I like to ask this question to anyone who's creative...

[Blue Velvet]

whether they be writers, musicians, artists, or whatever. The question is:

Do you create primarily to

a) express/reveal yourself to yourself?

b) express/reveal yourself to others?

c) transform yourself?

or

d) transform others?

Pick the one statement that best or most applies, if possible.

Also, if I may be so bold as to ask, what it is that you create and in what ways has it expressed, revealed, or transformed yourself and/or others?

So many talented people here at DU - I'm eager to hear your responses! (but for now I have to go to bed, ha ha). You insomniacs out there - treat me to some responses I can awake to, like presents under a tree!

[wildhorses]

1. a....

and can I get back to you on the essay question? I am at work and can only pop off a post every now and again
:hi:

[Blue Velvet]

4. "a" is for "abolutely"!

why certainly you can get back to me re: the follow up. I should've been in bed myself five minutes ago, so no need to rush a reply. Thanks for responding, though, and I look forward to reading more from ya in the future!

[BelleCarolinaPeridot]

2. A:)

I get pleasure and delight in writing music and creating visual art. I am very proud of the things that I created. And I keep most of it to myself because I don't have to explain it to anyone else.

[Blue Velvet]

5. That sounds lovely, CP! I know exactly what you mean.

I write music also, and I know that some of my pieces feel "extra special" if they take me to a place of inner knowing and thus don't necessarily need to be shared with the greater masses.

p.s. what am I still doing awake?! I really need to power down the laptop posthaste and get some shuteye stat!

looking forward to continuing the creative dialogue with y'all tomorrow though! Til then, though, good night!

[BelleCarolinaPeridot]

20. When I listen to my songs I get a good feeling inside.

A feeling of being proud and knowing that I created something good. Its like by big wonderful secret :)

[pitohui]

3. i used to write for magazines

i did it for money -- sort of it fell into it for reasons too long to get into -- and got burned out years ago

i think most people in those fields are genuinely creative people but i had sort of a stage mother who wanted just one of her kids to turn out creative and so somehow the nerd was the one who got nominated

still not sure how that happened

so it's odd to say i did it not for any of those 4 reasons, which i suspect are the 4 normal reasons

i have sold very little photography in my life so photography didn't get soiled by sticky fingers of commerce and i still like to take photos, but again, i think i am the oddball here -- i don't want to reveal myself (none of your business!), don't want to transform myself (happy the way i am!), and what others get out of it is fairly irrevelant

so when you put it that way i sometimes wonder WHY i take my pictures, i might never look at them again

perhaps, while doing it, framing the scene etcetera, i fix myself in time and focus on the place and thus get more out of being there because of the camera even if i never look at the photos again?

it seems that way for sure


this must be what happens when asperger's do art, tee hee hee

if only i had the talent of david foster wallace or david byrne! :-)

[Blue Velvet]

28. So many interesting answers to this question - I'm delighted with the

responses in this thread! Yours is particularly interesting in that it is kind of an "e) none of the above," which is an answer I haven't heard before.

But I totally understand where you're coming from (or at least think I do, ha ha): creative pursuits are almost always acts of "being here now" while one is caught up in the act of creating - that is part of the joy of creation, I feel; it centers you in the present moment, and most other wordly worries are lost in the moment.

And I've not thought about it 'til now, but definitely that moment has merit in and of itself even if it doesn't lead directly to any of my "answers a through d" above. As they say, sometimes it's more about the journey than the destination!

Thanks for your excellent and thought-provoking answer!

[ZombieNixon]

6. A...I think.

I look at creativity as a way to see who I really am...what I find appealing...etc...

I revel in being creative, and I write fiction, the occasional song, as well as make short animated films, most of which fit into the fiction I write in some way, if only as a form of visual expression of the story.

Mostly, I don't think about why I do it, I just do it. :hi:

[Oeditpus Rex]

7. A.

I'm a newspaper writer/editor. I "create" to fulfill my need to inform and be informed — which is, at base, to learn and to teach.

