A Creative Push

If you know me at all, you may have heard me discuss or “preach” if you will, on my favorite topic, which is CREATIVITY. I believe that everyone should have some source of creativity in their life. It creates a great balance. My life has been filled with creative experiences, a path I have followed since childhood... And while I’d love to be doing creative things all day every day, life presents itself and sometimes you have to veer off the path. From many of my own experiences, I have learned that going in the wrong direction or doing something that you don’t really want to do, will always quickly steer you back in the right direction, or will help you to figure out what it is that you really do want.  

Many people react to my statements on creativity with feelings about not being artistic. Typically the 2 most common statements are, “I don’t have a creative bone in my body” and/or “I can’t even draw a stick figure”. Yet, being artistic and being creative are not the same. The best definition of CREATIVITY that I found on the internet was on dictionary.com: 

The ability to transcend traditional ideas, rules, patterns, relationships, or the like, and to create meaningful new ideas, forms, methods, interpretations, etc.; originality, progressiveness, or imagination.

This present situation we have found ourselves faced with in this historic year of 2020, has pushed us pretty hard in an unexpected direction. It is obviously crazy, but it is so grounding because we are ALL in it together. It is a shift in our society that is forcing creativity in ways that maybe we did not even know that we could, and giving us the opportunity to make decisions about what we want to do. The technology of our world has become a blessing for many, connecting us when we have to be separated, and providing a platform for artists & musicians to share their creativity with the world more than ever. 

With so many people meeting and connecting online, creativity has pushed me to do something different. I have repurposed a lot of my paintings as digital art downloads that you can use as virtual backgrounds in Zoom or desktop art. Its a great way to support me as an artist, and an inexpensive way that you can start your own collection of Maxine Orange art. They are available individually for $4 or in bundles of 3 for $10. I hope you will check them out and let me know what you think!

How has this situation presented creativity in your life?