Earl Nightingale, an American author, and radio speaker once wrote, “Everything begins with an idea,” and I couldn’t agree more. Everything we see has a creative force behind it. The German-born theoretical physicist Albert Einstein put it in an even interesting way, “the world as we have created it is a process of our thinking. It cannot be changed without changing our thinking.” This gives the impetus that whatever was, is and is yet to be is a product of someone’s thought, an idea brought to life through a creative process. An idea can consequently be worked and reworked by changing one’s way of thinking.
Winston Churchill, a British politician cements Einstein’s thoughts even further when he was quoted in 1943, “the empires of the future will not be empires of territory, but empires of the mind.” You surely can attest to the fulfillment of Churchill’s prophecy in our day; America sneezes and we all catch flu! Charles Babbage’s 19th-century conceptualization and the invention of the first mechanical computer has never left planet earth the same. Just imagine life today without a computer or computer system had Babbage not gotten and acted on that idea. So Nightingale was bitterly right, everything begins with an idea!
So what is the Creative Process? On the whole, the creative process is coming up with new ideas from scratch or existing ones. In its simplicity, creativity varies from one person to another. It may come easy to some while to others it might be a hard nut. That’s why when you see a wastewater bottle that needs to be recycled, someone else will see awatering can, another a flowerpot, while another, a piggy bank. Whatever the case, we are all faced with day-to-day challenges that call for us to dig deep to surmount them; thus the creative process. To fathom the Creative Process better, allow me to cast the spotlight of your imagination into the field of art where I ply my trade. Not only will you appreciate this concept better but you’ll also understand that it is the one field in which creativity and the creative process are everything.
Art is a form of communication, an activity that expresses ideas, feelings, thoughts, and observations or generally, a world view. Therefore art comprises specifics like drawing, painting, sculpting, photography, performance art, dance, music, poetry, prose, and theatre. Art and the arts for that matter are fascinating; little wonder, it is an industry that pushes people to pay for what they want and not necessarily what they need. Suffice to say art has grown to be a fundamental part of us. Speaking of things like comedy, music therapy let alone how tedious a party can be without music or some form of entertainment, Art has engraved its place in human life that you’ll live with it, live on it or like others, live off it. If not have a cocktail to see you simply cannot ignore it. That’s why it is mastered, brewed to perfection to maintain its grip on you. Just as exciting as the distillery course is, so is the creative process that brings art to life, so much so that many put their all into it even without a direct benefit accruing from it. To them creating art alone is fulfilling. Seek out a dance crew doing a routine workout and you’ll know what I mean. The smiles, enthusiasm, sweat, and energy tell it all even before you delve into the music and choreography itself. However, withall its appeal, boy, the work that goes into serving you that symphony is painstaking; at least speaking from the experience of writing, screenwriting and acting. Yes, you’ve most certainly heard that there are no mistakes in art and anything could likely pass, but you still should have prepared to make that mistake, which may just turn out to be your style. So what does the creative process look like? If you were to distill it, it’d probably pan out as a five-layered course which I’ll skim off here; Idea Conception, Build-up, Cleaning up, Sales and Marketing and Re-working the finished product.
The Idea and its conception.
The conception of most works of art is oftentimes random. So give it up for artists for gathering the courage to bring silly, dismissed thoughts to stage for the public consumption. That bulb can just light up with the sight of a word, the drop of an apple, the ting of a keyboard note or from the consumption of another piece of art. This is typically true for the line of art in which I am. I was doing laundry one time and I imagined a conversation between a dating couple and after playing out that movie for about twelve minutes, I realised it was the raw material for a skit. I scripted and cast for it and that was my official opening into the world of art. I haven’t looked back since. That skit, the first I ever penned threw open doors for me to meet people I had only admired from afar. That day I understood what Proverbs 18:16 means, “A man’s gift makes room for him and brings him before great men.”
And that’s the beauty of art! It can be built from anything and everything. You’ve probably come across a portrait of a mountain gorilla built from used tyres; the same used tyres have also been used to make chairs, shoes, even being used as decor.