[swag]

8. c

[CaliforniaPeggy]

9. My dear Blue Velvet.....

For me, the closest answers would be B and D......

I enjoy revealing myself to others, odd though that may sound...

I have some creative abilities in both writing and in photography...

Though I am certainly not a professional!

Every now and then I take a picture, or have a sentence that truly resonates with me.....

I am not disciplined enough, though, to make a living at either of

these...

I hope you enjoy my answers....

I have a short story that is posted in the Writer's Forum, if you wish to read anything I've written....The Game.

And all my recent photo threads are in my Journal....

[Blue Velvet]

25. I did (and do!) enjoy your answers, CP!

And I didn't even know we HAD a Writer's Forum here (still being relatively new to DU - this is actually my first lounge post). So, in keeping with your above answer, your writing has already "d) transformed others" - namely, me! I will definitely check out your story and photos!

[KT2000]

10. Probably C

but that is not exactly it either.
For me creativity first of all is an energy that coalesces into an idea that just occurs in my mind that has to be realized more or less to see if I was right. Transformation could occur in completing the process and when it is done, seeing whether or not I was correct.

Knowledge gained from the experience goes into the memory banks and becomes new tools for the next idea - hence the transformation.

Textile arts.

PS: Learned something about creativity once when I was pretty sick for a period of time. I had to intentionally stop the creative process as the way I experience it, it is something that leads a person - it is not something that the person controls. Being sick and tired - I knew I could not follow through and whatever would result would be pretty "weak.".
Those days are over though.

[Blue Velvet]

29. Thanks for the insightful reply!

I'm glad to hear your "sick days" are over now. I've been there, too, and it sucks. Amazing though how much you can actually learn and - in retrospect, anyway - appreciate during those periods, isn't it? But like I say, "Sometimes you can't get something out of a situation until you GET OUT OF the situation."

Cheers.

[reyd reid reed]

11. A.

I write...mostly fiction but some non. Most of what I write is out of thin air but there's got to be a little of myself in it or it just doesn't work. Sometimes, pulling that little bit out surprises me because I didn't know it was there.

Sometimes it's a pleasant surprise...sometimes not. Always something I learn from, though.

Well, almost.

And if someone else can learn from it...if it makes them think...then that's a bonus.

[Blue Velvet]

30. Yes! Some amazing moments of "self revelation" in the creative process...

sometimes. And, as you say, some of these revealing momements can be quite transformative, in either you learn from them and/or share them and others do. A definite bonus, as you say.

[Mutley]

12. A. Maybe a little of B, though I don't share with many people

outside of my professors and sometimes fellow students. I fancy myself a writer.

[Prisoner_Number_Six]

13. I do it for the joy of creating something new and unique

My artistic speciality is fractal art.

[Blue Velvet]

31. Wow, P#6 - that's really beautiful!

:thumbsup: B-)

[Placebo]

14. I've no idea why I create the things I do.

I honestly can't tell you if I'm going it for myself or for other people.

[HarukaTheTrophyWife]

15. A...I guess

The photography is for fun. The writing is because I sometimes need to. I haven't sent out anything in a long time. I rarely share my stuff, except for one friend. A teacher I had in HS, who pretty much saved my life, and whom I really good friends with since graduating.

[TimeChaser]

16. Other: I create because I get ideas that need to come out somehow

[RagingInMiami]

17. I'm a writer, poet and photographer

And I do it because I've always seen the world in a very unique way. I've always been a little flaky, a little out there, a little nuts.

I've always had a great imagination, which I believe stems from the fact that I was an only child. I've always had an excellent sense of humor that is both witty and sarcastic, depending on who is the brunt of the joke. It is what has always gotten me in trouble and out of trouble.

And I've always been possessed by a certain rage; a cynicism battling an innocence that has driven me in all my actions and inactions.

The writing and the photography allow me to channel all that passion. They allow me to capture the beauty and ugliness and sadness and happiness of the world and put it into perspective. They help me understand the external world and the internal chaos.

