The Power of Creativity - From The Perspective of an Art Therapist
Creativity isn’t a blessing for just some of us - it’s something we are born with. Each and every one of us uses creativity in daily life; some of us just falsely think we are not creative at all.
As an Art Therapist, I’ve met countless people so unaware of their own creativity. Still, it's almost magical how art’s therapeutic elements can awaken the creative side of anyone willing to give it a chance and help us deal with even the biggest life changes. I'm not saying that art therapy is the key to every problem and the answer to all our issues, but it surely it is worth a try. When words are lost, art and creativity can be called to find them; to heal and empower us.
Art exhibition, 2021.
At the beginning of one’s life, there's no such thing as limitations to the amount of creativity. Children are creativity itself. We need validation as adults but even more in early childhood. When you give children validation, encouragement, and attention on a daily basis, you help them grow their self-confidence. It also ensures that they keep the amazing skill of using imagination and creativity as a first-hand method of handling various situations in life.
How we grow up from little Picassos to who we are now depends on various factors: environment, education, expectations, the society we live in - everything counts. Nevertheless, creativity is something we all carry within us. And no matter what happens, that built-in creativity never goes away.
With creativity, you can solve problems, heal, empower, handle difficult life circumstances, and go on even after the hardest emotional battles. Creativity and imagination are so commonly used that even if (or when) we use them in our everyday lives, we might not always realise all the possibilities and new doors these two important features open for us.
When was the last time you didn’t know what to do, focused intensely on finding a solution...and, then in the end, the solution came to your mind like a lightbulb lights up in the comics when Goofy gets a great idea? Maybe you came up with an idea that was there all along, but without creativity and imagination,you would still be without a solution.
One of my biggest career-related lightbulb moments happened almost five years ago. In early 2020 I got an idea for a new project - I wanted to find a way to help unknown painters get their art in physical exhibitions but, more importantly, boost their self-confidence as artists. I wanted to create a journey where the power of art would be in the spotlight. So as the lightbulb lit, one idea became a life-changing journey and my career as an Art Curator/Exhibition Producer began.
Olga delivering a speech with her son in tow, 2021.
Since the first exhibition, I've had a non-profit radio station as a collaborating partner, helping me to help others; and not just for a week before the exhibition but on an 8-10 month journey prior to the exhibition's opening day. The past five exhibitions were held in Helsinki at a former mental institution, Lapinlahden Lähde, which has been a centre of culture and wellbeing for over 10 years. Next year's exhibition's location will be confirmed before Christmas. This little project of mine has grown but so have I, with the power of creativity on my side.
As years go by we get older, expectations rise, and we tend to focus on impressing other people - to be accepted and respected, seen and heard by all these people around us. We might end up forgetting the power we have in us. We might forget that to feel seen and heard starts from within. We must first hear ourselves. We must give ourselves the attention and love we deserve - for that gives success in life a solid ground.
You might say someone’s not creative as a person and I’m not saying you’re wrong - but I want you to consider the option that maybe we all are immensely creative and capable of using imagination - and maybe, just maybe - we are equally creative. Just as we were as children.
Today might be the perfect day to acknowledge the power we all carry from newborns til the day we die; the power of creativity that never fades away. Creativity can be hidden and stomped away somewhere deep inside us, but it’s still there. It has always been and so will always be. Just believe in yourself.
Written by Olga 'Dzii' Federlöf
Cultural entrepreneur, Solution-Focused Art Therapist & Artist from Turku, Finland.
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