Often times when people see some of the projects I have built / created, the phrase, “I am not a creative person” is uttered back to me. I have a tough time accepting this to be true. Everyone has some type or level of creativity within them. The statement “I am not a creative person” is simply indicating that the person has a very specific definition of what it means to be “creative”. Creativity is all around us, in nearly every aspect of life. You can see creativity in everything from fine art to architecture. It can even be witnessed in how someone organizes a space.
Others have categorized me as a creative person based on my ability to create pieces of furniture or other items with wood, and I would not disagree. But if I were to attempt to paint a picture like the late great Bob Ross and put it on the fridge, I am confident that those same people would mistakenly think it was made by my 2 year old daughter. I do have an appreciation for things such as painting, sculpting, dancing, creating music etc., but I am naturally drawn toward woodworking and thus exercise my creativity with this medium. It brings me tremendous joy and a level of peace while I am watching my idea unfold and come to life.
If I were to have a narrow definition of what it meant to be “creative” that did not include woodworking, I would be less likely utilize woodworking as a creative outlet and simply rely on it for utilitarian purposes. This can be applied to anything. If you simply define a creative person as one who is able to paint breathtaking landscapes or sculpt amazing statues then some of the most creative people in the past 100 years might not have allowed themselves to work on their personal pet projects that blossomed into businesses such as Harley Davidson, Disney, Apple, Amazon, Google, or Mattel. And people such as Henry Ford, Ralph Lauren, Walt Disney, Richard Branson, or Bill Gates might not have dropped out of school to follow their creative endeavors.
The art for this post was pulled from the JMS Woodsculpture website http://www.jmswoodsculpture.com