And they also allow me to share this perspective with the rest of the world in a coherent and straightforward method because if you take a look inside my mind, you would feel like you were standing in the eye of a hurricane, where there is solititude and calmness within a whirlwind of chaos and confusion.

So to answer your question, I would have to choose all of the above, but if want one answer, it would have to be: A (followed closely by B, then C and D)

[Blue Velvet]

36. I can relate to a lot of what you wrote here!

Although I myself am more of a writer and musician as opposed to a photographer. I can articulate artistically in words and sounds pretty well, but not so much with visuals.

And I am also a bit of an "all of the abover," as far as the answer to my own OP question goes. The reason I leave that option out of the multiple choice is that usually everyone just picks that answer and that takes all of the fun out of it! Everyone tends to think about their process a bit more if they're forced to choose one answer instead of defaulting to all of them.

That being said, my creative process always starts with "A", revealing myself to myself. And sometimes what is revealed can be surprising, informative and thus transformative (leading to "C"). Then, if I choose to share what it is I've written, obviously "B" and (hopefully, if what I've done is any good) "D" come into play.

But each creative work is different, really. Sometimes it ends at "A", which is fine because I always feel calmer and more together after I've written something. But sometimes it progresses to an "all of the above" type situation. And either way is OK with me!

[RagingInMiami]

60. Even though I love music

And music plays such a strong role in my creative process, whether it is inspiring me to write a story or a poem, I was never able to learn a musical instrument. It's like the beat in my head was never able to grasp the actual beat of the song.

But when I write poetry, I definitely write it with a certain musical flare to it. I've been told by other poets that my poetry has a strong musical rhythm to it.

[Blue Velvet]

66. And even though I love certain visual arts

I can't do it worth a damn! It's funny - some people can't understand how I can just play a song having heard it once or know what key something is in (and, truth be told, I don't know HOW I do it either - just something I was born with, I guess). But I'm just as flabbergasted at anyone's ability to even, say, sketch or draw a faithful reproduction of an object or person. Something they say "just comes naturally."

I guess everyone has different intellectual/artistic specialties/abilities. But, I find, one ability often comes at the expense of another. That's why it's cool that you can "cross over" and write musically, though you never were able to learn an instrument per se. 'Cause it sounds like writing itself can be considered your "instrument"...

[Whoa_Nelly]

18. e) All of the above

Creating and creativity has more than one effect :)

[Blue Velvet]

37. Oh, I agree completely. But see my post #36 above for why I didn't

include that as an option... ;)

[applegrove]

19. a

[gkdmaths]

21. D

I transform others. Well, sorta. I guess. One of my jobs (my full-time one) is as a biomedical engineer. I build instrumentation and develop physiological techniques for clinical trials. I am now studying the microvasculature of the left coronary artery and morphological changes due to in utero anemia (fetal alcahol syndrom, etc). One of my other tasks is to model blood flow/oxygen gradients within the brains of developing fetuses under different stress models, we map distributions using fluorescent markers and fluorescent immunohisto stains like pentafluorobenzoylfluoresciendiacetate for capillary heterogeneity (this work was on the cover of March's American Journal of Physiology)

I do it for D, but it at least is the most personally satisfying thing I have ever done.

thats what I do. Work hard and bring hope to the ill.

Edit to add: you asked. :D

[Blue Velvet]

38. Wow - that sounds amazing!

Of course, I don't UNDERSTAND a whole lot of it (ha ha), but it sounds like great and worthy work. And how great that it is also so satisfying.

We do have so many uniquely talented people here at DU. Thanks for your reply and also for the important work that you do!

[REP]

22. It's What I Do

That sounds way more pretentious than I mean (no sleep in 36 hours) but making stuff is what I do. I make jewelry and I was a graphic designer for a long time. There just seems to be an obvious way things should go together, and I enjoy putting them together. It's great, of course, if anyone else likes anything I've made, but I do it for my own enjoyment.

