Beyond Functional

A great creator does not see his work as something apart from himself. What the creator makes is a statement about the creator, and a manifestation of their sensibilities, which is one with their experiences. Our modern buildings, our strip malls and stripped-down buildings say that our culture is one with efficiency, with selling goods and services. Was God being efficient when He created a woman, or was He being extravagant? Is a cloud the most efficient way to water crops, or is it functional and aesthetically brilliant? Are the sunrise and sunset more than a functional way to dim the lights?

                                                                                   - Donald Miller

I would call myself a creative person.  I'm a visual learner.  Give me pictures.  Give me something to touch, to imagine, to picture in my mind.  Let me look close up.  Give me Monet's "Water Lilies" and I will get my nose so close to that painting so I can see the strokes, the lines in the paint from the bristles.  Paint a story, write a song, capture a memory, be descriptive, use color, explore texture.  Create.

The other night I just needed to use my hands - feed my need.  Paint, clothespins, paper.  That is all I had and I really can't tell you what I started will end up being used for, but that is okay with me.  One day its purpose will be revealed.

What I love most about Donald Miller's quote is the fact that maybe God didn't need to make women extravagant or create clouds with so much beauty that ignite the imagination of children's minds as they fight to see an animal, but He did - and his creation, though needed and created for function, is breathtaking and a reflection - a statement - of his character.  I see love there.  Someone who has made something tick and work so well but at the same time so unique and beyond the means and into the beauty.

I hope I can take that type of mindset and put it into my work - to remember that it isn't just about function or creating something to fill a need or result, but to produce beauty - something that represents so much more beyond what is expected.