The Great Artists' Lives Are Models for Reinventing Your Life

I never thought of myself as being a creative person... until last year when I was introduced to collage and acrylic painting by an inspirational creativity coach named Sandra Shuman. Since then I have blossomed with creativity and passion for learning and experimenting with my creativity, not only with visual arts, but in refashioning my life.

Fred Mandell, co-author with Kathleen Jordan, of Becoming a Life Change Artist: 7 Creative Skills to Reinvent Yourself at Any Stage of Life, writes that anyone is capable of being creative. I believe it now, although I always maintained that one had to be born with a gift of creativity, like my late artist-brother R.B. Kitaj. But, creativity is not just confined to doing art work or composing music or poetry. No, the authors apply the concept of creativity to any life change.

Mandell and Jordan studied biographies of the great artists of the Western world and culled out several processes that they went through to create their masterpieces. Ordinary people utilize these same processes as they go through life changes, the authors write. They become "life change artists."

Not everyone who goes through a life change, though, is a "life change artist." But, everyone has the capacity to encounter a life change in a creative manner, according to the authors. And, to the extent one does, one may live creatively, much as the great artists did.

What does it take?

• Prepare yourself for change by doing activities that take you out of your comfort zone, just a little, and take you out of your normal routines
• Allow yourself to see in new ways by exposing yourself to new connections, fresh perspectives, alternative interpretations
• Familiarize yourself with the contexts within which you are now and the ones you might segue into
• Embrace uncertainty by welcoming opportunities
• Take risks by taking action without certainty of outcome
• Develop collaborative working relationships, which are the "combustion chamber of creativity"
• Be disciplined even when you're not intensely motivated

See... you too can be a Rembrandt, Matisse, or O'Keefe when it comes to making life changes. Mandell and Jordan's book is filled with compelling stories about the great artists, as well as people whom they interviewed who made big life changes. It appears to me, however, that when we use these "creative skills" for even mundane life changes, it propels us toward a more fulfilling outcome.

What life changes are you facing? How might you use the 7 creative skills to enhance your approach to this life change?

Comments

[Cara Larose]

This is one of the best ways to enjoy life and to enjoy youthful bliss. After those busy days, it is just right that we enjoy and let out our childish persona.