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Alex Alexander

@Creativity in Art
Sometimes there were things I thought might make me happy, but I couldn’t have them just because I wanted them.

Creativity Can Completely Change Your Life

“Life is a great big canvas. Throw all the paint you can on it.” ~Danny Kaye

I’ve had those days when I felt like my life was in the doldrums. When I felt stuck in the same-old, same-old and wondered how to get a pick me up. When I wished I had more passion or purpose or maybe just a jolt of joy to shake things up.

Sometimes there were things I thought might make me happy, but I couldn’t have them just because I wanted them. Like, I couldn’t just snap my fingers and meet the man who sweeps me off my feet or become a kazillionaire.

But there is something that’s always at my (and your) fingertips. Something we always have that will instantaneously make us happy, right now in this moment.

And that is our creativity.

Creativity is not just for artists or making art. Creativity is life making. It’s anything we do that turns us on, invigorates us, or offers a simple moment of pure merriment.

For me, I love to paint and write. I knit while watching my favorite movies. I have a blast cooking and sharing my recipes. I let myself go wild in dance class.

All of us have something we enjoy doing. Or something we think we would enjoy but don’t do because the bigger, more major things in our daily lives take priority. We just don’t make the time for it.

Or we judge it as “a little hobby” (like crafting, kickball, or learning magic tricks).

Or we think it will never become something significant or important.

Or we deem it as just plain silly. (Why pick up singing when we don’t even know how to stay in harmony?)

But the things we enjoy are far more important than we could ever realize and can make a significant impact on our lives.

Here are ten reasons why:

1. Creativity makes us present.

Because we’re doing something we like to do, we’re engaged in the moment. Time passes in an instant ‘cause we’re just having some good ol’ fun.

When I paint, write, knit, dance, or cook it’s like active meditation. Being present with myself dials up my knob of attention and wakes me up.

Creativity stimulates us to be more mindfully in tune with our overall lives. It also calms our nervous system, decreases anxiety, and helps restore balance.

2. We better our relationships.

Simply because we enjoy doing something we love, we connect to ourselves more intimately. We develop a profound relationship with our inner selves.

The more we connect to ourselves, the more we’re able to connect to others and deepen all of our relationships. This secures healthier bonds.

3. We’re playing again.

As kids we could create anything and have fun with it without worrying about what other people thought.

Creativity returns us to the innocence of our childhoods. And giving ourselves a break from the pressures of adult responsibility, we become lighter and increase our sense of humor as we delight in the pleasure of our amusements.
4. We’re led to new wonderful opportunities.

The current of creativity is like a river finding its sea. It always leads us to bigger waters. So even a small creative project might open us to whole new possibilities. We never know where it might lead.

On a whim I got this idea to make a board game. My friends loved to play it and soon, I was hosting game parties once a month at my house for up to thirty people. It became such a wonderful way to bring people together, a publisher picked it up and today everyone can play it.

But we don’t do it for product. We do it for pure joy and interest.

5. Depression is lifted.

While doing the things we enjoy, even if it seems small or easy, the self-judgments we make (like we’re not enough, or bad, or we don’t matter) are suspended. We do it just because of the sheer delight of doing it.

My mood always uplifts when I’m creating something just for my own gratification.

6. It’s always new.

Every time we make stuff we’re embarking on fresh, unknown territory. Each time we begin and as we continue, we’re traversing on a new adventure.

7. We get out of our own way.

So much of our unhappiness is bred from being fixed and consumed by our thoughts and behaviors. We tend to observe our feelings, words, and actions far too often.

But when we’re engaged creatively, we’re freed from any internal traps that say something about us, especially because it doesn’t have to be so serious.

8. We become amazed by our intuition.

We may wonder what gives us pleasure when we feel stuck. But there’s always something whispering to us.

That’s the beauty of creativity. It might be telling us to take a pottery class, or sign up for a book club, or learn a new spiritual practice because it knows this will add some sparkle and enliven us.

