Creativity always starts with something. We don’t create something out of nothing, we always start with something. That something could be a blank page and a head full of notions for a writer. For a sculptor, it could be a block of stone, or a vat of molten metal. For a musician, it is the silence that is in actuality the first sound of every piece of music every composed — all the notes riff around that initial first resounding silence.
Start seeing art
Many times I have seen the bumper sticker “Start seeing motorcycles!” A humorous but possibly very meaningful twist on that bumper sticker is a different bumper sticker I have seen that reads, “Start seeing art!”
Over time, a person who creates starts seeing potential in things that otherwise might be disregarded or dismissed. A writer may over hear a conversation in a small town cafe, or see a terrible beauty in a snarling dog like philosopher Friedrich Nietsche and poet Charles Bukowski in the film Barfly). A sculptor like David Smith could look at a pile of scrap metal and see a hundred possible sculptures. A musician could see a harsh cold winter day and sense its beautiful musicality, like composer Antonio Vivaldi. In every case, something that most often is disregarded or dismissed is the very stuff that the artist is looking for in order to create.
“The sculpture is already complete within the marble block, before I start my work. It is already there, I just have to chisel away the superfluous material.” ― Michelangelo
The creative act of changing something from one state to another is termed transformation. It points not only to how the outward visible or audible change in the form of something that an artist makes happen through the creative process, but also to a change so complete that something becomes something else. A memory can become a story. A canvas and palette becomes the depiction of a landscape, experience, or idea.
what is the story of the withered hand?
If you know me (or are getting to know me) you know that besides being a musician, I am a Franciscan. For me, that means that I pay a lot of attention to stories about Jesus that relate to creativity and transformation like we’re talking about. If you didn’t know, there are a lot of stories to think about, and you can get some very good creative ideas from them.
There is a story about Jesus that narrates how he saw a man with a withered hand and transformed the hand into one that was not withered. In the story, the transformation of the hand not only changes the outward appearance of the hand, but also changed the meaning of what it means for something to be sacred. In the story, Jesus changes the idea of a sacred day being a day when a person shouldn’t do any kind of work, to a day that is especially for changing things from one form to another — a day for transformation. It is interesting to note that in this story, the author uses words like “cure” and “restored.”
What does the story mean?
Maybe a lesson from this story is that when we are creative and are making the effort to transform something into any version of “art” whether literary, visual, or musical, there’s transformation involved, and that transformation is a kind of care and putting something back that was otherwise lost or in danger of being lost. I think that makes a lot of sense when we’re talking about creativity: putting effort into it because you care that much, and because if you don’t do it, something may be lost and even something very important.
I’ve talked about creatives like writers, sculptors, painters, and musicians so far, but always remember that each and every one of us is daily creating the rest of our life. As I like to say, “You are a musician playing a song called ‘My Life’ for the world to hear.” So if you haven’t been thinking of yourself as a creative or an artist, it’s time for you to see yourself and your own life in that way and start doing that. And when you do that, remember the lessons of the withered hand.
For today
Think about your life and what is in it: daily experiences, relationships, ways you use your time. You can even write these down on a piece of paper with “My Life” written on top and then filling in three columns that have the headers “daily experiences” and “relationships” and “my time.” Next look at your life like an artist and think creatively…think transformative! What are you starting with, and what could you create from that stuff with care so that you have something in your life that is beautiful, really meaningful, or really good and that saves something important from being lost. Doing that thinking might take longer than just today, but at least get started and keep going.
NOTES
You can read the story of the withered hand in the sixth chapter of the Gospel of Luke, verses 6-11, in the Bible. You can read an online version here.
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