I believe we are all creative. Woman/Man is meant to create things. That is how the world got to where it is today. We create to make our world bigger, better, brighter.
In my youth (all the days before retirement!) I saw things as they were, sometimes thinking about how they got there, sometimes not. Now I wonder how things were created.
I was at Petworth House in England a few years ago. It was originally built in 1688 and stands today sharing its collection of art with all who cross the threshold. I found it to be remarkable and stunning.
What stood out the most for me was the art of Grinling Gibbons. He was commissioned to make carvings for the house. This picture is of one of his carvings. My limited vocabulary has no words for his work. It impossible to believe that this carving was once a block of wood. It is delicate. It is realistic. You want to touch it.
I held my breath as I looked at it and wondered how it could possibly be made. The patience was unimaginable and the number of tiny little strokes to take away wood must number in the millions.
That’s what I like about creativity. It can be large and impressive like the pyramids – impossible to believe they were also manmade. So much patience and a large number of steps pulling stones (if you believe that method) to erect them. Or it can be tiny and delicate like the carvings of Gibbons.
The breadth of creativity in the world offers us the various media that impact any, some, or all of our senses. But for me, it is the imagining of how something is done that makes creativity the most remarkable. And makes me want to experiment, explore and experience more.
