Sarah Croft Nightingale Art: March 2013

>>Sometimes I write for The Daily Herald-The Ticket and I feel like a fancy journalist or creative editorial writer. I always make sure to wear my fake glasses, sip a cup on herbal tea, and wear my cutest comfiest pajamas when I do, too. It helps me get my mind in the "creative writing mood." We all do that right?

>>My last article was adapted from a semi-recent post of mine, sorry if it's a re-read for you, but it did hit the "press" and you can find it from The Daily Herald--The Ticket right here. Yeah, Click here. Or read below! Oh, and the painting above is the closest thing I could find of mine to resemble a monster. Should I paint more monsters?

>>Enjoy!

>>We are creators.

We are artists uncovered.

And we each own a monster.

Yes, it's true. I own a monster. It eats, breathes, commands and demands. It requires great care and attention. It never leaves my side. I cannot escape it. My monster is the monster of creativity. It is a monster I was born with. It is a monster I have nurtured since my parents saw it at my side when I was young. It is a monster that I love.

When I find myself set to a goal or task, I must finish it, or start it again in a new way. I must, I must, I must create. I must make something good. I must make good art. It is my monster that drives me and lends me unreal energy to stay glued to a painting late into the early hours of the morning. It is what makes me splash bright color onto a fairly neutral painting. It is what sits me down and makes me write. It is what runs my mind. It is what solves my problems and teaches me again and again. My monster is why I am who I am. Why I’ve experienced what I’ve experienced. My monster is me.

One could say that my owning a monster makes me the “creative type,” and although that may be true, we each own a monster – you own a monster! You may not create an exquisite oil painting, sing a single note on tune, and you may not even be able to create a lovely dinner without burning the main dish, but you do own a monster. You are the creative type, too!

I believe that people were born to create; we are creators. My monster has led me to find a great desire to paint like the masters of old. It has been a creative process in itself, but I have found that creativity really is just simply solving a problem. It is reaching a goal. It is making something new, or becoming someone new yourself. It is finding pleasure in the process. It is enjoying what you do. It is rigorous and multi-faceted. Creativity, is bringing anything, as simple as a thought, new to this grand world we live in.

We are artists uncovered: we may be artists in the field of homemaking, in accounting even, we may be artists in the field of making memories to long be remembered. We may be artists because we simply create smiles on others. If what we do or make-new is good, we should know then that we are artists. And to our monsters of creativity that feed us as artists, we must acknowledge them. We must make good “art.”

Haven’t you encountered your monster? Better go find it if not, because if you didn’t know by now, you own a monster too. (Check under the bed, or between the cushions of the couch, sometimes they're there too.)