Creativity is Dirty
A while back, I wrote that creativity is messy, in that there is not a linear path from inspiration all the way to execution. Sometimes there are messes to make to get to the good stuff, sometimes it is in cleaning up the mess that one discovers the nugget.
Today and yesterday, I have been getting dirty. Messy AND dirty. How? I’m out in the garage sorting through string, wire, tools, rusty things, dusty things, pots of paint, tubes of glue, rolls of tape, and tangles of tangly things. And it’s glorious.
Ah ha, this tool! this is what my father used to mark holes for drilling! Ah, this is the old drill, requiring NO power cord. This is the screwdriver set with the wooden handles that he made, from reclaimed doweling and found screwdrivers when the house next door was built and the workers left a trash pile.
What in the hell is this tool? it’s something for the car because it’s greasy. Black and greasy.
Oh cool, another clothespin and a rubber band. Perfect for making a tiny clamp for glue drying.
You can bet that the cleaned up workbench in the corner was quickly filled with new projects and piles of things to sort out and weed through.
Yes, it does my heart good to simply clean and sort this mess, get my hands dirty, and make plans for future projects. This is part of my grief work, I suppose, reclaiming the happy hundreds, even thousands of hours I spent in the garage with my father and brothers.
I can’t wait for TigerWhelp to come home.
