Creative Environments

This is my post for May's Indie Web Carnival on the theme of Creative Environments. The invitation is for people to share their thoughts, experiences and ideas about creative environments.

To give context to any consideration of creative environments, I think you first have to be clear about what creativity and being creative means to you.

For me, there are three things:

1. I'm quite clear that everyone can be creative, and it's one of the very few ideas that I hold so firmly that no one will ever be able to change my mind. (I hate the use of creative as a noun, because its elitist and implies that only some people can create.)
2. Creativity is about work, not inspiration.
3. Creativity requires the acceptance of failure.

For additional context, I'm not an artist or a writer - and I am definitely not "a creative" - but I do spend my working day creating things. I'm a learning designer, and a key part of my work is to bring ideas to life. That often means writing stories, creating characters, coming up with interactive challenges, and then building them.

With those things in mind, I think there are a number of things that make up a creative environment.

You

The most important element of a creative environment is you - and what's going on in your head.

You need to believe in what you're doing, or at least believe that it's worth trying. If you tell yourself that you're not creative, then no fancy pen, silky smooth paper, or expensive software will combat that.

You need to put the work in. All of the most inspiring things I've read about the creative process approach it as work.

The painter Chuck Close says:

"The advice I like to give young artists, or really anybody who'll listen to me, is not to wait around for inspiration. Inspiration is for amateurs; the rest of us just show up and get to work... ...All the best ideas come out of the process; they come out of the work itself. Things occur to you."

You need to be put the time and effort in, but also don't be too hard on yourself. It's pretty much impossible to create without failure, and when things don't work out, learn from it and move on. The more you do, the easier it becomes

Other People

Despite (or because?) I do creative things for a living, I frequently doubt myself. Even after nearly two decades I still get impostor syndrome. My greatest cheerleader is my wife, and when my belief in me falters, it's her belief in me that keeps me going.

I'm also incredibly fortunate to have clients that favour the creative choices that are effective over the easy choices that just tick a box. Back when I was in corporate life, most of the people that I worked with were similarly encouraging.

If the people around you are telling you that you aren't creative, show them that they're wrong. If you do that and they still don't support you, get them out of your life.

Physical Stuff

I think this is the least important part of the creative environment equation.

There are definitely some things that you absolutely need - the tools to do the work - but that's probably a lot less than you imagine.

When my daughter was about six, we went to the local library for a talk and drawing session with a book illustrator named Jonny Lambert. He showed how he would do an initial sketch using a blue pencil. Someone then asked what kind of pencil he used, to which he replied "whichever ones are cheapest in Sainsbury's when I'm doing my shopping."

Do you need that Mont Blanc fountain pen when a Bic biro does the same job? Do you need that brand new MacBook Air when the laptop you currently have will do just fine? Do you need that specialist writing software when you can type in any text editor?

I'm really fortunate that I have a dedicated space at home to work, and since we moved into this house 12 years ago I've had the opportunity to set it up exactly as I want it.

But, pre-Covid I used to travel a lot, and that meant grabbing whatever available time I could and working wherever I was - airports, hotels, coffee shops, or the back seat of a taxi.

And this is the 28th blog post I've written this month, and I think I only wrote two of them in my home office. Most have been written at the kitchen table, or (like this one) sat on the sofa next to my wife and daughter while they watch TV.

I'm not saying that you shouldn't buy the nice tools and create the perfect space. In fact I'd encourage you to set things up just how you want them, and make things as easy as possible. But recognise that you may not need it in order to be creative.

This is post 28 of 31 for WeblogPoMo2024. My goal is to write and publish 31 posts in 31 days - with no set theme or plan.

It is also a contribution to the May 2024 Indie Web Carnival hosted by Juha-Matti Santala.