let's play

Creativity is about play and a kind of willingness to go with your intuition. It's crucial to an artist. If you know where you are going and what you are going to do, why do it? - (Frank Gehry)

I think all artists know that creating involves experimentation and trying new and different things, but how many of us think of that as 'playing'. We say "I'm just playing around with some new ideas" or "I'm just going to see how this plays", but how often do we really consider our art to be 'play'. I think sometimes in the creation of art we tend to get so bogged down in the details or trying to force something to happen that we forget to take a moment, relax, and remember why we're artists in the first place.

Remember how you felt as a child when you just PLAYED. Think of the wonderfully amazing things you discovered then, when you allowed yourself to relax and enjoy playing without deadlines, or goals.

This is why I love Second Life. Although I do still think that it's very easy to get caught up in 'must-do's' in a virtual world, I'm also much more likely in this environment to interact with others, and experiment, and explore. I'm more likely to involve 'play' in my work and I think that sort of freedom allows for more creative expression. Just like the quote says, if you know where you're going and what you'll do.. why do it? It's all about the journey, the experience, and what you learn along the way.