9. We build character.

As we attend to our creativity, we feel better about ourselves. This simple act of showing up serves our self-respect and confidence.

The more we make pleasurable, creative acts a priority, the more we rejuvenate, strengthen, and grow.

Each time I sit down to write and my fingers get moving, I feel proud of myself for meeting the blank page head on.

10. Love begets love.

The more we cultivate what we love, the more love we accumulate. Our cup flows over.

Clearly there are days we may show up to do something we enjoy and it isn’t always enjoyable. Sometimes the cake doesn’t rise, the paint spills, or my muscles are sore. But finding creative ways to solve the problems can be fun if we continue.

When we don’t worry about how it turns out and we do it simply for the wonder of exploration, our heart expands and love abounds. And this spreads out into our entire life.

So, what’s compelling you to create? What might creativity be telling you to do because it’s sure you’ll gain from it? What if you just said yes to your freedom, fun, and happiness?
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Poetry
Prose
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Contributions on the same topic

Connect2Smarts
Alex Alexander
Tolerance in Art

Cultural tolerance

No culture or race is better than another, not in creativity and not in any other aspect, and we can find examples of smart, creative people in every single culture. The creative ideas that can lead to innovation can come from anyone, anywhere. But after I wrote the post I’ve been asking myself some questions about the role of culture tolerance in innovation.

Some societies, because of being exposed to a wide variety of cultures are more tolerant to different ways of thinking and acting. It is no mystery that censorship and intolerance are enemies of new ideas and can kill creativity, therefore also innovation opportunities. Take for example the US, and specially New York as a cultural bouillabaisse, where you can find people almost from any origin who participate in society with their own forms of value. NY is not only a good place to have a variety of food to eat, it is a place for ideas to converge. In an organization you want this multi-cultural communication, to get the best ideas out of everyone to obtain results. Racism breaks dialogue, and should be avoided at all cost.

But what happens with cultures that were actually created from the mixture of two or more other cultures as it happens in many Latin American countries? Are we more tolerant and can this be an advantage towards enhancing a creative environment? I wish I could say cultural mixture in Latin America (with European and African cultures mainly), does make us more tolerant, but I think, as in any other culture, it’s more of a personal value than a cultural trait. Some people do feel resentment towards their “madre patria” (towards Spanish or Portuguese), or feel discriminated (or have been discriminated) because of their Indian or African origin, acting with intolerance themselves. In Mexico, native indians are segregated and live in poverty.

Cultural tolerance comes from contact with other cultures that challenge our own paradigms and with whom we cooperate for common benefits. As an advice for cultural tolerance, try focusing on things you have in common and work from there. Embrace difference, hear more than you talk, and try understanding why that person thinks or acts the way he does. You can always express your points of view but always with respect and looking for a win-win relationship.
Believe that you can learn something from anyone.
And basically don't be a prick.
But tolerance for fostering creativity is not only manifested in cultural difference. Tolerance is also important in gender, sexual orientation and religion. In general, women still don’t have the same opportunities and are still not treated equal at work, and sexual orientation is a cause of mock. logies.

I once saw an “innovativeness” score-board for evaluating “how innovative can a company be”. Although I didn’t agree with most of it, and I don’t think “innovativeness” can be measured , I did find some interesting points. Here are some of its questions to ponder:
- How many different cultures are there in the company and in what percentage?
- How many women in executive levels are there in the organization compared to the total of employees?
- How many self-declared gay/lesbians are there in the organization compared to the total of employees?
- How many different self-professed religion followers are there in the company and in what percentage?

We should practice tolerance, better yet empathy, not only for creative purposes, but for personal growth.
Alex Alexander
Creativity in Art

Creativity Can Completely Change Your Life

“Life is a great big canvas. Throw all the paint you can on it.” ~Danny Kaye

I’ve had those days when I felt like my life was in the doldrums. When I felt stuck in the same-old, same-old and wondered how to get a pick me up. When I wished I had more passion or purpose or maybe just a jolt of joy to shake things up.

