Pure creation
Everything related with « personal development » has played a great part in the evolution of my artistic journey.
One day, when I was still a boy, I came back from school to find a book lying on the dining room table. It was a psychology book, the « How to Maximise Your Brainpower » kind. Honestly, I don’t remember the title but the pages I read back then have forever marked my life. At that moment, I learned about the power of meditation and about mental force, which can be used to create the life you want. I was 12 years old.
Now, 22 years later, I benefit greatly from this learning. The gift that my father provided me with, his book cluttering the dining room that one afternoon, allowed me to create a world that is mine. An extraordinary world. A well-balanced world. Everyday, this world enables me to come in close contact with my creativity. So it’s a pleasure for me to share a couple of techniques I use, in the hopes of helping you find your creative balance too.
Pure Creation
My definition for « Pure Creation » is this creative force that pulses in every one of us. The kind that keeps you from sleeping at night, that makes you daydream and gives you crazy flashes. This creativity has always been a part of us. The greatest artists, who’ve contributed to forge the world as we know it, all possess the ability to attain and control this level of creativity. It can be recognized by their extravagant creations, always original and often out of this world.
Just think of Björk, Antoni Gaudi and Picasso to name only a few. All of these artists have something in common. Their art is directly connected with life, with their inner self and with nature’s purity. Pure creation is unsettling for people as it rarely conforms to society’s mold and draws from our true selves, from our human authenticity. It doesn’t care about criticism and even if it did, once the clouds have passed, the pieces are often talked about as remarkable innovations.
Creative Balance
We are creative beings, it’s an inherited privilege. Therefore, creativity reveals itself as an important sphere in our day-to-day lives. It’s an integral part of our life balance. When a need for creation is born, whether it’s in the shape of a screenplay, a painting or a melody, we feel it from the inside. Just listen to yourself. By taking some time to meditate, even for just 15 minutes, and to focus on our breathing, making sure our system is well oxygenated and our stress level is diminished, the signs telling us it’s time to create become easier to grab. We become more aware.
Creativity in the Agency World
This may sound ironic but pure creation barely exists in between an agency’s four walls. The most precious of creative projects I work on are usually personnel ones.
Inside an agency, we tend to be constrained by rigid instructions, impossible deadlines and stressful working conditions. We are sometimes obligated to follow trends, to get inspired by whatever we can and finally find ourselves doing “serial creation”. That’s because most of the time, the result must remain “acceptable” for society and its many limitations.
Consequently, that result must be readjusted accordingly to public opinion. Thus it is important to make the difference between « agency creation » and « pure creation». The best creatives found in agencies are the ones who develop good reflexes, good balance between instinct and conscience. We each have our tricks that can help us to create rapidly. Some of us will scan magazines and surf the web, others will listen to music or simply relax.
IMPORTANT: Always make the difference between what you create at the office and what you create for yourself, when your creation is at its purest. Learn to accept the difference. If you are unable to, you will go through extreme frustration and great sadness, guaranteed. Learn to save your emotional attachment for your “pure creations” for these are yours and deserve not to be judged.
The ideal environment
The best advice I have to share would be for you to choose a work environment that respects your individuality. Your authenticity, uniqueness and originality.
Web design, like any other creative job, can sometimes be a huge source of anxiety and stress. I know that finding work is not an easy task but remain picky when you apply for a job.
Luckily, for the last couple of years, agencies have started to show greater respect for their primary resource: the artist. So surf the different social networks of the agencies you’re interested in (LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook etc.), soak up the energy transmitted and discover what people seem to think of them. Then, apply only at places that suit you most.
You could also do like me and start your own agency. OLA allowed me to create an environment that values my « pure creation ». Every day, I work on creating this world I always dreamt of. I constantly have the possibility to reinvent my day. I hold no schedule, I have no definite task nor fixed deadline, I meditate twice daily and when I feel like socializing, I go bother my team. And you know what? It’s now been a little over 10 years that we strive to create the magical universe that is OLA and I’ve been waking up with a smile ever since, always excited to meet up with my incredible team!
sdurocher
November 30th, 2009 at 8:37 am
nice post. thanks.