Creativity is Community
The post today might seem counter-intuitive to you because painting a canvas or writing a novel is usually a solo event. How does a community come into play in a creative life?
I think most people could appreciate the fact that the author needs the services of an editor and cover designer, but these are professional services usually paid for. If your concept of a community follows the same interpretation as mine, you are thinking of people on a creative path sharing the experience of creating, if not together, then in togetherness.
No one can create for someone else, but being there in a supportive role can provide the necessary structure for both the new artist and the experienced creator.
How the community forms and supports its members
Linzé's February 2021 tag
for the rose prompt
When I first started writing I had no clue what I was doing and I had no one else to turn to ask any questions, so I learned from books. But even the best books on creative writing, cannot tell me what is wrong with my story or how I could improve it. That changed when I did a creative writing course that included peer feedback. While it started as a nerve-wracking experience, it ended as the best thing I could have done. The feedback was useful and I learned a lot, but I also met like-minded people.
Other writers with the same need for support often required nothing more than an encouraging word or helpful suggestion. It is here that the Pretoria Writers' Group was formed.
Artist communities work on the same principle and I love watching the new artists grow as they develop their skills. I have been there too. I now belong to both writers and artists groups and was recently invited to join a Facebook group where its members are both writers and artists in their own right. Are their creative lives special in some secret way?
If I look at all the creativity happening in the daily lives around me, including my own, having more than one creative outlet is not that unusual at all. It is being part of a community of similar minds, that provides the support for its members to spread their wings irrespective of their skill levels, that makes all the difference in the success of the members in enjoying a creative life.
In March we are going to explore some of the challenges of the creative life and how to deal with them.
Until Monday, stay safe and live creatively!
●︙● Linzé 🇿🇦💜
