Creative Confidence: A Rediscovery
Elise Pescheret
Creative confidence to me is the replacing ego with curiosity and bravery. It is the return to a childlike state of mind, where self-awareness is low and spontaneous ideation is at an all-time high. As we move forward in life, there are attempts to make this spontaneous ideation, well, less spontaneous. Champion creativity as a craft. Predictable, measurable results. Give it a grade, give it a round of applause. However, predictable creativity is a paradox, resulting in ideas built out of already confirmed realities. Why fix something that isn’t broken? Because it might actually be broken, yet you’ve been too focused on convincing others that it is indeed working. I rediscovered my creative confidence when I turned to abstract painting, a creative passion that brought me joy but also was subject to public critique. Scary? You bet. Liberating? More than I could have possibly imagined.