Every Day Creativity

Every Day Creativity

Creativity is everywhere , it’s found in every facet of life. I was in Dublin at the weekend and enjoyed a terrific night out with a lovely , charming group of millennials.  We started out with a small family meal and later  on we met up with several of my son’s friends from his college days .  Throughout the evening, I was struck by the every day creativity going on all around me. Things like clothes , make-up and tattoos, all part of our desire for self-expression.  Activities like food presentation and cocktail making,  designed as a feast for the eyes as well as the palate. Musical treats like buskers, their voices carrying across the streets to entertain us. Imagination, inventiveness, interpretation…So many people, so many unique responses. Social norms and fashions may influence our choices, but I believe that the creative urge is part of what it is to be human . We all have it.

The Clothes

“To me, clothing is a form of self-expression – there are hints about who you are in what you wear.” Marc Jacobs,  fashion designer

Although my daughter and I are obviously a generation apart, we still share the same angst about picking the best outfit for a night out.  Before our visit to Dublin, we sent each other texts about what we might wear. Eventually, she decided on a pretty, girly dress and I chose a safe, all-black option. Ironically, a couple of the girls appeared in animal print clothes and I was left thinking that I had failed the cavewoman concept!  In the end, we each made our own creative decision about what to wear. Various factors influenced our choices, but it seems certain that a desire for self-expression was one of them.

The Make up

Paula Piaggio has written an excellent interview piece with Jazmin Calcarami, makeup artist and stylist,  on the  creative art of make up. Paula’s opening comment that creativity makes everything more fun certainly caught my attention. I was never hugely interested in make up, but I can certainly see the attraction. If you watch someone applying make up, someone who is experienced and creative, the attention to detail is amazing. And that’s before we get to the results! No wonder that beauty blogging is so popular right now.

 

Tatoos

“Tattooing is a timeless art. It’s the most permanent form of storytelling that people commit to, leaving a mark on their body forever.” Danielle Rines, associate manager, Global Content

I’ve never been brave enough to get a tattoo, but I think that it’s a fascinating art form. It’s also very popular at the moment, though it’s certainly not a modern phenomenon. The earliest examples can be traced back thousands of years, right back to Neolithic times.  So maybe my cavewoman ancestor was braver than me and had her own tattoo. Who knows?

Culinary Art

They say we eat with our eyes, a principle well understood by those involved in the restaurant business. It’s not just about the dish tasting good ( which is obviously important ), it’s also about the dish looking good.  As an example, I ordered steak at the restaurant on Saturday night.  It arrived looking beautifully appetising, the steak on a little stone slab. Around it, separate bowls of mashed potato, vegetables and garlic butter. My first impression therefore was very positive , so the chef had done his job in this respect. It turned out that the food was delicious,  but  I think that if the same food had appeared looking messy and uncared for, I probably would’t have eaten it. It is called culinary art for a reason.

Cocktail Making

I really believe that cocktail making is an art form. I saw the delight on a friend’s face at dinner when her pina colada arrived in an actual pineapple.This resulted in several fun selfies and a very happy customer.  From a personal perspective, I’ll never forget the x-rated cocktail I ordered in a cocktail bar. I saw the bar tender throwing flames on a drink and suddenly realised that it was my drink. The passion fruit had been set alight and it appeared atop my cocktail, along with a side of prosecco. Other people were very helpful in the consumption of this treat, but it still looked amazing. I just knew my limits, there was a lot of alcohol in that one cocktail! If you want to observe the art of cocktail making at its’ finest, check out Peruke & Periwig . I was certainly impressed by their inventiveness.

Buskers

While I like the fact that bars employ so many talented musicians, my heart is drawn to the buskers. They invoke every day creativity at its’ finest. I remember last Saturday night, walking through Dublin city centre and noticing the buskers. Some singing their own material, some re-interpreting popular music by the likes of Ed Sheeran or Sam Smith. There to entertain us, hoping to make a living and sharing their creative passion.  They add to the feelgood factor of Dublin city centre . Every day creativity, but a hard slog too.