I’ve always thought of myself as lacking any visual sense of artistry. In the world of creativity, I’ve always loved writing. My time as an undergraduate was filled with courses studying writing, both in Philosophy and in the English classics. I found a passion for creative process and planning in two poetry workshop courses I took with the poet laureate of North Carolina, Cathy Bowers. She taught us to brainstorm, writing all of our unspoken thoughts down in what she referred to as a “hunk of stone”. The process then involved us sifting through our words until we got to the heart of what we were attempting to express.
With visual art, however, I didn’t think I had the ability to sift through my ideas and establish good aesthetic. I thought people who were good at visual art either were or they weren’t. People know when they have an eye for design.
However, I learned this semester that there is a process when it comes to visual art. Some people don’t inherently know they have an eye for design. I learned this by observing my classmates the past couple months. As we were required to abide by process and planning for our projects in our production classes, I saw individual aesthetic emerge. Although my classmates and I may have been disappointed with our work at times, due to our bouncing from one to the next, there were also sparks of surprise.
I believe we’re all born with the ability to be creative, but most of us don’t take the time to cultivate its worth. Those who are lucky enough to recognize their gifts and take the time for process and design see with their creative eyes. And those who learn to structure their creative gifts have endless possibilities.