The Non-Arch Space - PART 3. The Creative Process

Written by Camila Morales Guilarte

Photographer: David Kamerov

Let’s start by telling you one truth, the concept of “creators’ block” is a lie. When artists feel stuck, without ideas on what they should do next, it is 99.9% not connected to the lack of ideas and way more connected to having a lot of other things to focus on that specific moment.

Funny enough, it took me more than necessary to write this post, and it had nothing to do with me feeling creative and everything to do with the weekend plans “standing in the way.”

This week I came upon this video of the pianist Duke Ellington, where he eliminates another concept from my mind, “ideas should come from somewhere.” The way of how Duke compares ideas to dreams, in my opinion, can only come from a child. And no, I’m not calling him a kid, but have you ever realized that children have no limits to imagination?

It only seems to me that when we grow up, we pack ourselves with a million concepts that only limitate us. We cannot use our crayons to color in different directions and pass the lines. Creative people need to be inspired and go out of the box to do a better job. In work, even in creative work, their hands are often tied.

The fact is that creative work is still work, it’s still a job, and it still involves continuity like any other job. I would like to interpret what Duke said as a blueprint, a better way of seeing something normal as something extraordinary. He decided to change his job from a simple pianist to a dreamer, and even though this might also seem normal to others, the way he speaks about it makes me believe it’s not.

When I say creators’ bloc is a lie, it’s because I believe we are constantly giving power to the wrong concepts. Giving ourselves excuses and not enjoying the power that a dreamer’s job title could provide us, a spark ignition that would never fail.

Creative people should not only be the ones that work with art every day but those who draw outside of the lines, those who still believe in the ideas their inner kid shouts when they are “block” elsewhere.

My question to you now is, are you also a dreamer?