The Creative Urge

by | Feb 10, 2023

Why do we have the compulsion to create things? What drives us? Is it a sense of gratification and fulfilment? Self-esteem?

This compulsion starts early. Little children pick up crayons and fill sheets of construction paper with colours. Unfortunately for some of us, by the time we become adults we lose the confidence to think of ourselves as creators. Some think they have to achieve perfection or it isn’t worthy. But I think they have missed the point. 

For me it is all in the PROCESS. Creating, no matter our age or ability, allows us to solve problems, explore ideas, innovate. It opens the mind, broadens our perspectives and horizons and make sense of ourselves and our world. I like to challenge myself just to see if I can pull it off.

Some say, “The desire to create is one of the deepest yearnings of the human soul. No matter our talents, education, backgrounds, or abilities, we each have an inherent wish to create something that did not exist before.”

In some people the urge to create is so strong, they suffer when they are not working. Expressive writing can result in a reduction in stress, anxiety, and depression; improve our sleep and performance and bring us greater focus and clarity. And other art forms can have the same result.

Check out this interesting article by David J. Rogers, ‘Drive & Motivation: The Creative’s Urge to Produce Works of Art

Visual artist, Cathy Dalton, shares her enthusiasm for paint and mark making at Art in the Park in Pugwash, NS July 2022.
Fibre artist, Donna Hutchinson, helps a young creative discover the joy of working with wool.