I, like so many others, am an avid watcher of TED videos. One that resonated profoundly with me, as a photographer, was a talk by Elizabeth Gilbert. If you haven’t recognized the name yet, these 3 words might help you: “Eat, Pray, Love“. Yup, she wrote the book.

Her talk is about creativity, and, as you might expect from such a highly esteemed writer, she articulates her views with such humility and candor that one can’t help but to draw comparisons with one’s own creative process.

Watching her talk provided the spark for this project to be born: the concept that creativity could be bottled and stored for later use.

Such an endeavor needs a very special model, and I knew exactly who I wanted to work with: the lovely and very talented Asha, herself a singer, writer, dancer and actress! So many sides to one person meant working with her was an immense joy and provided me with endless inspiration for the many parts of this project.

As with all new things, a project such as this brings with it a degree of uncertainty. Even though we were working to a concept, as we usually do, this was certainly outside what we normally create at McGunnMedia. However, we do love pushing ourselves… even if it’s sometimes towards a stop sign. 😉

The number 7 is seen as a symbol of creation, and it was used as such in this project: the 7 sides of creativity… or the 7 deadly sins – whichever way you wish to interpret it 😉

So starting from the biggest and most important number:

1. Passion
Creativity is driven by passion, and it’s the quality that people are most drawn to – it’s unbridled, exposed and so unaware of itself as an ego – it just exists. It is larger than any other of the 7, and therefore deserves its prime place at the front.

So, like an experienced bartender, we work from the top shelf down – and in second place, we have…

2. Concept
When you see the light – or the fairies of creativity find you and give you an idea…

Number 3  and 4 are very much connected to each other and don’t exist without the other. They are:

3. Action and 4. Determination

Action is what happens when the rubber meets the road and you start creating. Determination is what keeps you going when the fuel is running low and the road gets bumpy.

And then we come to the bottom shelf: equally important, however these somewhat belong to the dark side of creation, and if stored without a cork can be detrimental:

5. Fear
When creation strikes so does fear. It may not be there to start with, but eventually may underpin your projects.

6. (Asking for) Feedback
This is pretty much the only thing that counteracts fear, or keeps it grounded on that bottom shelf for you. It is also such an underestimated part of the process… You can rarely create anything worthwhile just from your own input, whether you are drawing on years of your own collection and library of accumulated information to use in a project, or definitively asking for advice on a stage in your project.

7. Introspection
Reaching inside of yourself and understanding that you are producing something that represents you and is a part of you. Some times the art we produce isn’t easily “readable”, and may take a while for you to understand what it was that you were not seeing about yourself.

Art takes us through a roller coaster – it is life. It feeds us, and drives us, and can be our downfall…

But if we could bottle it to use when we struggle to find it – WOW – we would be very wealthy indeed!

… and when you put them all of these elements together, this is the result: