Creative identity: The gift of creativity

How do you think about yourself as a creative person? I hear people answering this question by whether or not they consider themselves creative. 

I think it's worthwhile to reframe the question to encourage open-ended thinking:

• How do I understand creativity?
• Who am I as a creative person?  
• How do I engage my creativity with others? 
  

When I think about who I am as a creative person, I think about my family. My mom was endlessly creative, making art, music, and food. She enjoyed searching for new recipes or learning and experimenting with new crafts. Her mother, my maternal grandmother, was also a crafter who worked with crochet and quilting. My grandma would look at quilts to figure out how they were made and make her own templates from newspapers. I grew up watching these women come up with an idea, do research, experiment, and make samples with materials they had on hand. When satisfied with their process, they'd make a few of what they had in mind. 

My mom and grandmother didn't sell their work (except for oil paintings), and most of what they made was gifted to people. Mom made large batches of lavosh crackers and homemade ornaments with air plants to give to relatives at Christmas. I think that influenced how I see creativity—a generosity in daily life, as a way to express yourself and solve challenges with the resources you have. And to create gifts.

Later in life, when I'd make annual trips home as an adult, my mom would take me aside and say, "Here's what I've been working on.” She'd point out details, describe the process she went through, comment on the qualities of the different pieces, and have me choose one to take. 

Even though most of the discussions I have had about art and creativity have happened in design classroom critiques or artist presentations and gallery showings, talking about what someone has made still feels like it should happen in close conversation. Samples are revealed, and the two of you can laugh at failures and admire the ones that came out better than others. After a little bit of back-and-forth, you go home with a small gift. 

The small yellow figurine is a ceramic whistle my mom made. When she shared her whistles with me, she talked about which made the strongest sound and demonstrated each. I'm connected to my mom's hands and breath when I see this yellow figure. Blowing into the whistle, I'm reminded of her breath as my breath. Our shared sense of creativity really is a gift.

So, 

• How do you understand creativity?
• Who are you as a creative person?  
• How do you engage your creativity with others?