Manifest Thought into Reality

Wikipedia - the font of all knowledge and information (pure and accurate) has an amazingly thorough, or at least long article on Creativity.

It starts with an overall description of the term (as the wikipedia world sees it)...

"Creativity is the ability to generate innovative ideas and manifest them from thought into reality. The process involves original thinking and then producing. The process of creation was historically reserved for deities creating "from nothing" in Creationism and other creation myths. Over time, the term creativity came to include human innovation, especially in art and science and led to the emergence of the creative class."

This seems a succinct explanation for something that to me feels more ephemeral, or harder to grasp (I mean it is wikipedia not a philosophic treatise). But it makes a good starting point for making some clear cut ideas and concepts for myself (and hopefully others who will read this one day) about what it means. And to give me some ideas and theories to relate to myself and my 'creative produce'. As an Art Historian (just) that is something I am good at I suppose - researching and waffling on about concepts. An interesting segway here is the comment about an emergence of a 'creative class'. So we investigate further (while avoiding the pages and pages of neuroscience readings on my desk)....

The creative class is a socioeconomic class that economist and social scientist Richard Florida has identified as a driving force within post-industrial cities in the States. Now this seems to be a fair stretch from where I am going with the term creative and creativity. But I think its important to look at the complexity of the term, to look at 'other options' I suppose. Florida goes on to say that this is a "class of workers whose job is to create meaningful new forms", within the article it goes on (and on!) further to talk about these jobs, and it covers a vast range of industries that I hadn't really thought of as 'creative' (with no disrespect intended - just really didn't think about the term properly I suppose) such as science, engineering, education, computer programming, research. And these are just a few. This really rips open the idea of what it is to be creative, and how being creative is used. The article and idea does include design, arts and media - but for me I already knew this. But this seems to provide a different idea as to what creativity means, it seems that it is a concept or process that is not limited to specific areas or industries/jobs (namely art farty stuff). So creativity isn't about what you do but rather how you do it. Maybe then creativity and its products are about a process of any human thought becoming a reality, using intuition and knowledge; and an expression, any expression of these that are meaningful. I guess the next question then.....what is meaningful?

The why

I've always considered myself a 'creative', more in mind and spirit than in practice. I have dabbled in several areas of 'creativity', I play guitar (self taught and hopeless), I have painted and sold some works (derivative stuff and very bitsy piecey), I took art subjects at high school (a period of time that seems to be rapidly descending in to the realms of 'distant past'), I have studied History of Art and Theory at university, I have designed and sewn some of my own clothes, remodeled vintage pieces (again, bitsy piecey).

My current passion or creative outlet is in Photography. A subject taken at High school, it is something I have picked up again in the last 18 months or so, having rediscovered my old camera (Pentax K1000, 35mm) and therefore the inclination to take photos. It should be noted that I did miserably at high school photography - I desperately hated 'artist models' and the personality of my teacher (retrospectively I was just a sh*t of a kid with an attitude - so no wonder she didn't find the 'spark of a genius' or any potential within me). But I loved what I took from the subject, capturing my environment from my point of view, learning the mechanics (although I brushed over alot of 'grudge' work that probably would have helped me now) and the developing. But then life took over, graduating, moving to university, boys and 'the grog'. This need for some creative expression was put into a tiny box in the background somewhere hidden behind a pair of corduory bell bottom pants I, for some godforsaken reason, though were stylish and several cases of cheap wine.

But now I'm older, quarter of a century and in need of something 'more' in my life, something beyond my studies and my job and even my wonderful boyfriend and friends. Something for me, to feed some selfish need I have to be 'special' and a 'creative', an 'artist'. But this want and need has led me to questions:

How exactly do I do this?

Where do I start?

What exactly are the boundaries of what is 'creative' and 'artistic'?

And how do I know when I am one.

So it starts here, I'm going to explore and digest and find what it is that makes others 'creatives' and 'artists' and see how I can do this for myself. I don't know the how yet, but I intend to jump in feet first and hope that I land in the right place and in nothing to unpleasant.