Your Art Needs a Frame: The Power of Structure in Creativity
The picture above is of an old church in Sorrento, Italy. Its priest, my friend Rito Maresca, has a dream of a coffee shop that offers the best coffee drink creations for free. And a place for healing prayer if you want it as well. To make it happen, it just needed money, a building, and a trained staff. His art needed a frame.
Do you have an artistic or ministry side that is forever struggling to find its place? Do you wonder how to make a living and often feel like your right brain is trapped in a left brain world?
When I was going to business school, the professors would say, “There are two kinds of students here, the engineers and the poets – which are you?” And I wrestled with this concept – I’m a dreamer and I love dreams. But I recognized that my dreams needed money and plans and teams to implement the plans.
Years later, I realized that my dreams are like art. Great art needs structure and boundaries if it to find its audience. When I finally embraced this, I stopped loading all kinds of expectations on the back of my art and ministry. It was never going to pay for itself – that wasn’t its job.
The Paradox of Creative Freedom
It may seem counterintuitive, but true creative freedom often emerges from constraint. Just as a painter needs a canvas and frame to bring their vision to life, artists of all kinds need a structure within which to express their ideas. This framework isn’t a limitation; it’s a launchpad for innovation.
The Canvas of Your Craft
Consider the painter’s canvas. It’s a defined space, a blank slate with edges and dimensions. These boundaries don’t restrict the artist; they provide a focus, a challenge to fill that space with beauty and meaning.
Similarly, the frame isn’t just for display; it’s a boundary for the canvas. It stands between the world in which we live and the reality the art represents. In music, the five-line staff and musical notation serve a similar purpose. They offer a platform for the notes, allowing musicians to capture and share melodies. Without this structure, the notes would not have sequence or relationship to one another.
Finding Your Frame
What is your art or ministry? It could look like writing, cooking, praying, photography, counseling or a host of other mediums. My art often shows up in helping others to believe in and go for their dreams. Depending on your art, your “frame” might be:
- For writers: Word counts, genres, or narrative structures
- For ministers: Planing, getting funding and partners
- For chefs: Seasonal ingredients or cultural traditions
- For programmers: Programming languages or project specifications
- For entrepreneurs: Finding product/market fit
These constraints aren’t obstacles; they’re catalysts for creativity. They challenge you to think deeper, to innovate within parameters, and often lead to more focused, impactful work.
The Right Brain Needs the Left
Creativity is often associated with the right brain – the realm of intuition, emotion, and holistic thinking. But to bring your creative vision to life, you need the analytical, structured thinking of the left brain. It’s this interplay between freedom and form that gives birth to truly remarkable art.
Embracing the Structure
The most breathtaking views are often framed by a window. So, as you approach your next creative endeavor, don’t shy away from structure. Embrace it. Set your own limits if none exist. Give yourself a deadline, a word count, a specific medium or tool to work with. You might be surprised at how these self-imposed boundaries liberate your creativity.
If you go to Sorrento, you’ll see that Rito’s dream now has a building. I believe sometime in 2024 it will offer you the best cup of coffee you’ve had. His efforts show us that your art, whatever form it takes, deserves the constraints that reveal its beauty. Give it a frame, and watch it come to life.
Comments (6)
Leave a Reply
Amazing!!!
So Powerful, Thank you for pouring out the Father’s Heart ❤️ Steps to the Creator…This Journey is Art of The Creator Frame and empowered with His Dreams/Sound’s and Heavenly Visions….We are on Display for the World 🌎 to see His Glory… I was singing when I read your message, My Favorite Show Touch By Angel…
I am a inner city Missionary ❤️♥️💔 in Texas and Las Vegas Sharing the Wonders of Christ Love ❤️
That’s good, Angela – the journey we’re on is the Creator’s art! We are on display for the world to see his glory!
I was in Sorrento in that parish in 2020 after the first lockdown, and I was able to taste the scent of a coffee that was not material but an expression of the beautiful people who welcomed me first and foremost Don Rito.
May the Lord Jesus bless you and protect you always.❤️🙏
Excellent, Seth. When it comes to the traditional assessment of the right and left hemispheres of the brain we often forget the importance of a infrequently mentioned area between these two neural landmarks. The corpus callosum is a thick bundle of nerve fibers that connects the right and left hemispheres of the brain, allowing the two sides to communicate and coordinate their functions:
Good point, Butch. I’ve actually been thinking a lot about the corpus callosum recently. I’ve got a pretty good right and left brain, but nothing extraordinary. If I’ve got a gift that a lot of people don’t have, it’s this thick bundle of nerves that acts like a fire wire between the two halves of my brain. I toggle easily between the two. Usually it’s very confusing to others, but for me it’s like a super power.