Let's talk about the difference between art and creativity, and the creative process.
Art can be interpreted in many ways. Colloquially speaking, it's an object produced by an "expert" that exists in a museum, gallery, or collection. However, art is a language—a mode of expression—which is why different arts exist: music, dance, theater, literature, and so on. The most commonly known concept of art erroneously falls into the category of "privilege." While I don't like having to define whether art is a privilege or a right—because unfortunately some institutions profit from art beyond compensating the artist—I think in this case I would say it is a privilege, since it's not common for most arts like theater, museum and gallery admissions, and performances to always be accessible to the masses.
Creativity and the creative process are not directly related to art because there is creativity applied in mathematics, in sciences, in many other areas of life that don't represent aesthetics or beauty. Creativity is practiced and exercised with the purpose of finding the best paths to navigate your daily life. We are all creative beings. Some of us apply our creativity to fine arts, which leads to the art found in museums, but you use creativity every day as a woman, as a mother, in whatever role you carry in your day.
Think about children—their imagination is something we nurture from a young age through play, reading, and interpersonal relationships. As we grow older, responsibilities and "what we should be" often absorb that imagination and play that once allowed us to flourish.
However, art is a noble tool that every human being has access to. I clarify that it's not a right, but rather a common access for any individual. Anyone can dance, sing, write, draw. This is where I consider that art, beyond being a privilege, a right, or an extra concept for human beings, is really a necessity.
A necessity like eating or exercising. I precisely consider and firmly believe that art is nutrition for the soul, for the brain, and for the body. It's a tool that is exercised by practicing it. Art and the creative process is the tool we're all born with—something we can use to know ourselves, to be conscious of our body and our feelings, to learn about ourselves in order to be a better person, to be a kind of personal review and define the quality of human we are, and therefore have more to offer others. And by this I don't mean any random person in life, but directly with our loved ones and those closest to us.
Art is a tool that allows you to connect your mind and your heart, to be vulnerable and know yourself better without feeling exposed to external factors. Art helps you find that human side that ultimately directs your life: values, morals, ethics. The creative process is a human matter, not an acquired value.
Think about what surrounds you, how you present yourself to life. That is art. You go through a creative process when you choose your style of dress, when you decide to decorate your home. And do you know why it's important? Because that creative process defines you. It gives you security, tranquility, peace. Everything aesthetic in your life is your way of projecting your art and your creative process—how you feel, how you move, how you function in a space according to its order, aesthetics, and presentation. Art and the creative process is a language that connects you with your loved ones, that represents you. Art keeps you honest; it's therapeutic to have the freedom to create without expectation. It allows you to express yourself without limits and connect without needing to speak.
That's why it's important to dedicate time to creating, to sit for a couple of hours and let your guard down, to play with the materials presented to you, to connect with your inner child and allow her to use her imagination again. When we become adults, responsibilities and "what we should be" absorb that imagination and play that once allowed you to grow, limiting you to doing only what's expected of you and what external factors define. You need art and the creative process to ignite that part of you that makes you laugh, that makes you cry with emotion and nostalgia. You need it to connect with your feelings and give your heart a voice.
What are the obstacles? What we should be, social expectation, professional expectation, the demand that you must create something beautiful. What you should create is something honest.
I propose that you allow yourself to color, to play, to use materials that made you happy as a child: stickers, scented markers, little stamps. I propose that you stop thinking you have to make something, that it should look a certain way. It's not a competition; it's a noble act you allow your being.
Art for creating something to end up exhibited somewhere is an acquired, learned skill. Creativity you carry in your heart and you only need to turn the key to let it flow.
