For me, getting dressed an act of creativity about 50% of the week. There are days when take the time to think about how I want to feel and what lights me up (Thank you Stasia).
And some days I just need clothes on my body right now and I am not thinking about what they look like or how they feel. Or, I have a set of clothes that I wear for a certain task, for instance: my ski day outfit. I wear it every week when I take the kids skiing, and and I love it - I feel 10 feet tall while wearing. It consists of orange leggings and a purple shirt (a dollar at the thrift store) with an orange zipper on the shirt that is close enough to the orange of the pants. Paired with those are my tall blue socks, my mended cowl, plus a knit one, and a purple fleece with a giant hood. I wear this every week, I follow a plan I came up with last year - I might even do it before I finished my first cup of coffee.
But once they are on, I catch a glimpse in the mirror and I do feel connected to my creative pulse - not because I look “arty” but because my outfit is a reminder of my creative decision and expression. And when I catch a glimpse of myself in the mirror, I feel a zip of delight - a feeling that is in short supply when hustling to get out the door with 150 lbs of gear, clothes and food.
And yet, when I talk about creativity - I usually phrase it as “creative projects” or “creative practice” - but that never feels quite right to describe the process of getting dressed in a long-ago planned outfit.
I can more easily talk about creativity related to my knitting projects even if, similarly, there is a burst of creativity that happens at the beginning of the project - the colors and pattern and modifications planned out - and then most of the project is following a pattern. My knitting is a tether to my creative self, even if I am not doing anything particularly creative while knitting rounds.
How is it so much easier to talk about creative projects than creative connections?
This is one of the big questions I still haven’t answered for myself, but I look forward to discussing in my upcoming workshop, The Snail’s Guide to Wandering. Creative connection sounds like a way to bring the people of a community together - while I am particularly interested in the way I feel deeply connected to my own self in these moments.
I continue to move away from focusing on the products of my creative practice, and the language I use keeps evolving. I think I will separate the idea of the creative practice - engaging your creative thinking through tending, exploring, and making - from the creative tether. The creative tether is the moment or action or object that helps connect you to your creative self. Its a reminder of past work, but also tangible evidence of the bond that exists between you (the physical body) and you (the mind).
And I do need that reminder - especially when I become so focused on other people’s needs that I can’t even identify my own needs. I tune in to my self and just hear static. Those are the moments when I dearly need a tether. But having creative tethers throughout my week helps keep me from drifting too far away - from allowing other priorities to push my own priorities out of the way.
I am just developing this idea as I write this… so feedback is welcome, and expect some evolution to this idea. Is this something you experience? What are your creative tethers?
Enrollment is open for the Snail’s Guide to Wandering! This online workshop will begin on February 20th and will include lots of discussions about how you can stop hustling and start building a creative practice that helps support YOU! Read more about the workshop here: The Snail’s Guide to Wandering