*Lenny Kravitz is a certified rock star. The Grammy-winning artist’s career has been driven by such hits as “It Ain’t Over Til’ It’s Over,” “Are You Gonna Go My Way,” “Fly Away,” and “American Woman.”
But what many people don’t know is that Kravitz also runs a successful interior design company. Kravitz Design, launched in 2003, specializes in product branding and residential architecture.
Speaking of badasses, saying that Marla, a friend of mine, can cook is an understatement. She is a genius at preparing sustenance. Marla isn’t a professional chef, but she could be. She’s like those contestants on “Chopped,” the TV cooking competition among chefs—give her a collection of the oddest ingredients, challenge her to turn them into a meal, and Marla will create a spectacular, tasty dish.
What Kravitz and Marla share is creativity. The way people perspire is how ideas and notions flow from these two. Creating is simply a natural part of who they are.
Scroll to continue reading
Formally speaking, creativity is the ability to form unique ideas or works using one’s imagination. The result may be imperceptible—things you can’t touch—as in a song, a qualified impression, or a medical concept, or it can be physical, as in clothing, a dietary dish, or jewelry.
Creative people perceive, experience, and interpret things in unique ways. Anyone who creates understands what I’m talking about. Someone might look at the yard of a house and see just that. A gardener sees a vast canvas for their ambitions. Don’t know what to do with your hair? Your hairdresser knows exactly what they’ll do with it.
As a creator, I initially thought writing about creators might seem a bit self-indulgent. After all, being creative is an intimate superpower, often self-centered, because the first person who needs to be pleased with the creation is the creator themselves. For them, creating can be a refuge or a restorative tonic.
However, I don’t know any serious creator who sees their act of creating as something they do alone. They acknowledge that, at their best, they are just a conduit, and their ideas come from somewhere else.
Lionel Richie once told me that when a musical idea comes to him, he stops whatever he’s doing and captures it by humming it into a recorder or rushing to the piano. “Saying, ‘Oh, I’ll remember it later,’ is like spitting in God’s face,” he said. “Keep on ignoring those ideas He sends your way, and He’ll stop sending them.”
Michael Jackson understood this. It’s now legendary the story of his arriving late one day at the Staples Center in downtown Los Angeles for midday rehearsals of “This Is It,” his London concerts that would never happen.
Once at Staples, Jackson was greeted by Kenny Ortega, the show’s producer, who scolded him for being late. When Jackson explained that he was held up because he had to develop a musical idea that had just come to him before leaving the house, Ortega said he could have done that later. Jackson is said to have famously replied that if he didn’t tend to the idea, God would give it to Prince. He was joking–but not really.
I knew Teena Marie years before her Motown fame. One day, we talked about how she wrote songs. “Sometimes, I go to sleep,” she said, “and when I wake up in the morning, there’s a song in my head, complete with words, music, and arrangement. I don’t have anything to do with that.”
In the late ‘90s, while visiting New Orleans, I found myself on fabled Bourbon Street with all its bars and restaurants. In one club, I marveled at a 30-something singer/songwriter who blew me away with her mighty voice and her original songs.
I approached the performer after her set and, as someone who has spent decades writing about creators, asked if she’d ever thought about pursuing a recording career. “Oh, my, no,” she said, sounding genuinely surprised by the idea. “I would probably have to travel, and I have a good position at the company I work for. Plus, I finally found a church I’m really happy with.”
Her answer surprised me—and left me a bit embarrassed that I had assumed just because she was so creatively talented, she’d automatically have designs on stardom, when she enjoyed performing in that bar, getting paid for it, and then going home.
Clearly, you don’t need to work in the arts, be famous, or seek fame to be creative. Excelling at anything requires a measure of ingenuity, and its key ingredient is creativity. Being organized requires creativity. Good parenting calls for creativity. Being a great waiter takes creativity. So does being a health care worker.
You might not realize it or see it that way, but you are a creative person. Whenever you undertake a task, consider how creatively you can approach it, because that ability is within you. And if you want to try something artistic, hey, let it out and go for it.
Steven Ivory, veteran journalist, essayist, and author, covers popular culture across various platforms, including the Internet, TV, radio, documentaries, magazines, and newspapers. The Last Man on AOL is at [email protected]
MORE NEWS ON EURWEB.COM: Melba Moore, 79, to Walk NYC Fashion Week Runway — While Climbing the Dance Charts!
We Publish Breaking News 24/7. Don’t Miss Out! Sign up for our Free daily newsletter HERE.
