Everyday creativity: A personal and universal rollercoaster ride
Better understanding and harnessing human creativity is vital for wellbeing, economic growth, leadership and thinking skills. However, qualitative research on the everyday non-professional, non-elite, human experience of creativity from the perspective of everyday creators, is a relatively new focus...
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| Main Authors: | , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Elsevier
2025-01-01
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| Series: | Social Sciences and Humanities Open |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2590291125000300 |
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| Summary: | Better understanding and harnessing human creativity is vital for wellbeing, economic growth, leadership and thinking skills. However, qualitative research on the everyday non-professional, non-elite, human experience of creativity from the perspective of everyday creators, is a relatively new focus for creativity research. This qualitative study, utilising thematic analysis, aims to answer the question, “What is participants' lived experience of everyday creativity as a way of being?” In exploring the experiences of 12 western, non-elite, participants engaging in a creative process, independent of professional domain, the research contributes new insight into this vital aspect of being human. Data collected through semi-structured interviews were coded and analysed using a reflexive constructivist approach from which two main themes emerged. Firstly, experiencing creativity was expressed using the metaphor of a ‘Rollercoaster ride’ of emotions, with sub themes: ‘On the level’ or space to be curious; ‘The killer climb’, or challenging times when pushing through self-doubt; and ‘The big whoosh’, or expressing the joyful energy of realising ideas. The second theme, ‘Creativity is personal, collective and universal’ brackets sub-themes: ‘Commitment to authentic and loving expression of self’; ‘Impact and creating connections’; and ‘Connection to something bigger than ourselves.’ Findings provide new insight into the emotional connection between the everyday creator and their creative process, highlighting the non-linearity of its ups and downs in three stages, and capturing a paradoxical simultaneity of personal, collective and transcendent awareness. Understanding of everyday creativity for organisations supporting creative endeavour, creative educators and individuals seeking creativity or researching interconnectedness is thus illuminated. |
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| ISSN: | 2590-2911 |