I was surfing blogs, articles and web sites this evening and started pondering what makes us creative beings? No other animal actually creates items of any kind for the pure joy of appreciating it. A painting depicts scenes populated with real or imaginary beings, animals or plants. It can be calming or shocking, mellow or wild. Sculptures can be fashioned from a multitude of materials to represent objects recognizable or not, with textures smooth or rough. The same can be said of writing – a story can evoke many emotions from anger to sadness to happiness. What is it that the creator of these different types of works has? How do they craft paint, clay, metal and words into something that brings wonder? It is a question many will answer from their own perspective – for me I think anyone who creates, in whatever medium they choose, has a ‘creative gene’. Some people never get to find that particular passion that consumes them, which is a loss not only to them but for the world in general. Think of your favorite painter, writer or sculptor and how their work has touched you – if these people had not found their delight it would have been such a loss. Encourage those around you to try different mediums of expression – once found the ‘gene’ will come into play and the sweet infatuation will begin.