I've been told a number of times from various people that they could never be as creative as I am. Let me reassure you there is nothing about creativity that anyone can't do.

Creativity is not something you are born with, or a skill you need to develop; it's a series of simple decisions. 

I don't see creativity as a skill, but rather as the ability to trust yourself with using color and shapes however you would like to. 

For example...

In my kitchen, I didn't like the microwave oven where it was, looming over the stove like it did. It was intrusive, and it was considerably larger than the average microwave. So, I took it down. What could go wrong?

After I took it down, I knew it was the right choice. The space was much more open, and with the microwave out of the way, there was much more light on the stove top. The only thing I did not plan for was the stained and damaged wall behind it. 

But that's alright, I'm creative and I will figure something out. This is the moment the idea of a mosaic became the solution. 

I gathered and prepared materials from home stores (and by prepare, I mean my son and I had a ton of fun smashing the tiles. Safely of course). We put the tiles on the board, and began dry fitting the mosaic. We both decided that we need more tiles, and set the project aside.

This is where trusting the process becomes important. I didn't want to stop the project, and I knew that it wasn't ready to be completed yet, so I knew it was time to wait for the next step.

After a few weeks, as I was cleaning out a storage bin and found this ceramic bowl that my sister gave me years ago, because she would often send me items from when she was stationed overseas. I loved it then, and I still love it today; it never had a place. I instantly knew it belonged in the mosaic as the perfect centerpiece. This is the destiny of the bowl and the reason, unknown to both of us, why she bought and gifted it, and why I hung onto it all this time. 

It became a profound moment because I can honor her in a personal and special way, using something she gave me. We also loved cooking together, and I will see it doing something we love, every day. 

Once I knew I had collected everything for the mosaic, the mosaic came together quickly, because the decisions were easy to make. That's how I see creativity - a series of decisions based on intiution and the capabilities of the materials. 

This reinforces the lesson that creativity can't be forced and arrives at it's own speed. Everyone has the ability to be creative, an it's not as complicated as some may believe.

Starting with a focus is helpful, and you if you get stuck you can make decisions based on the availability or the capability of the materials you are using. For example, I used large pieces under the bowl because the small pieces were hidden, and I enjoy sorting colors, so I was able to see the proportion of light to dark.

These are a few of the simple choices I made to build this art, so if you get stuck with your creative expression, start simple.