Artifact 7: Spirituality vs Creativity Essay Questions

Objective:

  • Discuss the differences between spirituality and religion
  • Examine spirituality as a generative force and a well spring for creativity

Artifact:

My definition of spirituality was very vague: being in touch with ones own spirit.  I think I might have also considered the part of being in touch with another spirit as well, church related.  I think a person’s spirit contains feelings and desires and therefore spirituality is being connected to those things, and being connected to another spirit you follow, or look up to.  It could be God, or it could be someone else you connect to.

After the reading, my ideas kind of crossed in a grey area.  My definition of religion is the ideas you practice or follow.  An example of religious practice would be waiting to have sex till marriage. The difference between spirituality and religion is that for spirituality you connect to the ideas, and religion is practicing them.  In my own opinion a spiritual person spends time looking within and a religious person spends time projecting out what they feel within.  I think they go hand in hand with one another.

My definition of creativity is having the ability to think outside of the box.  Being original.  Creativity involves creation, whether it is music, art, photography, landscape, writing etc.  Taking a vision and putting it to work and appealing to any of the senses.  Creativity is the production of something valuable, something others appreciate.  You can find creativity in just about any aspect of creating, whether it is the finished product, the original thought or the process of producing.  I think to be creative needs admiration, one cannot call them creative unless someone else agrees.

It takes vision.  Not literally, but figuratively to be creative.  It takes a brain, a mind, and a thought.   The brain is the anatomical machine, but the mind is the tool.

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The source of creativity comes from looking at, seeing something, feeling something, thinking something and therefor producing as a result.  Taking something external, internally analyzing in the mind and brain, and then externally producing.  The source of creativity is the ability to see beyond the exterior and create something of value.

Reflection:

Reflecting on this week’s topic of creativity I can see how it relates to past assignments.  The question of whether or not food is an art from comes to mind.  By applying my definition of creativity,  ‘having the ability to think outside of the box’, to food, I would call it an art form once again.  I agreed it was an art form in that week’s assignment, but I agree more now.  Taking the new material, food and producing something that appeals to the senses definitely makes it creative.  And I think as long as you can be creative, you have the potential to be an artist.  This was a little off of topic for spirituality, but I had this connection.

The differences between spirituality and religion are discussed above, but are in my opinion.  I think people can interpret the two differently; especially those who classify themselves are spiritual or religious.

This might be a stretch but I think an artist can even look spiritually into food as their focus of art.  Some might look at a piece of food and say that is only an object.  But maybe there is a story beneath that object as well.  Spirituality doesn’t have to only be applied to people.  For example, if there is a fruit that is rare or going extinct in a certain area, this food could be valuable.  The artist could look into the history of that fruit before creating the art about it, and therefore would display if differently.

I just made these connections, so I think for the future, I can perhaps become more creative by researching an interest to spark further ideas.

 

Artifact 6

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Artifact 8

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