Creativity Ethos
Each person — each institution — each group of practitioners is at their core, creative in one way or another. There is an innate gift and the potential for creativity present in every human being and in every human endeavor. Unfortunately, as we get older, the creativity that we were born with and cherished during our childhood gives way to our opinion of reality.
To be a creative (the current hot term is “creator”) you must be willing to rely on your own strengths and character and recognize that your inherent gifts are strong and powerful. And you must do that despite outside influences tugging you the other direction.
The world will try to tell you otherwise — that you aren’t creative — and many of us give in to the fear that comes from the enemy of creativity — comparison.
The most evil thing about social media is that it forces us into situations where we invariably compare ourselves with others. We compare our bodies, our incomes, our status, and yes we compare our creativity (or lack thereof) with others. Why? I remember back to a time when the only people I compared myself to were the kids on the block I grew up with. That is far more realistic than comparing myself to Tom Cruise or the Kardashions.
The problem with comparison is that it steals the beauty of the creativity inside you. When you look at my photography, my hope is you will enjoy it — not compare it to yours. When you spend all your time on social media looking at others and judging yourself by THEIR standards, you are inviting negativity where it doesn’t belong. And here’s the rub — what you see from someone else — what your opinion of them might be — well that might be way off the mark.
Most people don’t share the ugly news on their social channels. They share their wins. So that’s all you see. And you let it steal your joy. And when you lose your joy you lose your creativity.
I’m writing all of this because I have seen it all first hand.
I spent my career as a professional wildlife photographer. My encroaching decrepitude and some fairly serious medical challenges have forced me to retire from that work.
Because being a photographer is the one thing I think I’m really and truly good at, I am not going to give it up. So I switched to toy photography and in so doing knew that I would lose most of my audience, face ridicule, face doubt, and worse than all of that, deal with my own inner demons with regard to my own crativity.
I started asking…. “Am I good enough or smart enough to learn a new kind of photography?” “Will people think I’m crazy and make fun of me?” The answer to both questions is yes.
So?
I have enough faith in myself because of my own personal ethos of creativity to move ahead. My creative “character” is resolute. It’s strong. It has served me well over more than 50 years as a photographer.
By trusting in my own ability and refusing to compare myself to others, I have found true joy in doing toy photography. I’ve also been introduced to perhaps the most creative people I’ve ever met. It seems that the toy photography/action figure photography community is very in touch with their own creative identity. I’ve been around the world seven times. I am certain that this group of people — i.e., the toy photography community — is the most creative I’ve found.
Perhaps it’s because nobody can tell us we’re doing it wrong. Perhaps it’s because we are all little kids again — at least in our minds. Perhaps it’s because toys represent fun. I haven’t zeroed in on the exact answer but I do know that my favorite John Burroughs quote, “Leap and the net will appear” seems to resonate with the people I’ve met in this crazy world of toy photography. Maybe you should think about that quote as it applies to your life and work?
CONCLUSION
How is this relevant to you? Do you have to become a toy photographer to find the value of believing in your own creativity? Of course not. But what my article might do — what I hope it will do — is spur you on to believe in your own creative character, no matter what kind of art you practice. Perhaps I can convince you to stop comparing yourself to folks who should have no bearing on your opinion of your circumstances. Whatever your path, I hope you’ll believe in it — stick with it and refuse to be detoured by doubt and negativity. Stick with your inherent creative skills. Focus on those. I am rooting for you.
Remember — Toys are joy.
