"You have no creative bone in your body. God must have been asleep when he created you."

What does it mean "to be creative"? Why do we believe that we are NOT creative - even though we are born creative. Let's explore it.

Sooo many times people say to me "I would love to do what you do. But I am not creative."

It is utterly painful to me to see people stifled by old beliefs that have nothing to do with reality.
It also gets my fire roaring.
I want to shake that senseless belief out of the person. I want them to throw open the doors to their desire to create that is burning inside their heart.
I want them to be free, laugh, giggle, doodle, make a mess - create with abandon and joy. Whether that is being loud and expressive or meditative with deep inner quiet joy. Just create, create, create.

Why do I get so riled up when someone sighs and says: "I am not creative"?

It probably goes back to my own experiences in school. But my journey is proof that we ARE creative! No matter what anyone ever said to us.
So - let's unpack this:

As far back as I can remember, I always loved doing creative things. When I was 9 or 10, I sewed clothes from old curtains in the attic that had big sunflowers in the pattern. I knitted beautiful deep blue socks with white Norwegian star patterns. Couldn't have been any more complicated. But I loved it.

My home ec teacher was smitten.

My art teacher was a whooole other story!!!

During elementary school days, I would spend hours lying in the wildflower field on the way home from school. It was my magical, safe world. Lying on my back, I drank in the gentleness and strength of the flowers as well as their many colors: vibrant oranges, velvety pinks, radiant reds, soft and strong blues, yellow greens, blue greens, golden yellows, lemon yellows, matte purples. All colors existed together. Looking up, blue skies and white floating clouds talked about their travels and how they simply move on and on. It gave me deep peace and inner strength.

In 5th grade I entered a higher type of school (in Germany).
With deep, quiet passion I painted one of my early assignments in art class: a vase filled with flowers. Oh did I love it. I painted my magical wildflowers.

Lost in my inner world of lying in the wildflower field, painting the flowers that were gently blowing in the wind, I got brutally startled, when my art teacher slammed her hand next to my painting.

I stared up at her, frozen in shock, with fearful eyes. Grasping her head in despair, she hissed at me: "What are you doing!!!" - Pause - Then with more force: " Those colors do NOT go together."

That was the beginning of continuous eye rolling and degrading comments delivered with despair, force and sometimes resignation. Nothing that would have told me why my art was so bad in her eyes.
After several assignments of me quietly combining colors the way I had seen them in the flower field, and the way nature mixed them in my eyes, she snapped and ended one of her rants at my use of color with:

"You have no creative bone in your body! God must have been asleep when he created you and your sense of color."

That kept going for 6 years.
But I loved art! And wanted to study it. My art teacher prevented it.

15 years later, I threw open the door to my inner burning of creating beautiful, fun clothes for women. Clothes that are comfortable, fun and make them happy every day of their life.
It was the beginning of a wonderful journey.

At some point I realized that the art teacher had done me a huge favor: I never learnt restrictive rules!
I create freely - for the pure joy of it.

Playing around, experimenting, I discover all my own techniques and processes. They are playful, simple and produce awesome results.
I simplify everything.Whenever I see something I love and learn how to do it the traditional way, I immediately have to find my own ways to make is faster and more fun.

I paint clothes freely and with abandon. I haven't seen anyone else painting like I do. It is sooo simple, full of joy - and the tops are stunning looking and are in high-end in boutiques.

I delight in painting papers just for the heck of it. It brings so much joy to create without a goal. Without having to produce anything that is "art" - according to conventional definition. (More of that in another blog)

With quiet joy I string beads of all kinds of colors and shapes together.

I go into meditative dances creating fabulous digital art.
Again, I played around in an ancient version of Photoshop Elements, without any tutorials, and found the ways that bring me joy.
In the process I discovered that when I layer my ho-hum painted papers, detail photos of my painted tops and my photos of nature in Photoshop Elements, I get fabulous papers for mixed media and collage - and even awesome art pieces - as in art for the walls. There's nothing like it out there.

By playing around, experimenting I discovered and continue to discover MY ways. They make me happy.

And they produce happy artful pieces that make other people happy: clothing, jewelry, wall art, fabrics, mixed media papers....and more.

