Creativity leaps, dances and surprises in ways that baffle and astound, delight and amaze the purely logical in us. New songs, new ideas, new machines are what creativity is about but how does the creative mind work?
Various attempts have been made to understand creativity, creative individuals and creative processes.
Put simply, it describes how neurons in our brain generate big ideas but there’s something more – an elusive quality that fascinates and delights. From marketing and music to gastronomy and design, creativity which is harnessed can be linked to higher productivity, innovation, and novelty. It is a well that never dries up. So what does it mean to be creative? Magpie asked some of Ireland’s most talented women. Their answers may surprise you…
Aisling O’Loughlin is an Irish journalist, newsreader and presenter, best known for co-presenting TV3’s Xposé since 2007.
I equate creativity with freedom, the privilege to let your imagination roam wild and to break free from convention. I’m not just talking about flouncy swirls or incomprehensible poetry – Einstein was a creative scientist, Steven D Levitt is a creative economist (Freakonomics) and who doesn’t know a creative accountant? Daring to allow yourself the freedom to experiment, doodle and play is a big part of being creative. And failure is as much a part of the process as anything. Trying again too.
Really it takes alot of concentration to achieve creatively, and for some reason pain, loss and sorrow tend to encourage the best results. In my field fashion is a way to express yourself creatively, whether it be a tailored man’s suit or clashing prints, I love the freedom we enjoy to wear whatever we like in Ireland. Creative freedom is the litmus test of any democracy or society. For all its faults, we’re doing pretty well on that front in this country but there’s always room for improvement. True creatives are fearless, bold and frequently shocking, unrestricted by religious beliefs, offending common views, politics or Big Business. And there’s nothing wishy-washy about that.
Emma Manley is one of Ireland’s most talented young designers. She launched her award-winning label, Manly, in 2010 and has expanded to include a range accessories.
Creativity has always been an enormous part of my life and that’s largely down to one major influence; my Mum. My mother was an incredibly creative woman and she could turn her hand to anything. Growing up, it was commonplace for everyday items – such as old toilet rolls – to be transformed into decorations or art projects.
My mother used to turn all off the electricity in the house after 6pm every night. Her theory was that we’d spend less time sitting on front of the TV and make things, and you know what? It worked. My mother studied fashion at the Grafton Academy of Design and had a very successful career as a designer before she decided to swap her sewing machine for a handful of brushes and became an artist.
While my mother was a major influence, my middle sister’s joyful and experimental approach to fashion certainly fired my imagination.
While my mother taught me that you could turn everyday items into whatever you wanted them to be, my sister taught me how to take risks. She used to wear the most daring and expressive clothes and I was the grateful recipient of some of her crazy hand-me-downs.My father was an entrepreneur who taught me that there was always an opportunity in everything – you just had to look.Being brought up the way that I was there was no escaping a career in design.
Day to day, I express my creativity through my work as a fashion designer, but it’s a tough business.Although the people at the top say they champion creativity, they don’t want to pay for it. The big companies earn extraordinary amounts of money but very little trickles down to the people at the bottom.Today, the fashion industry is like some huge machine which is driven by media and PR. When you think back to the early 90’s fashion was much less corporate.
Back then ideas were everything but now fashion has become much more of a business – and the creativity has been squashed out. Unless you’ve a lot of money behind you, it can be very hard to make it in the fashion business. That said, I am blessedto be able to come into work and do something that I love every day.
Meteor award winner Luan Parle has come a long way since performing her own composition on The Late Late Toy Show aged 10, and nabbing her first record deal at 12. She has gone, from success to success and her recent single ‘Roll the Dice’ has topped the singles charts.
In my profession, it’s about creating something that didn’t exist before you put pen to paper, lyrics to melody. I love the whole process from coming up with those first few chords, singing the vocal melody’s with lyrics to making it come to life in studio – then that’s when the real magic happens – a song is born. For me, the test is performing it live to an audience. Nothing excites me more….
Creativity is, on one hand, highly prized but, sadly, many creatives are amongst the most poorly paid. It can be very difficult to make a wage but on the other hand it’s about doing something that you love and who can put a price on that? I’m not sure if there is such a thing as a creative personality type but I do think sometimes that it can be quite a selfish career choice as it does consume so much of your life making it difficult to sustain relationships etc. However, I feel it does take a very driven personality to succeed and be successful. You also have to deal with the many knock backs which can be very tough so that would be indicative of a driven, focused personality trait.
