Monday Meanderings

When I say I enjoy creating things and being creative, I mean it in two ways.  The first is the standard usage:  I like the invention, putting together something out of nothing or the mental bits and bobs of everything.  The intellectual and inspiration side.

The second is more fundamental and broader:  I like making things from scratch, combining materials into a result you can experience, whether visually or with your tastebuds.  The physical and tactile side (even typing is tactile), which doesn't necessarily have to have a "creative" component by the typical definition.  Then again, even in the most specifically followed recipe, there's some variance, some trusting of instinct, and nuance learned in repetition.

If there's a weakness in this interpretation for me, it's that I have trouble creating unless I have a purpose for the final product.  Food is easy:  that's going in my belly.  (Or someone else's.)  Stories and novels are intended for submission and the hope of publication.  I find that sometimes, it's hard to motivate myself to finish a harp arrangement unless I have a gig on the books where I can play it.  It's why I don't work much with visual art:  I have a fractal deviation, a drawing, a photo ... now what do I *do* with it?  What purpose does it serve?

Homemade ice cream requires no purpose, of course.  Just a bowl and a spoon.