of years, I still struggle to see myself as any kind of Artist. I don’t understand how or why some people naturally or easily identify as Creatives, while the rest of us talk about dabbling, crafting, experimenting, hobbying.
But I have always been generative.
With output that has ranged from fingerpaints to costumes, flower arrangements to home decor, short stories to grant proposals, spreadsheets, lesson plans, and a dissertation complete with charts, appendices, and footnotes, I have quite a body of works. A wealth of productivity generated by me. Why didn’t I see it as creative?
Like most of us schooled to follow the scripts of modern society, I have nurtured a capacity to generate loads of deliverables on request. As we all observe standards, meet and exceed expectations, and practice productivity in multiple forms, we are creating all the time. Most of our output is functional. Some is beautiful. Much of it is interesting, useful, even Artistic. But we don’t call it that. Why not?
Some people think that you have to get paid for your creativity to count. Or you need to produce work in the kinds of volume that drives subscribers, likes, followers, reviews, exhibits, sales capacity. Or someone needs to “bless” it as real or worthy. But the world of artistic taste making and gatekeeping is a narrow way.
There are other paths.
The great decorative artist, William Morris, said, “Have nothing in your houses that you do not know to be beautiful or believe to be useful.” If we better appreciated our domestic productions, would we see inspired creativity behind (some of) our organizational systems or our bookshelves or our appetizer platters?
* Stephanie Jones’ own creation - It tasted great, too!
The owner of a vintage shop I follow changes her home and store around regularly. I watch her shared transformations on Instagram and wonder if she recognizes the muse at work. She may think she’s tinkering, bored, seeking an escape from the same old view. But to me, it’s Art, of an accessible kind - a creative fresh breath motivating my own potential rearrangements.
There’s plenty of creative Being in our regular day to days. Beyond producing stuff, our generative spirits send work and ideas outward into the world. We fix things, share things, help others, enjoy beauty, reflect, repurpose, nurture potential. In and through all of it, we contribute.
So, I think our generativity has worth on its own. What we do and make is uniquely ours. It may represent months or years of developing skill or experimentation with a wide range of mediums. Regardless of whether it seems humble or bold, what we bring into being represents our connection to creative magic.
Because the thing about creative identity is that it’s motivated from within.
If you write elegant code or craft playthings out of sticks and paper, you are Creative. Whether you come up with something new on a daily basis or only once in a blue moon, you are in touch with a magical impulse. Whether you share it with no one or publicize it to the world, you can call yourself an Artist.
As the What Magic? readership has grown from family and friends into a larger community, I’ve been struck by the breadth and variety of creative expressions among those here. You are writers and visual artists, working in media from watercolor to collage to photography to oils; You’re singers, dancers, actors, musicians; You are crafters who create things both useful and beautiful - knitting, papermaking, welding, pottery, woodworking. You cook and style, curate, and cobble together wonderful things from all sorts of ingredients. We are all Creatives here.
Because, as one of my favorite newsletter writers says, “It’s the way you see the world – your unique angle, applied to the people and things around you – that results in good ideas and original work.” - Oliver Burkeman, The Imperfectionist
We are all Artists. Let’s celebrate it!
Olé! 🙌🏽
I loved this post Stephanie! I’ve certainly always generated lots of things and have always been creative and a creative—- but I always struggled with calling myself one! It has been a process, and now I think I am on the road to fully embracing my creativity. As something that is me and believe everyone is creative, in their own way. As you state, it doesn’t matter if you are creating for yourself or for someone else or getting paid, or anything. We are all creatives, we are all artists. And we can claim that label for ourselves. Thanks for the reminder!