Boston-born, but Clare-based, milliner Margaret O Connor has made hats for a slew of celebrity fans including Lady Gaga. She was awarded ‘Milliner of the year’ at the 2014 Irish Fashion Awards.
When I was a very small girl I used to draw a lot and it was the only thing that kept me quiet so my mother would always have colouring paints and crayons to hand. When I was a little older, my father got me into running. That was around the time Sonia O’Sullivan won gold medals for Ireland in the Olympic Games. I then got very into sports, hurling, G.A.A, soccer, running everything really. The art made me feel free so I went to study art -but it if wasn’t for that focus and structure from my sporting years I don’t feel I would have been able to push the art as much.
It comes naturally to be artistic, but the discipline, drive and competitiveness in sports are what I needed as an artist to develop my own creativity, to improve and keep on improving. Some people are very lucky as they can be creative and also good at other skills. I feel the only skill I have is my creativity so I’ve no other option but to continue and try to improve.For me, being creativemeans owning your own work and ideas, isolation with those concepts and above all striving to be completely original.
You can’t put a price on creativity.You can’t harvest creativity, you can only nurture it.
Rachel Montague is an Irish model who has been featured in Vogue and numerous other glossy magazines. She is based in Ibiza where she is one of the most in-demand models on the island.
Through my life I have discovered my gift for creativity through the many paths I’ve chosen to go down. I am lucky, coming from a family who all work as freelance classical musicians, it’s in my bones. I paint, model, make jewellery, dance, cook and constantly occupy my hands! I find it’s my therapy, I can release and forget about whatever is around me, be it the stresses of everyday life or just a constant need to make and do something different.
Every time I do a shoot, it’s like acting a role. I’m usually given a very concise brief by the photographer and it’s my job to get into character and create a strong image for that particular editorial. Dancing has played a huge role in my modelling as movement and fluidity in poise is vital to creating the perfect image.
When I’m being photographed,I try to give myself to that moment ,which is what creativity ultimately is, giving your soul the freedom to express it’s innermost emotion and then to play with it in a way;not all people can or they never find a chance to free this gift. I am blessed and grateful that I have made creativity a huge part of my being.It’s how I live my life.
Merle O’Grady is a Dublin based jewellery designer with a celebrity following which includes Rihanna and Beyonce
Creativity, for me, is the thrill of bringing a thought into the real world with a determined mindset. It’s a sense of belief in a tiny notion that popped into your head that often takes you by surprise. And it ‘s the stubbornness and selective hearing when it comes to the opinions of others so your tiny notion gets the chance to really grow. But it also means being open to constant learning and soaking up ideas and inspiration like a sponge, often from the most unlikely places.
It’s taking the gamble of wasting precious time, energy and money on something not yet tangible. But it’s a sense of freedom that comes with resourcefulness and taking comfort in the fact that however much or little you have, you can make the most of it. It’s never standing still, constantly thriving on the process of evolving and adapting, thinking in new ways and not looking to the past too much. And the really addictive part of being creative is that, however, tiny or great the feat accomplished, there’s just no better feeling of achievement in the world than bringing something to life.
French-born, Irish-bred Delphine Grandjouan of the House of Delphine, Kerry, is a designer with pure creativity at the heart of all of her designs.
I always wanted to be guided by my creativity, for it to give shape to my life. This is why I moved to Ireland. I found the social context in France quite uniform and constrictive, and when I moved to Ireland, I felt much more freedom and encouragement to follow my own intuition and create a personal path for myself.
As I am self-taught, I have been guided all the way from the very first by my own inner self and need for beauty, which led me from painting to making clothes and then to start my own business and get to where I am now. Being creative is the root of everything I do, and what gives joy and meaning to my life.
I think that if you manage to make a living and survive through your creativity, it is a real success. A chosen few, some pure creative geniuses can take it to peaks of success, and be very highly paid for it, which is wonderful for them, some others less lucky can find it a bitter struggle. It is also dependent on one’s ability to reinvent oneself, which needs strength and health -this can become very tough when one gets older, and can prove quite unfair as there is no safety net.
