Funny that. For some reason I don’t think that the same people would as happily admit that they’re ‘not very intelligent’. Perhaps the reason for this is that we have a rather limited definition of what it is to be creative.

While creativity was undoubtedly involved in the creation of the Sistine Chapel, it is not restricted to massive artistic endeavours. For that matter, it is not restricted to the arts — fine art, music, dance and drama. To be creative is to think outside the box and create something new.

Albert Einstein, who is generally regarded as rather an intelligent chap, but not necessarily a creative one (for what does science have to do with creativity?) said, “A person who never made a mistake, never tried anything new.”

Yip, creativity is all about failure. Chances are, your first batch of meringues will flop, your clay pot will look like a lopsided funnel and your ‘designer’ dress will be relegated to the rag cupboard. But, if you keep trying, you might come up with a formula as wonderful as E = mc2.

Seeking a creative spirit

Sitting in front of a blank canvas and expecting to unleash a flurry of creative genius, is probably not the most effective way of unlocking your creative potential.

When book illustrator Annette van Zyl is looking for inspiration, she puts on a pair of takkies and takes a walk. She suggests getting outside and experiencing life. “Let go of your habitual stuff and experience anything outside your normal space.”

Paul and Tracy Raphaely, who recently won an international design award for the packaging of their Nomu product, also feel that the environment has a huge impact on the possibilities for inspiration.

“I like to find my creativity in the tactile experience of new things, often related to food. I will draw direct inspiration from things that I wonder how I could have done without them at home in the first place,” says Tracy.

Paul finds exercise to be the perfect trigger for creative thought, whether he is running down Lion’s Head or swimming laps, exercise is the ‘place’ where he has become used to thinking energetically and optimistically.

Artist Chantal Coetzee’s search for inspiration is both an inward and an outward journey, as her creative process is tied inextricably to her spiritual process. For her, prayer and meditation are the keys to breaking a creative impasse.

“There’s a great one-liner that sums this one up. It goes ‘Let go and let God’…because the way to create is to let go of one’s need to control, to open up one’s mind and soul to become receptive and to visualize…It is really as easy as watching movies on the insides of your eyelids. Maybe it just takes a little more practice than parking off in the local cinema, but the pictures are way better… 3D, holographic and interactive!”

Explosions of creativity

Ah yes, you say, but these individuals are all inherently creative, so creativity comes naturally to them. Perhaps there is such a thing as inherent creativity – a creativity gene – but perhaps the only reason they find creative inspiration is because they practice creativity. Like times tables, creativity is something that you can become good at.

“I think I have been very lucky to find out that being successfully creative is often just the result of accidental epiphanies. That said, without being open minded and adventurous in spirit, it’s unlikely that you will see these little explosions of creativity that could be happening all the time, all around you,” says Tracy.

“I’ve got to believe that creativity must be as much a state of mind as a talent or a gift. So fate may drop a great idea on anyone’s head from time to time. After that, it would hopefully come down to personal drive and ambition in order to go after the idea or the dream and make it happen.”

So, how do you unleash your adventurous spirit and train your mind to see the explosions of creativity? Well, the advice from the ‘creative types’ seems to be to experience new things — saturate your senses with new tastes, smells, textures, colours and sounds.

The Time-Life Book ‘Mind Power: Develop Your Creative Skills’, suggests a number of simple exercises you can do to flex your creative muscle.

Once you’ve faced your fears of failure, the possibilities for fabulous inventions and beautiful creations are endless.

And in case you were wondering, Velcro was invented in 1948 by a Swiss engineer named Georges de Mestral, who studied the Burdock seeds that stuck to his clothing and his dog’s fur as he walked in the Alps. There’s nothing like a pesky little seed and a walk in the fresh air to foster a great fashion accessory.