I don't understand?
Being creative since I left college, and a while before, I felt I had it in my blood to do this. Being an educator now, as well as a freelance designer, I find the paradox in the way I do business (as to say) and the way I have to try and instruct the students in the best methods to be creative. One of the issues I faced was presented to them quite aptly. "How can I teach you how to be inspired, passionate, enthusiastic?" Many of these qualities are inherent in your personality. However, many of the times, they are key to making the difference between good and bad design.
There are practical methods by which the process of enthusiasm can be fueled. One example is to get involved in the subject you work in. If you like graphics, know and explore all aspects of graphics. If it's illustration that turns you on, do likewise. Being productive takes a great deal of time, but you should always put some time to one side in order to look at what is around.
This is also another key aspect of inspiration that a lot of creative people seem to ignore. Looking at the planet around you. Walking down the street. Looking around the room you are in. Even closing your eyes and taking the notes of the music you are listening to in, in a more aesthetic way. So, in one sense there are a great deal of things that can be done about getting that spark begun. It could be argued however, that the actual personality of a person is the thing that makes them creative or not. The expression; "You've either got or not!" Is maybe a harsh reality in many respects, but is also a comment that could be based on the idea that aptitude is a genetic thing.
Born to be creative, rather than being scholarly about it. Instruction can only aid in the development of a learning mind. What is truly a better aspect of this necessary state of mind is being honest and exploring oneself. Knowing limitations, desires and goals. I hear a great deal from the younger minds of my students, all those expressions that for me were not of issues; : "I can't!", "I don't know how!", "I'll never be that good!", etc. Thinking back, I can't recall ever using such things as an excuse to never try my best to get the task at hand done.
All I know, and if I can give this as any kind of advise to prospective creatives, is this. When I wake up in the morning, it is on my mind. When I breath it is taken in. When I try to start my day, it is top of the list. What is this thing? Creativity! I don't think about it, and I guess that the 30 years I have been doing it, I have managed to do two things. Firstly, reaslise that art is about not thinking, when it comes to technical issues. You improve drawing skills from an instinctual calling, and once there it comes out of you. You don't need to think about putting the pencil on the paper, and how to use it. It happens. The second thing that has happened, is knowing that this is the rest of my life. I love being creative so much that it's almost part of my inner being. So much so, when I get challenged with something, I will work at it till I master the process (saying that I don't attempt things I know I would not be good at, as I know myself).
So, "I don't understand" is really a flippant rhetoric that is designated to people who really step back instead of diving in. Art is not about fear, it's about expression. So if you which to express your creativity with concern, then how is that design going to look. Love it!
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