Objectives:

• Become familiar with ways in which spirituality influences artists
• Discuss the differences between spirituality and religion
• Examine spirituality as a generative force and a well spring for creativity

Original Post:

To me, spirituality seems to relate to a state of being or a way of living. It is a feeling that you have that shapes you (inward) and is chosen.  Spirituality is something that is within each individual and may encourage you to live in a certain way or maintain a certain mindset. I like to think of spirituality as a sort of ‘healthy’ lifestyle. The way that someone may exercise and have healthy life habits is similar to maintaining healthy spiritual habits. Your qualities and beliefs can influence your thoughts and actions (that you carry out through your spirituality). I think that spirituality can also change and evolve just as we do as individuals. With age we are faced with many different circumstance and it is through these experiences that we can transform and grow with our spirituality.

I think of spirituality as a way of being that often correlates with religious beliefs.  Religion is a more structured system. Depending on your spirituality you may be drawn to choose a certain religion that reflects your spirituality or beliefs. Religion could be seen as the actions that you carry out which reflect your spirituality. These may be for example, they way that you take care of your body (“the temple of God”), your thoughts (affirmations of your beliefs), and also your actions of prayer. In the same sense, your religious experiences may impact your spirituality. I have been raised in a Christian family and I know that my upbringings have helped to confirm my spiritual feelings. Just the same, I know that someone may grow up in an unreligious family and it could change their spiritual feelings and mindset.

I think creativity is the ability to express and produce things in a freely open manner. Creativity allows your imagination to be your motivation (whether it be for artwork or planning in another sense). When I think of creativity I think of originality. In order for a thought to be considered creative, it must be inventive. I think creative qualities can come from our personalities as well as an ability to think of things in an unoriginal way. When I think of being creative I think of things such as Pinterest. This may seem interesting, but I often look to Pinterest when I need a creative idea or inspiration for something. Creativity can often times take some ‘thinking outside the box’. When I am creating something, I usually want it to not only turn out the way I envision it, but I also want it to be respected in a unique way. This can sometimes take willingness to stray from the norm.

As I touched on a little earlier, I think that creativity is a source that comes from our personality. It is a complex idea, and may have several different inspirations (maybe even some unknown). Creativity may be something we are born with or may come from other surrounding factors in our lives (nature vs. nurture). Creativity takes an ability to think in a certain way and be flexible and willing to try things in a different way. I believe that we all have opportunities to be creative. It just depends on our ability to see these opportunities and use our individual skills in order to be creative. In our reading this week, it was explained that a creative spirit is a key factor in order to create and appreciate art. I think that this is true. While we all may have some sort of ‘source’ for creativity, I think it takes the motivation and desire to act upon that source and use it to be creative.

 

Reflection:

This discussion was difficult and made me think a lot and reflect on my own life and definition of spirituality. It was hard for me to think about spirituality without automatically associating it with religion. These two may be linked in some ways. I think that they may influence each other but they are not the same. I still agree that spirituality is something we have within ourselves that drives us to be the person that we are. We are encouraged to be a certain way and maintain a certain mindset because of our spirituality. Creativity is then associated with spirituality. It is through creativity that we are able to express how we feel. Our creativity is all (in some ways) original and is linked to our personality and our spirituality. We create things that matter to us and our way of life. In our reading, it was explained how artists show their beliefs and spirituality behind their work. This is why there are so many aspects to art. There is not only the inspiration to create, but also the technical aspects and critical translation (“seeing mind”). Art is a process and through this reading I came to understand how every artist has their own view. The difficulty is then not only wanting to express your ideas and beliefs but wanting viewers to also understand and appreciate it. Grey explains that, “We all need to feel that we have value and that someone understands or appreciates us and what we do”(p 103). This seems to be one of the hardest elements in creating art.

Future:

I love art (creating it and viewing it). From this reading I learned how each artist has a different vision and different form of spirituality that drives them. I will take that into consideration when I view art from now on. I will try to think about the artist and what may have influenced their piece (not only my opinion of it). I also hope that I can continue to let me spirituality and beliefs be shown in my work and my life.  I want to remember my values and make sure that I am representing them honestly.