The Evolution of my Creativity journey

 

The full view of my previous profile photo in Twitter. As for the real artwork, I gave it to one of my acquaintances. She is a confident gay so I gave my drawing to her.

Creativity goes hand in hand with art making it an important ingredient of self-expression. It doesn't have boundaries because you are expressing how you feel, how you see things and your authenticity. It doesn't matter if people accept it or not but for some reason it gives birth to other ideas of other matters that people need to give attention to. It can be functional or simply thought provoking to persuade people to call for an action to change.

On my case, my creativity journey started when I was in Nursery school. Although I and the others didn't consider me as a prodigy student in art, I do enjoy the drawings that I made I drew flowers and I imagine that they are talking and doing some interesting stuff, I also drew house, the Sun, people and plants and for me it is an achievement that I made something from myself and show it from my parents and relatives.

Then my creativity starts to get more attention when I was in grade school during that time, I love watching anime shows like Dragon Ball, Voltes V, Candy Candy but my drawings are mostly Sailormoon inspired because Sailormoon by that time is easier to draw. Whenever I draw, I keep on practicing until I got it right and from that imitation, I started to draw my own characters.

As for request since I was in grade school my classmates asked me to draw school assignments and projects since as drawing plants & animals for Science subjects and then history subjects and then their favorite cartoon characters. I never asked them for any payments because for me, art is only considered as a hobby.

Despite of many people who appreciates my art there are still some people whom you cannot please. They seem to find flaws and criticize you of what are you doing in which you find it depressing or upsetting because they don't see your lens of creativity but later on, I realized that people have their own way of seeing things. If they question things, then make a description or explanation about your art. If they appreciate and understand then that is great and be grateful but if not then that's fine, you don't have to force things on them and let them appreciate creativity the way they see it.

I remember one of my senior high school teachers, she asked me a question. "What do I wanted to become in the future?" Since that I love to draw, I simply said to her. I wanted to be an artist and then she responded that being an artist doesn't support your future. In the Philippines and even around the world, people would be supportive to your art if you have an exceptional ability but if not then it pays you only a little to nil.

When my parents recognized my talent, they are supportive and they even enrolled me for an Art summer class however just like any other parents, they look things for the long-term level and practically because at the end for them what matters is having a conventional job in order for me to earn money and survive from day-to-day expenses.

Both of my teacher and my parents, they follow the conventional way of doing things like having a university qualifications, get a stable job and etc but when it comes to the unconventional they feel uncertain and indifferent but here is the thing I realized you may find the stability and the practicality you seek but your life is somewhat dull because there is no sense of fun and creativity with what you are doing as if everything repeats and even when it does in your workplace, it is not the same because that's not the real you and you are simply being pressured to conform with what society tells you.

If you use creativity as a source of income that would depend on appreciation of people towards your work especially if would cater their demands and not how you feel and how do you want to convey. This why some musicians and other artists are getting depressed. True, that they works earn a lot when the public appreciates your work but when you try to be authentic, you show your vulnerability through your work you will be faced with harsh criticisms.

When dealing with criticisms I remind myself of what I learned from my art summer classes that is when there is a mistake, see that as an opportunity to see the different side of it and be creative out of it. In such imperfections, we can see something in beautiful in disguise and with this I came up with my motto, "Art in its imperfections is beautiful." If we look at it in life, we make mistakes and we are imperfect either however through those experiences we see those beauty and it makes our lives more meaningful, and we learn on something.

After my schooling years, I still being creative and making drawings and when I stayed in United Kingdom, I had a chance to work as an Aupair for a British family and from there I teach their children to draw, color and be creative and from that experience I feel the sense of purpose of being creative which is you are not focus on gaining yourself acknowledgement from others but you turn out as a giver of the skill and you are passing the baton to children that you are helping them learn in their formative years and another realisation that I had is being creative through art and by other mediums can be therapeutic not only for yourself but from others. It relieves tension, it helps you regulate your emotions, and it gives more avenues to express yourself that is not destructive, and you are becoming more mindful of what is around you.

Creativity doesn't end in doing drawings or paintings, you can be expressing your creativity through singing, dancing, writing, acting, cooking, learning new skills and even if you are working in a dull environment, add some spice to it to make it more flavourful.

Creativity doesn't confine with age and don't tell yourself that creativity is only for young people and I am too old for it. If there is a will, there is a way for it even those who are disabled they can do beautiful things and even animals like elephant and pig they love making art. Even if you are old, we learn something from everyone, we simply need to be open and receptive and from there creativity flows with no bounds. As much as you leave, explore and cultivate what is available. If you have old passions and hobbies that would help you be creative, still do it anyway.

For my next creativity journey, I am currently enjoying writing and even would try public speaking and continue learning new skills in different Freelancing niches and from there it seems that I do enjoy challenging myself and will continue learning with purpose and have fun with it for the rest of my life. Let's continue to evolve with positivity!