Seasons of Creativity

Creativity is something that connects us all.

Whether it’s experimenting with different recipes in the kitchen, finding a clever way to fix something broken (MacGyver styles), singing in the shower, or doodling in the corner of your shopping list, there is creativity in every day.

Some people talk about ‘creative practice’. This phrase indicates an intentional, ongoing commitment to creativity, which can be connected with a certain form, or forms, of creativity. That word ‘practice’ clues us in to the ongoing doingness of it,  and it can be a helpful term to help to define the time and space needed apart from (and in relation to!) other times and spaces. Professional and community artists often juggle time and space for their creative practice alongside their professional practice, life admin, caregiving responsibilities and more. 

At the same time, sometimes people who value creativity can find themselves stuck by the idea of ‘having a creative practice’, and after some time away, can find it hard to step back, or even tell themselves stories about ‘not being creative anymore’. This can be a door we make, and then sometimes close and even lock for ourselves. 

So with this article, we asked our Creative Waikato dream team to share a little something about their own creativity. We hope this can be a little nudge to let you know that creativity is there for you in any season, and that even if you have had a season where your creative practice has been less active, the doorway is still open. 

Alexis:
Some think that my creative practice is “doing shows”. Seeing my name out there or seeing me on stage. For this season in my life, it is A LOT more peeled back and even simpler than that. It’s about me right now. I have spent over 15 years teaching others and I have found this season needs to be about me and my love for dancing. So… I choreograph or learn little sequences wherever I am that nobody will ever see, but these help me move, have a smile on my face and remind me that just because nobody will learn it or see it, doesn’t mean it is nothing. It is everything.

Scott:
It usually happens in the morning. When the brain is freshly switched on and the ideas have space to flow. Most of the time anyway. Sometimes a walk gets in the way, especially if the sun is shining. But the writing process, when the words bash together and start to form something interesting, that’s the magic. 

Evelyn:
Over the years my creative practice has morphed and changed how it looks on a day-to-day basis. When I started circus, it was all about learning from everyone I could and the joy of being a beginner around a new community of like-minded people. Everything felt possible! Plus the endorphins of intense physical activity were amazing for my mental health. When I started to get paid to teach and perform, this naturally changed my relationship with my creative practice. I travelled via my creative practice around different parts of the world and had a lot of fun while having life-informing experiences that shaped who I am today. However, along the way, I stopped doing aerials which was my original love in the circus world. In truth, because trying to earn money from it was hard and I placed a lot of my self-worth in it – So I moved to the ground and left aerials behind to have some space from that pursuit. Now, my absolute favourite part of my practice is playing and collaborating with other artists in my community – mostly with hula hoop or partner acrobatics! Sometimes we do a big performance, sometimes we just jam and come up with silly ideas and I love that. With some time, space (and hopefully a touch of aging wisdom), I’m sure my practice will look different again in a year too. The creative journey continues and is never a closed book!

Kereama:
Jamming when the feeling is right. I get inspired by the people who I play with, or are around at the time? The love I have for my whānau and the exceptionally talented people who I have had the pleasure of playing with. So it depends on the time of day and the location and what we are doing at the time. Doing my mileage on stage has helped me fully understand the why’s of my musical career. Plus it’s so much fun creating a vibe that everyone can enjoy and appreciate.

Aimee:
For a long time, my creativity was solely around my creative writing practice, and I had a big focus on meeting these professional milestones I had set for myself around output and publishing. This was exciting and led me to meet lots of beautiful people too, but ultimately I ended up burnt out, and feeling pretty far away from my own creativity. My way back was through heading along to creative workshops at great local spaces–things that I was an absolute beginner at-watercolour, life drawing, dance and more. This helped me to remember that for me, it isn’t all about honing one craft, or external validation, but about process and fun, trying new things, and wellbeing. At the moment, my creative practice looks like a combo of volunteering and facilitating community offerings and collaborating with my friends, but mostly it is doodling or collaging in my notebook, checking out other people’s work, and once a month (usually the night before my fab writing group), a new poem. 

Jeremy:
My practice exists in collaboration, conversation, and circumstance. It happens late at night, or in moments of invited opportunity. It is about squeezing in moments of play in amongst a busy schedule to still feel connected to the act of musiking. Most often, at the present moment, it is embracing moments that appear whether in the studio, or on stage, or in unlikely spaces. Ultimately it is about keeping curious, and knowing that the flow of creative activity can happen in any small moment, even if it’s just playing the piano. 

Hannah:
Through times of challenges and celebrations over the years, the musical theatre world has been at the forefront of my creativity. Whether in rehearsal rooms, performing on a stage, on creative teams, at committee meetings, or even simply just blasting from a playlist while out on a run. These creative capacities have provided me with an outlet to discover my true self, push my limits and overall, just find joy in the storytelling. I am grateful that my creative talents have provided me opportunities to connect with like minded people, forming beautiful friendships along the way. Naturally my creative practice of singing, dancing or acting has been in shared community settings in recent years. Nowadays I am feeling a pull to explore what this also looks like with balancing creativity in its simplest forms of singing in the car, dancing around the kitchen or just picking up my guitar that has been sadly staring at me from the corner of my bedroom untouched for the last few months… Creativity is a wonderful thing to share but can also bring such personal joy in such a busy world if we allow it too.

Des:
I consider my creative process including the moments that lead up to, and occur in between, an integral part of my practice.  Whether this results in an actual outcome or not, is irrelevant.  In fact, the process of experimenting, testing and having an open mind – usually when I’m walking amongst trees, or being mindful of patterns in the sky – are the moments that spark ideas. I love being in this space as it enables me to be in the moment, break out of perfectionism and remember my daughter’s voice saying ‘…out of mistakes can blossom something beautiful’.  I find that when I am in this ‘state’, I create my most interesting work.

Leafā:
My practice is quite broad but my main artistic outputs come in the form of painting/installation, performance art, curation/ art writing, and sound/music ensembles. 
At my age – I understand myself a little better and don’t follow the usual artistic trajectories leading to national/ international renown that I might once have yearned to. I feel my work is most ‘complete’ when I am able to collaborate with the people in the community like we do at CW. It’s the best job I’ve ever had! 

Adrienne:
I want to try everything. Unfortunately this makes you a serial workshop’er, and a master of nothing. Your home becomes filled with the materials and equipment for a range of creative pursuits. You love the idea of it, but there are so many demands on your time.   After attending a creativity community day this year, I have pulled out my box of wools and needles and enjoyed re-acquainting myself with crochet. To start with I didn’t set myself any outcomes. I crocheted a square until the yarn ran out. No pressure, no perfection, just a sense of accomplishment, play, and some kind of physiological sense of awakening.
As a master of nothing, you really start to admire the dedication of those people who are Masters of their creative activity.  If you really want to get good at something, practice is the key. There is no other road – just practice, practice, practice.

Written by: The Creative Waikato Team