Creativity at Any Age

Recall the thrill of creating something new, something entirely yours. Whistling a tune no one has ever heard, drawing a picture of your family, taking a fabulous photograph, planting a truly beautiful garden, writing a poem, the list is endless. A lot of this type of activity is observable in children, especially those who are encouraged. Creative “experimentation” seems to slow down for most of us by the time we become adults. This could be because the result of our creative process comes under greater scrutiny i.e. it is increasingly judged by others, sometimes unkindly. And we all know how discouraging that can be.

There are late bloomers who changed the world of art such as Grandma Moses who started painting when she retired from her farming duties in her late seventies and Paul Cezanne whose career didn’t take off until he was in his fifties and sixties. Creativity is one of those inexplicable urges that can ebb and flow during our lives and can take many forms. The importance of artistic and creative endeavors to help people connect and stay vital as they age may come as a surprise.

In a 2016 study by the National Institute on Aging, a strong case is made that art improves both mental and physical health. I am particularly impressed with the positive psychological, social, and cognitive impact that art is said to have on people.What a wonderful byproduct it is that participating in any form of creativity has positive implications on the health of aging adults (or really, people of all ages).

 

There are so many ways to be artistically creative. Wikipedia  defines art as when something is made or done by humans in action using imagination and/or technical skill. Some of the most popular Arts include drama, music, poetry, dance, pottery, sculpture, journaling, oral history, singing, acting, cooking, architecture, filming, fashion, photography, and there are many others.

I’ve found great pleasure and fulfillment in painting. I usually use oil paints and love doing portraits. I love the process, the colors, the light flowing from my brain to the canvas, and even the challenge of getting the perfect shade of purple. Three or four hours of painting go so quickly and pleasantly, especially when I’m in a class. I love the camradery as we all paint with our hearts and offer words of encouragement and advice to each other. It’s easy to understand why the conversation of creating art fits into our lives and encompasses health and wellness.

This doesn’t mean that making art isn’t at times frustrating when the desired affect eludes me or when the face on the painting looks nothing like the photograph from which it was taken. Every single painting is a learning experience and encourages me to try something new…a new medium, or style depending on my mood, or just painting outside to catch the early morning light. Occasionally, I feel truly inspired, and that is a great feeling. I try not to worry about how good a painter I am and thank goodness I’ll never have to make a living from it.

I just realized as I write this for the blog, that it too is a form of creativity. Since most of my written communications these days involve less than 20 words via text or email, not much thought goes into thinking about or crafting what I want to say.  Communicating today with you in this manner is an entirely different experience and even gave me the courage to make public a couple of my paintings. No feedback on them required!

 

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