art + creativity + photography = bliss

I’ve been coming back to this equation over and over again in my journal lately. It was only a matter of time until it showed up here. It’s a personal equation, something that speaks to me at a core level. I’ve been exploring what it means…

art = all of that which has been created before, by others. Art includes the formal definition of art, such as the paintings of the great masters, but it is also so much more. Art is the design of a building, the cut of a dress. It is the interpretation of musical notes written on a page. It is the combination of spices and ingredients. It is all that we experience, that comes from outside of ourselves.

creativity = a process, a practice. Creativity is not a “thing.” It is the swirl of ideas, the stringing together of old and new. Creativity is where observation, knowledge and action meet. It is the process by which we learn to make sense of the world around us. It is innate, in each of us. It is what allows us to string together words into a sentence and actions into a life.

photography = an artistic medium, a personal form of expression. My photography is the combination of all of the art I’ve seen and experienced in my world run through my own personal creativity filter. It is the way I can share my vision. Photography allows me to share the stories I see, in the details of life around me. Like this bicycle, in Ravenna. Photography is my art, given back to the world.

Input, process, output.

Art, creativity, photography.

Combine these three ingredients and I get bliss. What do I mean by bliss? I mean happiness that goes beyond the moment, to the core of my being. It is the connection to the heart and soul of who I am, who I always have been, who I always will be. It is something deeper than a pretty picture, a fleeting emotion. 

art + creativity + photography = bliss

It takes all three to make the math work. Without one of them, the equation would be unbalanced. It might equal “content” or “satisfaction,” but certainly not bliss.

I imagine that we all have our own personal equation. Part of our life’s journey may be to define it, as we live it. Do you know yours? If not, I’m guessing that creativity is in your equation somewhere too. Start there, and see what begins to fill in the blanks.