Sometimes there were things I thought might make me happy, but I couldn’t have them just because I wanted them. Like, I couldn’t just snap my fingers and meet the man who sweeps me off my feet or become a kazillionaire.

But there is something that’s always at my (and your) fingertips. Something we always have that will instantaneously make us happy, right now in this moment.

And that is our creativity.

Creativity is not just for artists or making art. Creativity is life making. It’s anything we do that turns us on, invigorates us, or offers a simple moment of pure merriment.

For me, I love to paint and write. I knit while watching my favorite movies. I have a blast cooking and sharing my recipes. I let myself go wild in dance class.

All of us have something we enjoy doing. Or something we think we would enjoy but don’t do because the bigger, more major things in our daily lives take priority. We just don’t make the time for it.

Or we judge it as “a little hobby” (like crafting, kickball, or learning magic tricks).

Or we think it will never become something significant or important.

Or we deem it as just plain silly. (Why pick up singing when we don’t even know how to stay in harmony?)

But the things we enjoy are far more important than we could ever realize and can make a significant impact on our lives.

Here are ten reasons why:

1. Creativity makes us present.

Because we’re doing something we like to do, we’re engaged in the moment. Time passes in an instant ‘cause we’re just having some good ol’ fun.

When I paint, write, knit, dance, or cook it’s like active meditation. Being present with myself dials up my knob of attention and wakes me up.

Creativity stimulates us to be more mindfully in tune with our overall lives. It also calms our nervous system, decreases anxiety, and helps restore balance.

2. We better our relationships.

Simply because we enjoy doing something we love, we connect to ourselves more intimately. We develop a profound relationship with our inner selves.

The more we connect to ourselves, the more we’re able to connect to others and deepen all of our relationships. This secures healthier bonds.

3. We’re playing again.

As kids we could create anything and have fun with it without worrying about what other people thought.

Creativity returns us to the innocence of our childhoods. And giving ourselves a break from the pressures of adult responsibility, we become lighter and increase our sense of humor as we delight in the pleasure of our amusements.
4. We’re led to new wonderful opportunities.

The current of creativity is like a river finding its sea. It always leads us to bigger waters. So even a small creative project might open us to whole new possibilities. We never know where it might lead.

On a whim I got this idea to make a board game. My friends loved to play it and soon, I was hosting game parties once a month at my house for up to thirty people. It became such a wonderful way to bring people together, a publisher picked it up and today everyone can play it.

But we don’t do it for product. We do it for pure joy and interest.

5. Depression is lifted.

While doing the things we enjoy, even if it seems small or easy, the self-judgments we make (like we’re not enough, or bad, or we don’t matter) are suspended. We do it just because of the sheer delight of doing it.

My mood always uplifts when I’m creating something just for my own gratification.

6. It’s always new.

Every time we make stuff we’re embarking on fresh, unknown territory. Each time we begin and as we continue, we’re traversing on a new adventure.

7. We get out of our own way.

So much of our unhappiness is bred from being fixed and consumed by our thoughts and behaviors. We tend to observe our feelings, words, and actions far too often.

But when we’re engaged creatively, we’re freed from any internal traps that say something about us, especially because it doesn’t have to be so serious.

8. We become amazed by our intuition.

We may wonder what gives us pleasure when we feel stuck. But there’s always something whispering to us.

That’s the beauty of creativity. It might be telling us to take a pottery class, or sign up for a book club, or learn a new spiritual practice because it knows this will add some sparkle and enliven us.

9. We build character.

As we attend to our creativity, we feel better about ourselves. This simple act of showing up serves our self-respect and confidence.

The more we make pleasurable, creative acts a priority, the more we rejuvenate, strengthen, and grow.

Each time I sit down to write and my fingers get moving, I feel proud of myself for meeting the blank page head on.

10. Love begets love.

The more we cultivate what we love, the more love we accumulate. Our cup flows over.

