Make new things.
I believe in the act of creation.
Whether you are baking bread or growing a vegetable garden or knitting a sweater or finger painting, I respect and admire the act of creation immensely.
I think everyone should try to be creative. Make something. Take the stuff of the world and turn it into something new. Maybe something no one has ever seen before.
One of the most creative acts is to give birth to a new art form. Something that no one has ever done before.
Over the past week, I have stumbled upon examples of this creative brilliance:
The Ikorudu Bois, a group of filmmakers in Lagos, Nigeria, meticulously recreate big budget action scenes from films and music videos using low budget household items. The result is hilarious and fantastic.
Best of all, it’s the kind of thing that is entirely doable by anyone with a phone and some ingenuity. You don’t need wealth or expertise to make stuff. A vision for something new and the willingness to work hard is oftentimes more than enough.
Rich McCor, an artist known for his paper cutouts, spent his time in quarantine making vignettes of movie scenes using items found around the house. They are stunning creations, but again, it’s the kind of thing that anyone could do.
New Zealand carpenter Henk Herhoeff builds furniture that looks like it belongs in a cartoon. Each piece is fully functional and completely fantastic.
This bit of creation admittedly requires some previous skill and training, but the results are pretty extraordinary.
Right?
But you need not build furniture or recreate movie scenes in order to make something or be creative.
Take a photograph. Bake cookies. Write a poem. Knit a scarf. Invent a new sport. Learn to play the harmonica. Cut your front lawn in a never-before-seen pattern.
Take the stuff of the world and turn it into something new.
It will make you feel good, and it will probably make the world a teensy bit better in the process.