[BlueIris]

23. All of the above, but mostly d.

I actually have a poem about that...somewhere. I'll see if I can find it. It's not on the computer I'm using now.

[scoey1953]

24. As an artist... I create to bring myself enjoyment...

Yes its selfish, but if I went about doing stuff for others, it becomes frustrating. I feel sorry for those people who do portraits of people out on the street. I am sure the people who buy them are never satisfied that its really them.

I tried commercial art once, and could not get the piece right for a client. Every time he explained to me what he wanted, he changed his mind. I gave him his money back.

If I create art work be it comics or whatever, I do it for myself. I try to see what I can do with pen and paper. I have stopped trying to please others. If people like it, fine, if they don't fine too.

For a while I tried selling photographs at a fair. I only sold one, it was of Lion. The rest were pieces that ended up in storage. No one wanted them, even though they were of beautiful scenery and landscapes. The prices were low enough, so that wasn't a problem.

Its selfish I know, But I only do art for myself now. I may show people my art work, and hope they like it, but if they don't I don't cry myself to sleep at night over it.

[Starbucks Anarchist]

26. I'd have to say "B."

It's my best way of communicating with people.

[miss_american_pie]

27. I write because I have to

and it's probably an always-in-flux combination of a, b, and c.

[Tracer]

32. I'm 'creative' because I have to be. It's my job.

I'm a graphic designer.

Every day, my clients call with requests for some item that will help them in their businesses -- whether it's advertising, marketing -- whatever. It has to be fast. It has to be better than good.

It ain't easy being 'creative' from 9 to 5!

[NoSheep]

33. a. I play music and draw. I don't perform or "show". It's just

for my own pleasure. Sometimes I play with other musicians. Sometimes I draw signs and stick them on my car. But only the political stuff. I suppose in that way I seek to transform others.

[Blue Velvet]

41. I think that's one of the MOST important ways to transform others!

Politically, that is. Although, on DU, I suppose that point is implied and obvious. Regardless, I love the fact that DU helps me use my creativity in a political way, making for a very important integration in my life (as it is, I'm sure, for many others here as well).

[WritingIsMyReligion]

34. Either A) or C).

I very, very, very rarely write for others. When I write, I am writing because I have something going on in my brain that has to be taken down. All my life I have created stories from some weird part of my brain--I can actually sit down for a moment, lean back, and hear lines of stories, dialogues, etc. running through my brain as if I were listening to an audio tape. But I'm not, that's the thing: it's as if the stories come from a separate place inside of me, and it's up to my conscious mind to take them down. Sometimes I feel a bit psychopathic, because, in a small way, it IS rather like I imagine hearing voices would be--only, with this, I have a small amount of control. (I won't say FULL control because, quite frankly, that would be an utter lie. :D)

Music, to me, is different as far as the creative process goes from what writing is. I love music, but I have never tried to compose my own. I've done improvisation in jazz on clarinet, on baritone sax, and now some on piano, but that's considerably different from structured composition. Therefore, music--at least right now--does not seem to come from me as much as it seems to come TO me. In writing I am taking my own ideas and using them; in music I am merely interpreting others' ideas. And there IS a significant difference in that, though many non-creative people don't seem quite aware of it. In music, I don't find release until I can already play something through subconsciously, by body memory, so that when I play it my mind can wander. In writing I find release more frequently.

:shrug:

[Blue Velvet]

40. Maybe it's more TELEPATHIC than psychopathic! :-)

I mean, who really KNOWS where this stuff comes from? But cut yourself some psychological slack, WIMR! ;)

Actually, I totally know what you mean about "hearing the audio track in your head." Although with me, that tends to happen more with music than it does with words. Luckily, I was born with perfect pitch so I'm able to quickly actualize the song or melody I hear in my head (which is indeed lucky, as they tend to vanish quickly from my feeble brain...)

And writing words for me is more of a way to settle my jumbled, overactive mind. It organizes my chaotic consciousness.