Building up the idea.
Over time, I think my worry about carving out and building up my artistic ideas has been how to appeal to my prospective audience just as they have to me. You can see it and wonder how to treat it, how to paint the same picture you saw in your mind, with the same sadness, humor, and every other flavor with which you conceived it. This is more so since some Artistic ideas may come in fuzzy and you’ll even marvel what to do with some of them. Nonetheless, if you ever got anywhere, it was because you dared the fringes there were to see what was over the fence. Needless to say, that’s what makes us who we are; we think, dream and bring to life incredible works. I recall a time when I was given my first official challenge after my grand introduction onto the scene. It was to write the draft script for that year’s Christmas production in one of Kampala’s largest contemporary churches. I sat, researched, wrote and sweated till I could sit no more. That’s when I appreciated what I’d just gotten myself into. But since you’re reading this, I have survived to date.
Cleaning up the molded idea.
Cleaning up of my art pieces is usually easier than the build-up. I normally just need some time away from it for a breather before re-firing with a revitalized mind. Cleaning is always inevitable to weed out, iron out and spice up the masterpiece, making it stand out, appealing, cutting edge and jaw-dropping. This may include editing, rehearsing and reviewing the work to sharpen it. And once you’re done here, you’re good for the market! This phase is where criticsnormally come in. Some may be constructive, while others simply energy draining. But it is at times like this that words such as Shannon L. Alder’s should resound loudest, “you will face your greatest opposition when you are closest to your biggest miracle.” At this stage, ideas can also change totally either from criticism or at the thought of new ideas. It reminds me of a time when a call for short skits was sent out with USD400 prize money attached to it. Though I had a well of ideas to write and act out it got even more confusing for me when I was editing them. One idea led to another, then another till I nearly failed to submit any. I ended up submitting two; one in time and the other a minute past deadline time.
Sale and marketing your idea; finding an audience for your piece.
We don’t simply come up with art pieces to feel good about ourselves though some might do so for the fun of it. Most times we have a message, a communication that we desire to send out using art as our vehicle. Whether it’s sold out or simply lies in its birthplace, it speaks to someone because “Ideas can change the world.” – Robin Williams. Often our aspiration is that our message reaches masses. And that is how marketing comes in. Once you’ve worked that piece to perfection, it has to leave the workshop on to the market. This is where producers, managers, agents, promoters, and businessmen come in handy to link the supply with the demand. However, as we trust these foot soldiers to run off with our product or service and back with returns, at times they’ll not fully understand the weight of what they have in their hands; our time, energy and effort. As such many artists choose to step out into the market for themselves deepening the creative process even further because they have to come up with innovative ways of selling their masterpieces.
Re-working the finished product.
It’s ironic how the answers to those objective questions that had you scratching your head begin to race back and forth once you’ve handed in your answer sheet. This also happens with art. Once you’ve staged that performance, exhibited that painting or premiered that movie, then you realise there is another way it could have done better. The only difference is you might have a prospect to fix it, unlike an examination. These ideas may come during staging the performance, your performance evaluation or from consumer criticism. And this is an invaluable stage of the creative process because like Ken H Blanchard once said: “None of us is as smart as all of us.” Here your critics now include the consumers too. So borrowing from soccer fans, it’s really never over till it’s over. There’s always a place to re-work, re-invent, modify, improve and upgrade your work. Interestingly as you go through this phase, you’ll be opened up to a world of new ideas making it a cyclic process. Guess that’s how you have the Avengers, Age of Ultron, Infinity War and Endgame.
Having appreciated how invaluable it is, the creative process is, therefore, one to embrace because virtually everything we do is hinged on it. More so we should always be on alert as and when that bulb lights up as we writers do. Writers are always quick to capture and journal ideas because they tend not to linger around. And sometimes ideas do not come as and when you want or need them. That’s why I keep a journal of light bulbs even when it is outside my field recalling Mother Teresa, “I can do things you cannot, you can do things I cannot; together we can do great things.” So if I have that bulb, I’ll light someone else’s path.