When we see the terms artist and creative, we tend to think of the most flamboyant representatives of these two categories. A personality such as Pyotr Ilich Tchailovsky or Pablo Picasso is quite publicity friendly-and also translates well into movie rights. We think of Ernest Hemingway or Andy Warhol or Martha Graham when someone says “artist”.
But some of the most creative people do not look artistic at all. They work long hours and are quite practical and unromantic. Have you talked lately with someone who organizes relief efforts after an earthquake has ripped apart an entire region? You don’t get any more creative than that, and yet such people appear to be more pragmatic than creative.
Forget about the stereotypes. Some creative people can be recognized as such from a mile away. Others practice their creative gifts day in and day out but no one would ever think to call them artists.
Maybe you have an artistic temperament, and maybe you don’t. That really doesn’t matter. What is important is that you discover your creative gifts and develop them.
– from “The Soul Tells a Story: Engaging Creativity with Spirituality in the Writing Life” by Vinita Hampton Wright Loyola Press
