The creator goes from broad attention to a narrower focus. They see the forest for the trees while simultaneously shifting their vision to see the trees through the woods.
Like a student, the artist aggregates what’s interesting and then goes deeper, pulsating from a generalist to a specialist, adding and subtracting, exploring the world through a lens of curiosity. Nothing feels forced; instead, the immersive play helps grasp how one feels.
When we’re deemed to make, we feel something elemental click into place. We develop a sense of kinship with even the most untouchable spaces. Patterns appear everywhere as we sample the environment inside them.
The creator is all things collector, researcher, and storyteller at heart. The messy output called art reflects the internal process. Rarely, do we paint precisely what was once fodder in the mind’s eye.
Creativity defenestrates the day-to-day doldrums. Making is a lifeline, the telescope where our attention flows and where the beauty of life opens up upon release.