Clearly there are days we may show up to do something we enjoy and it isn’t always enjoyable. Sometimes the cake doesn’t rise, the paint spills, or my muscles are sore. But finding creative ways to solve the problems can be fun if we continue.

When we don’t worry about how it turns out and we do it simply for the wonder of exploration, our heart expands and love abounds. And this spreads out into our entire life.

So, what’s compelling you to create? What might creativity be telling you to do because it’s sure you’ll gain from it? What if you just said yes to your freedom, fun, and happiness?
Alex Alexander
Love in Art

You get inspired in love

Love enhances all your senses... Smell, touch ,and sight are heightened and the world takes on a new, beautiful glow. Love actually has the power to alter the very way our minds work to process information.

Historically, artists used specific people as muses: modes of artistic and poetic inspiration. Muses were often considered divine, but could also be humans and lovers.

When you're in love, the subject of your affection functions as a muse. Where once you had no source of creativity from which to draw, you're now flooded with an instinctual need to create; memorizing every angle of your lover's face and writing him or her into your every story and poem.
Alex Alexander
Inclusion in Art

Your most engaged people might need you most

Beyond changing the history of art forever, Vincent is perhaps best known for two things. First, he experienced several periods of challenging mental health, ultimately leading to his life being cut short at only 37 years old. Second, he was an extraordinarily productive painter. The two are closely connected. Vincent didn’t decide to become an artist or even begin to explore his craft until he was 27.
Within 10 short years he produced several thousand artworks, including near to a thousand oil paintings. Vincent was at his most productive in his final years, when his mental health became most troubled. In 1889, he was admitted to a mental hospital, where over the course of a year he produced more than 150 paintings.

A person’s dedication to their work is therefore sometimes not an indication that they are fine; sometimes it's the opposite. Without mindful attention, we can miss when our most engaged people might need us most. Masked by prolific output, their mental health continuum dips too low and is unable to recover.
Workplace wellbeing, contrary to a lot of current practice, has little to do with yoga mats. It is about taking a genuine, attentive interest in our people and understanding their individual needs. That is inclusion in its simplest form.
Andrei Cristian Manole
Life in Painting

Love in the Painting

I like the beginnings. I love the enthusiasm of the beginnings, the exuberance, the optimism. I started a lot of activities in my life and each one brought me new satisfactions, new friends.

It's a thrill to start a painting and finish it; more precisely to know when it is ready. If I stop too early the painting seems incomplete, if I don't stop in time I might suffocate it.

Drawing a parallel with life, I accept everything and take it from the beginning.
Pedro Ribeiro
Inclusion in Filmmaking

Movies are for all

Filmaking always gonna depend on the people that are doing it. It's all about the personality and mentality of those in charge. For me as a filmmaker, I think that the projects themselves bring inclusion with them. One of my latest projects "The Rest of Us" is about the exclusion of artists from society itself. In making this project we created a very intimate bond between staff and actors because the theme of exclusion included all of us. In short we created a project of inclusion
Maria Eduarda Alves de Sousa
Inclusion in Theatre

Inclusion through expression

First, every art related to performance is a form and a way to social inclusion, in this way and because Theatre is a type of art that can combine every other art, is one of the best ways to represent Inclusion. I think that Theatre is a safe space: there is no right and wrong in Theatre, there is just a space and opportunity where people can share everything from their lives and use their experience as a tool for creation and in that way Theatre is directly connected with Inclusion in all forms
Sara Lucía González Rufo
Life in Painting

Callejero y vida

La vida como tal puede ser representada por un callejero en sí, formada por caminos, destinos, puntos de interés y la huella dejada de "Usted está aquí", como referencia al presente.
Laura Chisbert Casares
Life in Drawing

Retrato

This is a perfect example of what I believe is a representation of life. It's a portrait of a family member who passed away, drawn on a joyful moment of his life. In my opinion, we can recreate that happiness and help people feel better at the moment they stare at that portrait. To me, life in art is a way to show what it means to be alive and enjoy the little things.
Andy Morales Moreta
Love in Painting

1- Love in a bottle.