But, it seems, the creative person cannot live without being creative. On one hand it is quite a burden, as it often means one is dissatisfied with just being and enjoying life as it is, one has to create one’s own reality, one’s own world. On the other hand, it gives one a great determination to keep on against the odds! So all in all, a curse and a gift. I always remember Rilke’s Letter to a Young poet that says something like; if you can live a day without writing, then don’t be a writer.
Dubbed Ireland’s Stella McCartney, London based Irish designer Zoë Boomer, is making waves in the fashion industry with her sassy yet classic creations.
For me creativity is not only fun, energises me, excites me but it forces me to sit down, think and push boundaries. It challenges me to pause and think outside-of-the-box. There is creativity all around us, it’s a chance to play, dream and try new things. I enjoy seeing something that I love or want andthe fun part is trying to work out how could I make it better. There is no greater feeling than when you actually create and have a finished product out of something that was just a flicker of an idea in your mind. It’s such an achievement.
Today’s world of social media and technology has two sides, it is great because it shows what other creatives are doing and inspires us, but on the downside that can be so overpowering. The sheer volume of data and ideas stops us taking time out to think ourselves. Sometimes it’s discouraging and for me it can also be a distraction. To sum it up being creative makes me happy, when I don’t take the time to be creative, I’m drained and not being the best person that I can be.
Helen Steele is an artist turned fashion designer. She has gained a legion of fans with her vibrant expressionist paintings, which sell from between €650 and €1,200. And her fashion label is now being worn by some of the hottest stars in the music industry, including Jessie J, Nicola Roberts and Rita Ora.
I would absolutely agree that my creative bent has influenced the direction of my life. I honestly do not know what I’d be doing if I had not been born creative; I’d probably have had a life of crime or if that did not work out, I’d have found God. It informs everything, it’s visual, it’s instinctual and it’s everything from telling stories to the kids to my work as a designer. Put bluntlycreativity is in my DNA. Ireland is such a small and hugely creative country but, as the same time, that’s not enough. There’s a so much focus on tech, yet the digital giants need people with creative minds to come up with innovative ideas.
One thing that really bugs me is that so many creative people are just not paid properly for their skills- it’s a huge issue. I’ve heard so many stories about people not being paid on time or being paid at all. When you’re running a business on your own all of this has a knock-on effect, if you don’t get paid on time, your suppliers are not paid either. All of this makes it incredibly difficult to sustain your business.
A lot of creative people in the Irish fashion industry are forced to move abroad and that’s largely due to the lack of funding here. There’s no real proper government entity like the British Fashion Council here and that’s why some of our brightest and best – like JW Anderson and Simone Rocha- have had to go to the UK to see their careers flourish and that’s a real shame.
Of course you hear all of the tortured artist clichés when you work in the arts; maybe the phrase was coined because people were driven to crazy places because it can be so difficult to make a living as an artist. Vincent Van Gough was never good with money, even though he came from a well-to-do family, but that can never be an excuse, especially not today. You can’t not know how to keep a set of books when you are in business for yourself, I passionately believe that the basics of business should be taught in school, it’s so important.
As a nation, our creativity makes us unique and for many foreigners, it’s the first thing that they will associate with Ireland. Whether that’s because of bands such as Hozier or U2 or literary figures, such as Joyce, it seems that creativity and Irishness go hand-in-hand.I think it was probably our creativity that got us through the recession. We might not have had much money, but we could sing, write or scribble on a wall. It’s at the very heart of who we are.
Rozanna Purcell is an Irish model, food blogger and former Miss Universe Ireland 2010. She is from Clonmel in County Tipperary.
Creativity is a way to express yourself! I would consider myself to be very creative. I love expressing myself through my style and also when it comes to cooking. I am always trying new ways of styling clothes, I am not afraid to take chances. When it comes to cooking and baking, I don’t really have any rules. I like to experiment with new ideas, it doesn’t always turn out how I want or expect but when it does it’s pretty amazing!
I create all my own recipes. My granny and aunt were always whipping up tasty meals when I was growing up so my passion developed from a young age. I have always been inspired by them and the delicious flavours they were able to create.
It’s great to be able to switch from modelling to designing clothes to cooking and keeps pushing me to be creative. It definitely keeps me on my toes as it’s not easy and you need to be organised to keep up with everything but I really enjoy it. I have a few projects I am working on at the moment which keep things exciting. I have my cookbook I am working on at the moment which is due out January 2016.
This article appeared in full in Magpie Issue 01