Craft: The Elegance of Workmanship (Ch. 5)

But what about when creativity is not just a natural flow? What about when we must fight to let ourselves create, to manifest what we imagine, to be imaginative? What about the fact that my messy art journal scares me, when my connection to art does not come naturally because I know it will not be perfect the first time around? That is where strength and courage come in. “To do our greatest work, we must overcome the temptation to be afraid or become discouraged, engaging the creative process with strength and courage.”

It is work to create. It is even more terrifying to share when you have created. When you engage your imagination in reality to bring about a tangible piece of art, whatever form that may take, it is usually, on some way or another, an artistic expression of yourself. Art inherently requires vulnerability. And vulnerability is an act of bravery.

I have been called to create. I have been given that capacity as a being made in the image of God, the ultimate Creator. My very existence as a member of creation was brought about by an act of vulnerability by God. Think about that for a moment: The Creator of the whole universe, from the tiny atom to the most brilliant galaxy, was vulnerable in creating. And we have been called to the same.