Can you start tasting that being creative or artistic has nothing to do with "conventional" definitions?

It is the pure joy for the natural process that is inside each one of us.

The image below is created with really ho-hum, lackluster papers. What counts: I had tons of fun painting them!
Then I just played around with layering them in Photoshop Elements - MY way. Unconventional, easy. joyful.And ta-da! - Art -Art! As in wall art.

Back to the story - and proving that being creative is really an individual desire that burns inside and needs to be expressed - in our own ways. Regardless of what we were told by others.

When we just play and find the expressions that light our fire, then magic happens. Here we go:

Despite having it hammered into me that I have no creative bone in my body and that God must have been asleep when he created me, I simply kept doing what brought me joy and discovered MY ways and MY techniques. It wasn't being rebellious. I was very shy and insecure. But I need creating like I need water, food and air.

I emerged from the abuse years later with great determination to create fun, comfortable clothes for women.

Clothes that make them feel beautiful, alive and radiant.

Using my simple innovative processes, I have been making my living with hand painted art tops and fabulous beaded jewelry for over 30 years.
They are sold in top names of wearable art boutiques. Women all over the US, in Europe and Australia are happily wearing my creations.

It makes me beyond happy, when I hear stories from women about recognizing other women wearing "a Monika".

Stories about women approaching each other in airports in Moscow, Munich, Paris, feeling a common bond, talking to each other. And even forming friendships and travel companionship in tiny remote airports in Thailand, Bali and other exotic places.

So - never,ever get discouraged or think you are not creative!
If I can go for it - in my own unique ways - so can you!!!

To continue the story of succeeding with being creative: for 13 years I had a boutique at the Hot Springs Resort in Pagosa Springs, Colorado. I dressed women for presidential inaugurations, the opera, working as cashiers in grocery stores and everything in between.
It was a place where many lives got transformed - including my own.
Oprah called it "the best boutique" on her cross country tour in 2006.

My story really shows - there is absolutely no such thing as "not being creative".
Everyone is creative in their own individual ways. Just watch kids play.

They are absorbed in the process, enjoying the "doing". When they are finished, they do not doubt or criticize themselves or each other.
They are content and happy and proudly present their creations to the parents and later to teachers.

And bam!!! - that's where our natural urge to create can get stifled.

Disregard and unkind critical comments from teachers, relatives and parents feel like being whipped.
The natural joy of creating gets replaced with fear of being put down for
something that brought us so much joy and satisfaction.

Many of us keep those old voices in our heads that tell us we are no good in art, not creative, that we have two left hands etc..

But now, instead of parents or teachers judging us, we internalized it and judge ourselves harshly.

We can use that same energy that we use to believe that we are not creative, the same energy that we use to judge ourselves and use it in our favor! How?

Be curious, allow yourself to create without having a result in mind, experiment, be excited about creating - for the pure fun of it. Play, explore, doodle. Take a course. But do play around.

Give yourself the freedom to create without wanting an art piece as a result.

Creating, for the pure joy of it, restores our drained batteries, gives us pleasure and gives our brain time to reset into a state of inner calm, happiness and strength.

For inspirations to play and create, check the projects in this blog - and keep checking back for many more to come.

On my Instagram - @MonikaAstara - you find short videos for painting papers - just for the fun of it. And yes - I often transform them in Photoshop Elements into works of "art".

Allow yourself to experience the tremendous joy of creating!!

On this website, under "All Courses", I uploaded the first FREE course - a compilation of short creative projects. The first project is uploaded and ready for you to enjoy.

I am determined to do my part to inspire as many people as I can to create to their heart's delight. And to deliver inspirations, short projects and musings that bring joy into daily life.

Please, share and inspire others to create and be happy.

You can send me an email HERE - or comment below in the comments section.

Have a beautiful time,

Monika Astara

P.S.
You can let loose and splash paint freely, while creating stunning artful tops for everyday in my Signature Course "Hand Painted Art Tops, Happiness and Joy". Get details HERE.

P.S., P.S. Want to get Joy and Inspirations delivered directly to your inbox? Subscribe HERE. Please, put BLOG into the comment box.

For those happy tops go to MONIKA ASTARA website.

Categories: : inspirational stories, what does "being creative" mean?