What Are You Looking For When You Create?

Lately, I’ve realized that when I sit down to create—whether I’m painting, drawing, sewing a plush creature, or making jewelry—I’m looking for clarity. Or maybe peace. Or maybe just something that makes sense.

Which is funny, because if you look at my work from the outside, I don’t know if it does make sense. But that’s the feeling I’m chasing. I’m trying to make sense of something. It’s abstract, but it’s there.

When I create, I’m holding a lot. My worries about myself, my family, and the world around me. My hopes and fears. The never-ending puzzle of how to meet everyone’s needs on too little income. Even small things, like knowing I should wash my windows but also knowing, deep down, that I won’t.

So I’m curious. When you create, what are you looking for?

Imagine sitting down with no specific objective. No assignment, no client, no end goal. Just you and your materials. What are you hoping to find?

I don’t think I was always searching for clarity. Maybe, when I was younger, I was trying to capture a feeling. I wanted to fold all my thoughts and emotions into something tangible, like a paper crane I could place on a table and say, See? This is what’s inside me. This is what I think about X.

Now, when I sit down to create, I still want to explore and experiment. But I also want a moment where something clicks. A sense that I’m on the right track, that I’m doing something right.

I don’t have a neat conclusion here. This is something I’ll probably be thinking about for a while. But it’s worth asking:

• What are you looking for when you create?

• And maybe just as interesting, what are you avoiding when you don’t?

  

A Little Creative Experiment

Next time you sit down to create, take a moment before you start. Ask yourself, What am I hoping to get out of this? Write it down, even if it’s vague. Then create without worrying about the answer. When you’re done, look back and see. Did you find what you were looking for, or did something else surprise you?

Let me know what you discover.