[WritingIsMyReligion]

68. I don't have perfect pitch, though I would KILL to do so.

I can hear things perfectly in my head, but I cannot yet replicate them on an instrument. And I can't seem to create NEW songs in my head. But I always have an earworm--and usually a damned annoying one, too! :D

[Blue Velvet]

70. There's a lyric on the new Ani Difranco album that addresses that

particular phenomenon. I believe it goes:

"you gotta crawl through the desert between when you hear it and when you can play it with your hands; just to rendezvous with whoever you are when you finally understand."

So if Ani goes through that sonic torment, too, I'd say you're in pretty damned good company! B-)

[regularguy]

35. It's fun to do stuff you're good at.

I'm not some sort of virtuoso, but I was definitely meant to paly guitar, so I do it.

[billyskank]

39. I draw because it's a challenge

When I see a person whose form appeals to me, I think, "can I capture this on paper?" So I have a go.

I am never completely satisfied with the results, so I keep trying.

(I don't believe I ever will be completely satisfied).

[atomic-fly]

42. i guess c...

I am a painter and work as a graphic artist/webdesigner.
I work pretty different in both fields, but am learning
to glean from each experience.
When I create what I think is a successful painting,
I need to go through a certain process.
I usually start with an visual reference (from life or memory)
I then go through the fundamental part of getting it on the canvas.
Then I mull over it and the reference...what needs to stay or go.
I mull some more.
I'm searching for something vital and alive...with a bit of mystery.
I think about my place on this planet in relation to the universe.
I think about physical and metaphysical relations.
Form and line come first...color and texture are a struggle.
Time is a struggle. Does this thing need to exist?
Lots of doubt and elation in the process.

[leftofthedial]

43. songwriter

d)



very occasionally a)

[Blue Velvet]

44. I have to ask (you being a songwriter and all)

Does your DU username happen to have anything to do with the Replacements song of the same name? They're one of my all-time favorite bands. And that's one of my favorite songs of theirs.

[leftofthedial]

45. it does.

I'm a fan of the band too

[Blue Velvet]

55. Awesome - I kinda suspected as much...

At the risk of hijacking my own thread or writing a public PM (ha ha): what's yer favorite Mats album(s), and have you been following Paul's solo stuff at all? My favorites are Hootenanny, Pleased to Meet Me and Sorry Ma... (depending on my mood). When they broke up, I checked out 14 Songs and liked it OK, but then didn't hear anything new until recently (Mono/Stereo, Come Feel Me Tremble, Suicane). I think it's all kind of "meh" - not bad (some of it pretty good, in fact), but nowhere near as great as The Replacements were.

And oh yeah - what kind of music do you write/play?

[leftofthedial]

63. I have most of Paul's solo stuff

indeed (oddly) my favorite Replacements record is really Paul's first solo record (more or less)--All Shook Down

I guess that's not a very popular statement for me to make to another Replacements fan.

I love Tim, Hootenanny and Pleased to Meet Me

A band I used to be in did some shows with the Replacements (that was about a million years ago . . .) They were exuberant and fearless.

I write rootsy music (country, rock, blues, folk, R&B)--I guess you'd call it Americana--and pop, but I try to always go where the song leads me, so I range pretty far afield at times. Also unpopularly, at least around here, about half of what I write is country.

[Blue Velvet]

67. Well, no matter how unpopular the notion of "All Shook Down" is

as "favorite Replacements album" to anyone, that PALES GREATLY in comparison to the jealousy those people must feel (myself included) at the fact that you actually GOT TO PLAY SHOWS with them! That's so cool! Did you get them on their "good" nights or on those imfamous nights when they were too drunk to play? Regardless, what an awesome thing to have been able to do.

I got to see them play at Madison Square Garden (opening for Elvis Costello) - I think it was their 2nd to last show - but by then there was no Bob or Chris in the band. Still, I'll never forget the big shit-eating-grin Paul had on his face while playing drums on "Hootenanny" - he had this look like "I can't believe I'm playing in Madison Square Garden, let alone playing DRUMS in Madison Square Garden." Good times.