In my illustration or painting, I reflect love in the way you can feel with a person, taking into account that being there, with that special someone, only exists in that environment and it is as if everything else disappeared and nothing can hurt or affect in a bad way, besides that everything is joy.
Sebastian Hidalgo Ch
Life in Video

See Through- Edwvrd

Love is take every word of a lyrics and create from scratch an image with movement, visuals based on rhythmically changes of the track, moods, intonation of the voice.





Laura Chisbert
Love in Painting

Me and Me too

In your art I can see tons of self-love! Self portraits definately represent love towards art and yourself. Good job, they look awesome!
Jose Miguel Ortega Duran
Life in Composition

In camera mea

The music and composition of this are great pillars of art and life, which are very well represented in your work, a greetings y tal.
Laura Chisbert
Life in Drawing

Daily life art

Definately a daily life art! Amazing work from an item that used to be in many people's lives on daily basis ^^
Laura Chisbert
Love in Decorative art

Love

I can see in your art that you have a huge inspiration on one of the best feelings in life, love. And you definately put love on your piece so it has a cute and shiny outcome, good job! ^^
Jose Miguel Ortega Duran
Life in Arhitecture

Famme Vrai

Architecture is essential to our daily lives and such as we would be nothing without our homes and without our places of leisure to bring life to a city.
Sebastian Hidalgo Ch
Love in Music

about music

Music has the possibility, to unite people, transform the inner thoughts and evolve them using another taking another point of view.
Sebastian Hidalgo Ch
Inclusion in Painting

Inclusion in paiting

Bring random subjects around a visual piece to admire and find the aesthetic beauty on it, construct o deconstruct the society standards.
Sara Carolina Pereira de Sousa
Life in Theatre

The mirror of society

Theatre is often the mirror of society, representing real life or what we want in our deepest being.

Also has the ability to bring life to those who often cannot find a reason to live, for various reasons.



Alex Alexander
Participation in Painting

Participatory art

Participatory art requires of the artist that they either not be present, or that they somehow are able to recede far enough to become equal with the participants.

This is the only way that participants might be offered the agency of creation; without this detail, participants will always respond within the domain of authority of the artist; they will be subjugated in this way, and the work will fail to be participatory.
Alex Alexander
Solidarity in Painting

Art for Solidarity

If art can save others, why can’t it save itself? In the Instagram campaign #artistsupportpledge, in which artists solicited art sales by promising to buy further art with a portion of their takings, the pyramid shape of this innocent scheme is uncannily obscured by the accessible price-tag and the democracy of social media.
Busuioc Miruna
Life in Music

Viata in lumea dansului

Dansul spune povestile de viata pe care nu le putem exprima in cuvinte
Serban Mira
Life in Fashion design

Fashion design

Fashion designul poate influenta viata de zi cu zi a oricui si modul in care interpreteaza si intelege faptul ca poate afla lucruri interesante despre o persoana doar observand modul in care aceasta este imbracata.
Homeniuc Anastasia
Life in Prose

Life,Tradition

In viața de zi cu zi ,suntem înconjurați de tradiții dar nu le observam deoarece au devenit o rutina .
Varga Maria
Tolerance in Customs

Tolerance makes it possible for people to coexist

Tolerance makes it possible for people to coexist peacefully. It is the basis for a fair society in which everyone can lead their lives as they wish.
Varga Maria
Love in Painting

Love and heart

Love is the most intense feeling.When you love someone, you want to find as many ways to show them as possible. But sometimes, simply saying, “I love you” just doesn’t feel like enough.
Mara
Inclusion in Painting

Inclusion in painting

Painting is an activity that can be performed on any material object, including everyday objects. It is a way of self-expression that needs only few tools and could be performed by everybody, regardless of the degree of experience or theoretical knowledge.
Alex Alexander
Life in Fashion design

Life in Fashion Design

Life is a Fashion Design!
Serban Mira
Life in Painting

Appreciation message

Your work really caught my attention I enjoy your attention to details and it’s amazing to me that some of us are this talented. Beautiful work and I hope you will continue to impress everyone .
Busuioc Miruna
Inclusion in Theatre

Inclusion in the theatre

In the theatre world, inclusion comes from being able to relate to the character, which is extremely useful for people all over the world. That's why I think people have turned to theatre since older times.
Alex Alexander
Life in Dance

Ever changing mixture

Art is an ever-changing mixture of the intellectual and the emotional, the physical and the spiritual, which makes a virtue of subjectivity.

