"I don't have a creative bone in my body!"

As a creative person, I'm always surprised by the number of people who respond to the information about what I do as a living, with a negative affirmation about their own creativity. I spoke to TextileArtist.org about ways that people can recognise the creative decisions they are already making and how to develop their creativity further. Here's a taster:

Is everyone creative?

Art is a subject with an air of mystery. There seems to be a myth that works of art magically appear in the night, seemingly by the aid of elves, with fully formed concepts implanted in the artist’s mind for them to regurgitate at the next opportunity. The hard work, the skill behind the finished piece, is often forgotten about, perhaps providing the basis for the idea that some people are creative and some people are not.

I have lost count of the number of people who have responded to my profession with, ‘I don’t have a creative bone in my body!’ Or perhaps, ‘I could never come up with an idea like that.’ Surprisingly, these people are often scientists or mathematicians, flower arrangers or joiners; jobs that, I have often assumed, must require problem-solving abilities, and therefore the capacity to think creatively.

I believe that everyone has the capacity to think creatively, and to apply it to whichever field they are involved in.

Based on my own creative process, this article is a brief guide to using not only textile art, but any art or craft, to develop creative-thinking skills which, once learnt, can be applied to any other field! Everyone can think creatively! 

You can read the rest here.

What do you think: can everyone be creative? Leave a comment below to have your say.