This title reflects what I hear over and over from people and it is perhaps one of the biggest comic reliefs I've heard. NEVER, EVER believe the title of this blog and here is why:

I recently had a conversation about artistic things with a co-worker and was relating some of the attempts (and I call it that because most of my efforts end there) at different types of artistic ventures. She paid me with nice complements and then said what I hear over and over and over:

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I do not have an OUNCE of creativity in my body (emphasis kept in the original)

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One of my art teachers that I had at the Memphis College of Art, Remey Miller, had two lessons (among others) that I have not forgotten,

1) art is a skill not a talent which means it is taught. When you consider this, it makes sense, Archimedes, Wolfgang Mozart, Leonardo Davinci, Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni, John Milton, Auguste Rodin, Luciano Pavarotti, Henri Moore, Artemisia Gentileschi among countless others had to be taught, they just took it and ran with it in ways that are amazing. Some simply have more mileage than others in the public mind.

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2) An artist should be able to have something to say through art. This makes sense because so much art is empty and devoid of purpose - such was not the case in times past. Although the concept of art for art's sake is a nice one, true artists remain so because they feel and express through their art as a primary focus and other benefits typically tend to be secondary (though not always).

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To these statements, I want to add additional supportive arguments.

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a) Homosapiens and their ancestors have followed in a unique path. Homosapiens were and are able to progress with astonishing speed because of our problem solving skills and creative skills. I would advance the argument that creativity is nothing more than of taking a object or idea and looking at it in different ways to illustrate something or express a thought in a different way. That is it.

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It is true that one may not be skilled in creative arts - but we, as a species, certainly are brimming with creative power. For example, If society collapsed, how would you teach your children what was important, how to view the world, how to survive, how to communicate, how to feel or not to feel? If you weren't creative, you would simply wander around and let the chips fall where they may exhibiting only the most rudimentary instincts of behavior. You'd figure out pretty quick how to build a shelter, how to find water, find food and cook it, how to devise clothing since we seemed to have misplaced our scales and fur at birth, how to write, what would write, how to make tools, how to defend yourself, etc. You'd do it with whatever was available - that takes creativity in a big way.

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Say your child said, "mom I'm bored and have nothing to play with," First, I'd be shocked if they (thought he electronic age seems to have increased this type of talk) did that because look at kids - boys use sticks as guns and swords, build forts, role play, create badges, armies, bad guys, etc. Girls, they can do the same - but I think studies indicate they are more focused on social bonding rather than war and adventure. But how many kids have created dolls or figures with personality, given names, roles, a doll house or fort and artificial conversation? Kids on bikes - fire engines, police, etc. or how games came into being? Modern life re-focuses you to the end product of published authors or acclaimed artisans -not how they got there.

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Bigger yet, how does a teacher, physician,religious cleric, politician or attorney educate someone not similarly trained? These may be more intangible forms of creativity but I assure you they are creative regardless of that fact. Most irksome of all, take anyone who has stolen your identity, duped you out of money, denied insurance claims, carried on a secret affair, or prosecuted a war and you will be blown away at the scope of both wonderful and horrible creative skill. Many individuals also don't recognize the link between creativity and human behavior - they all exhibit the same mental faculties but the skill development is different.

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So the next time you consider yourself - un-endowed with any creative ability - don't sell yourself short. It comes as naturally as breathing but to create things like you might like, you have to be trained. And to be trained, it is advisable to have an idea what to be trained in. So experimenting with all sorts of media is the key - fabrics, drawing, painting, glass, metals, wood, photography, penmanship and illustration, sculpture, cooking, singing, computer graphics, doll making, writing, story telling, landscaping, and the list goes on and on and on.