It offers a unique means by which we can explore ourselves and our position in the wider world and is a way to exchange with other people about what we see and feel and think and sense. Art is a way of opening dialogue within and between individuals and communities.
Tom Pacelli
Life in Filmmaking

Life is the starting point of anything.

Life represents the inspiration needed to create any piece of art including videos as we need storytelling to make sense. Because without life there's no inspiration, and without inspiration there's no story.
Alexandros Matsis
Inclusion in Graphic design

Everyone has something to say.

Inclusion for me in the field of Graphic Design is when every person's catharsis and creative ideas are being splattered all over that white screen, all of us have something to say about the world around us and Graphic Design allows us to present it in a creative and artistic way by taking bits and pieces from that world and combining it to make something unique and moving.
Valentina
Life in Arhitecture

Nice to see

Bravo. I enjoyed your work.This is realy nice. I'm happy to see you here!
Anastasia
Life in Poetry

*PULMONES*

Pulmones



Todo se trata de respirar.

Sobre cómo respiras. Existen

muchos tipos de aire. A veces el aire es como una bala.

Otras veces es como el premio mayor de la lotería

ganado por un moribundo. Existen más

tipos de respiración que los doctores pueden enumerar.



Con una sola respiración se peina la vida, que es diminuta,

como si fueras a peinar el pelo de una muñeca tardía.

Con una sola respiración el frío se ruboriza

y yace en la cama.

Con una respiración te das cuenta de que el tiempo

es un tren con muchos vagones que transportan serenidad

a ninguna parte.



De los pulmones venimos y a los pulmones regresaremos.



Adrian SUCIU (Traducción de Mariela Cordero)
Andrei Victor
Life in Photography

Life in photography

There are a lot of quotes about photography or the art of photography that have gained traction on the Internet, and not only, some of which are worthy of becoming true mantras for amateurs and professionals alike. Here are some inspirational words on this topic.
Violeta Anciu
Love in Poetry

Ce este poezia, dacă nu dragoste?

Să dai din tine tot ce ai și ce nu ai, atunci când ai senzația că știi, dar mai ales atunci când nu știi. O fărâmă de cunoaștere ți se va arăta ca un ghiocel primăvara, dacă vei da suficient încât să topești straturile de zăpadă.
Justina Radu
Inclusion in Theater

Art that delights souls

The theater is a source of means that can be taken over and used for creating a space where everyone has the right to express themselves and is listened to by others, thus favoring the establishment of an inclusive atmosphere within a group and the acquisition the ability to dialogue. Theatrical education creates conditions for each member of community to be accepted and integrated, regardless of the particularities of development and

personal learning. This type of education can be integrated as such within the curriculum extracurricular in the form of workshops and can also be borrowed and adapted by teachers in teaching current subjects to favor creative and socio- emotional.
Alex Alexander
Life in Photography

Life can be represented

In photography, life can be represented in various forms and meanings. It can showcase real-life moments, emotions, and experiences, capturing the essence of living. Photography can document life's milestones, such as birth, growth, relationships, and aging, as well as its challenges and triumphs. Additionally, it can also represent life's beauty and wonders, both in nature and in humanity, showcasing the diversity and richness of life on earth.
its me
Life in Web design

its me hello how are you

the expression or application of human creative skill and imagination, typically in a visual form such as painting or sculpture, producing works to be appreciated primarily for their beauty or emotional power.

"the art of the Renaissance"