On Creativity

Creativity
is a much bandied word - the Creative Economy, creative dance, creative  accounting, how-to-books on enhancing creativity, and so on. At every turn we  are exhorted to be creative, and if you are working in so called creative fields there are inspirational pushes and prods available, as well as examples of how
famously creative people managed to do their work. But actually there's the  operative word -- work. Getting down to it. Making time even when there isn't  inspiration at hand. There are always great ideas floating around but most of  them can only be realized through a committed, focused and determined  application of whatever talents or other means one has available. 

Can there be creativity without focus? I look around my studio at  remnants of many writing and visual art projects, ideas explored and then sent  to the back burner, pieces from past exhibitions and future ones. Research  materials, books, books and more books. The bulletin board in front of my computer contains
 
-- family photos
-- a Bad Girls Book Club postcard and a group pic of the group that I  belong to
--a yellowing article on "How to recover accidentally deleted  files"
--a phone list for  IRIS members
--a quote from Atwood's Journals of Susanna Moodie on an old recipe card. It says:
     in this area where my damaged 
    knowing of the language means
    prediction is forever impossible
-- A sign that says RADICALUNCERTAINTY and another with inhale/exhale. Both are seasons  greetings from Lynn and Ric.
--Some health appointment cards, hopefully for the future, although I did miss one of them.
--Quite a nice invitation from RMG for something that took place last September.
 
And that's the top layer.
Whether all of it inspires creativity is questionable.

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