I'd love to hear some of your music, too - pm me a link or title or something if you so desire. I like that kind of style you describe - sounds like it might be akin to Mike Ness or Old 97's or even Steve Earle. That kind of style. Right on. Thanks for the replies!

[otherlander]

46. Probably "A"...

although sometimes I feel like I'm trying to explain things to others when I write poems. But then I wind up not showing them to anyone for fear that they might actually understand the symbols.

[hyphenate]

47. Okay....

Do you create primarily to

a) express/reveal yourself to yourself?

b) express/reveal yourself to others?

c) transform yourself?

or

d) transform others?

I create first to please myself, and to attempt to give something to others of myself. When I do something in photography, my main aim is to give a smallish gift of something that I have found, and want to share with others. Like not everyone being able to be where I have been at an appropriate time to see a secret side of some location, and through photography to share it with others and to convey joy.



Also, if I may be so bold as to ask, what it is that you create and in what ways has it expressed, revealed, or transformed yourself and/or others?

My main form of expression has always been writing, either prose or poetry. Poetry has become something I rarely do anymore, but it has its place in literature, of that I am certain. I have also found that even though I don't work on stories or novels right now, that posting to DU is definitely a way of writing that I had not considered up until recently.

Photography is my other passion. I have been taking pictures since I was five years old! My first cameras were those cute little plastic ones, and I recall leaving one on the back window ledge and it melting!

I take pictures as a way to capture a second, a moment in time that will always stand still and will always remind me of someplace I've been and as a way of evoking a number of emotions I had when I took the picture. It acts as a visual memory and reminds me years down the line of what I found emotional at that moment in time.

[chaska]

48. I've played guitar for near 35 years...

and I write these ridiculously involved guitar pieces that almost no one ever hears (these days) but me. I do it because I have to, it has to come out.

Edit: Rethinking....

I don't think it's so much something that needs to get out as a need to go inside of myself. The result is music, but it's the going inside, turning ones back on the world for awhile to focus on the self that's the important thing. I think. There's something about the struggle too that's important.

[RedStateShame]

49. I play guitar and drum,

though I highly doubt with the technical skill that you describe, but I feel the same way. When I write something it feels like I have to get it out. Kinda like when I clean my ears, knowing damn well I cleaned them out not that long ago, but I gotta know what's in there. So I guess the music I make is the waxy build-up in my brain.

[chaska]

52. LOL!!! So playing music is sort of like ingesting furniture polish?

[RedStateShame]

54. Now that you mention it....

That's when I've written my best material!! :freak:

[liontamer]

50. C

I only write or paint for myself. I rarely share the products with others.

[grace0418]

51. Hmmm, very interesting question...

Do you create primarily to

a) express/reveal yourself to yourself?

b) express/reveal yourself to others?

c) transform yourself?

or

d) transform others?

Pick the one statement that best or most applies, if possible.

I guess the closest answer would be "a" with "b" close behind. However, I think the best way I can describe WHY I create is because I can't help it. I simply have no choice, I must create art, even if no one sees it (and few people do). It would be like asking me not to breathe or speak. A friend once recently told me that she has no idea what she's going to do with all her free time when she retires. I had such trouble understanding that because I have so many things I want to make, so many colors and textures and media I want to explore that I cannot imagine ever running out of things to do in three lifetimes.

Also, if I may be so bold as to ask, what it is that you create and in what ways has it expressed, revealed, or transformed yourself and/or others?

I am primarily a visual artist although I also enjoy singing and cooking (which is a very creative pursuit IMHO). I am a graphic designer by day. Most of the time I'm doing very non-rewarding stuff, but once in awhile I get to flex my creative muscles. But my primary pursuit is mixed media assemblage, which is basically 3D collage. I enjoy it because it allows me to incorporate all of my artistic interests (photography, print-making, silkscreen, paper-making, sewing, painting, embroidery, metal-work, sculpture 2D collage) in a piece. I'm working on three pieces right now that have photos and illustrations sewn into the fabric.

[Blue Velvet]

56. Very interesting answer, too!

I can completely relate to your not being able to understand your friend's retirement/time worries; I often think I'd be the happiest lottery winner ever, 'cause then I'd have way more time to create!

Your mixed media work sounds fascinating and very original, btw!

[MorningGlow]

53. Um, all of the above? none of the above?

Great question, BV--it really got me thinking. I don't think I tried to pin it down before.

I'm a writer by trade, but I've tackled other creative outlets in my lifetime, like singing and playing the guitar, acting, directing, costuming/making "regular" clothes, and making jewelry--even decorating my house.

And for all of those types of creativity (besides the writing I do every day because it's my job and my boss is expecting me to produce), I only do it when I feel the need. But "need" is the operative word. I may not make a necklace for a year, for example, but when the need strikes me I'm obsessive about it till I pull it off.

Richard Bach said something like that in one of his books...can't find the exact quote...but basically he said he doesn't like to write--he finds it stressful and would rather be doing other things--so he avoids it until an idea grabs him by the throat, puts him up against the wall, and says, "You WILL write me."

It's kinda like that.

:hi:

[Blue Velvet]

57. Ah, yes - the creative compulsion. I know it all too well!

Though I always seem to be writing something (songs, lyrics, poems, essays, DU posts), I also have "sub-interests" that tend to run very hot and cold. Just like your example with the necklace, I can all-of-a-sudden catch fire on a particular pursuit after years of layoff and have it all but consume me until the project is completed.

[blondeatlast]

58. A & B equally, and I write and do graphic art. nt

[BikeWriter]

59. I write to entertain others and myself.

[mvd]

61. Both a and b, I'd say

Some things I create for my own benefit, and some things for others. When creating/writing for others, I use a certain standard: I look through it and think about how impressed I'd be if it was someone else's work.

Have a good weekend. I'll not be posting during at least the weekend. :hi:

[Rabrrrrrr]

62. None. I create because I can't not create.

Whatever it does to me or other people is irrelevant in the process or the ontology. It's about act of creating itself; the need to get it out of my system; the unstoppable urge to make art.

[1monster]

64. Mostly A, but B sometimes applies.

I am a crafter. I do everything that strikes my fancy. I have done stained glass (copper foiling technique), beading, designing and making costume of all kinds, oil painting, embroidery, cross stitch, needlepoint, and some sculpture (using polymer clays). I'm better at some than at others. Some, I've done professionally.

I do the crafts to fulfill a need in me to create, but I sure don't mind it when people are vocally impressed by the results. :D

[Mad_Dem_X]

65. That's similar to how I feel...

When I write, it's mostly to get my ideas out of my head, for my own benefit. But if I choose to share with others, I want them to like it as well, although it may not be for the same reasons I like it.

[Deep13]

69. No, because I need to get something done.

Otherwise it's because I wanna.

[txwhitedove]

71. A thru D, plus... A creative personality.

Feel need to be creative in thought, word and deed. Writing, crafts, furniture rehab, art appreciation, and anything using textiles as medium of choice. I used to sing, a joy squashed by emotional, physical abuse, but hopefully to be revived with voice lessons.

[kwolf68]

72. Don't know

I try to write poems and songs simply because I want to. I have no reason...I guess I do it much like one breathes. I am riding down the road and I get a melody in my head. I get home and try to create something on the guitar and maybe a song is written, most often no one hears it.

Funny thing is...whenever I "TRY" to be creative I most of the time can't be. I am most creative when I'm not thinking about being creative.

[Ramsey]

73. I create for reason A

However, since my art form is music , and since the way i express myself is though live performance and recording of original music, I guess it ends up being B, if I'm lucky. But I'm not a performer who really needs some specific sort of audience reaction to be validated. I really do it for my own enjoyment.

[Throd]

74. e) Pay my bills

I work as a designer. I could romanticize what I do, but really it is that I found I job I'm good at that doesn't piss me off.

[Castilleja]

75. B, and then A

I'm thinking.