To think that really boring people see highly creative people as children?

[Heroine]

I AM JUST SAYING..

I had a weird thing happen, I am quite creative and like decorative stuff and cool quirky things and someone who I thought was on the same wavelength gave me a real dressing down when I showed her some cool japanese quirky notebooks I bought - with that sort of stylised fluffy, hearty, pop=art style, she sais the thought it was childish and unprofessional. (!). i thought it was just fun..

It made me think that all the people who make the rules about what is 'professional' are really just all the really dull tedious unimaginative types and that is why they think creativity is likely to diminish performance - because they can't handle it and it freaks their boring little heads out.

(I know this might seem to conflict with my 'women who run fluffy novelty businesses' thread, but I'm just saying (and not explaining well) that the dull people seem to never be interested in anything, and seem to make the rules, and the people who went wild and got into interestingb things in their teens and 20s but had to droip them because the dull run the world, are seen by the dull people as 'only having childish ideas'.
It seems a bit sad - does anyone see what I mean?? It seems to be getting worse as women have more serious jobs - I get it but as I'm a bit 'consultant-ish' I can ride above it, but it seems that somewhere there is a book that says you can't be clever or get things done or reliable unless you think and dress in a dull boring way.. and that makes no sense to me..

sorry for going on, but I think there somethin in my uncomfortableness at being thought of as childish when I think of myself as an adult who has some sense of humour and creativity.

Am I being unreasonable??

I think I'll call it 'The Fluffy Pen' a woman's guide to creative fulfillment at work...

:)

This has been a funny and interesting thread.

However there is something buttock-clenchingly embarrassing about a grown woman buying goods clearly marketed for young teenagers then labelling anyone who considers this a tad childish as "boring."

OP that friend has probably been screwing her courage up for months to say that to you.

Sounds like a self-help guide to shagging your colleagues...

I define myself as creative after certain events led me to realise I could create a world of fiction.

All that tells me is that people are born to create. I don't buy this idea that some people are unable to tap into their creative side. They might not be able to apply themselves to create art or literature, but that's because creating art boils down to sweat and blood as opposed to innate creativity.

What i really don't get is "creative" people identifying themselves as such and assuming that other people are not because they don't appear to be. All that tells you is that they don't reveal their inner world.

so do you think that all those people who get freaked out when they see someone wearing different clothes than they sell in topshop and who say the same phrases about the weather year in year out are faking it and are secretly wildly creative types dreaming of creating giant fictional worlds? Although I like this idea, I just, sadly, don't think its true. Some people have difficulty imagining what the next town is like.,

Hmmmmmm

Now what does my stationery say about me? What image do I wish to convey with my A4 lined jotter?

And does anyone give a fuck?

Honestly, Heroine, you do sound as if you're standing back all the time, admiring how cretive you are, and how 'different' from all the boring people who talk about the weather. You're sort of 'telling' us how creative you are, instead of 'showing' us (one of the first rules of good creative writing, as you're hoping to have a go at being published).

Creative, not cretive.

I think you are arrogant in the extreme. I know some successful artists who stand a st the school gates in waterproof jackets and fluffy jumpers. They aren't really bothered about their image, just making art. They are not pretentious, just focused and a touch nerdy about their vocation. Ditto some musicians I know.

They do have lovely matching stationery though.

Also 'wearing different clothes than they sell in Topshop' is hardly the high benchmark that a creative person is aiming to achieve.

Sorry stationary bloody hell

you were right the first time Norman

Really? I used to be a sub editor but now fear for my future

haven't read whole thread, but fluffy notebooks are childish!

haven't read whole thread, but fluffy notebooks are childish!

Fluffy notebooks do NOT equal creativity, though of course a creative person may use one.

Some of the most creative people I've ever known use very plain nondescript notebooks, maybe even simple school lined notebooks. SHOCK HORROR!!!

I have a really creative friend and yes, she does discuss the weather and wears jeans and tracksuits from chain stores. Should I tell her to give back the rather major award she won recently?

I'm an artist - i use A4 plain packets from staples, you know, printing paper. It's cheap and i can get through loads and not feel precious about it.

Nothing more intimidating to an artist than a lovely clean, pretty sketchbook....

Your limited idea of a creative person is laughable. A lady in our village looks all tweedy and prim, she belongs to the WI.

She also is a fantastic stained glass artist and has produced many windows for churches and abbeys.

You would never know just from looking at her. And no, i don't think she carries Paperchase 'fun and crazy' notebooks around with her either.

My sister is an actress and often buys stuff in top shop.
You seem to think creative people live in some kind of parallel world and never shop in Tescos or use a bus or go to the bank or all the 'ordinary' things that 'boring' people do.
My family would all be deemed 'creative' by virtue of their jobs but I don't recognise them from your descriptions of creative people.

Op you remind me of a girl in our local shop - she is a Goth and wears Goth clothes and has piarcings etc. (all the usual stuff).

She was telling me how all the old ducks who come in to buy their papers and dog food look down their noses at her and all her Gothy mates because she is A GOTH

You know what? IT'S ALL IN HER HEAD

They don't care, they just want their fags.

Heroine, are you my roommate from halls of residence. She thought she was quirky and fun because she wore stripy tights, in reality she was really dull. It's about who you are, not what accessories you choose.

I do get your point about there being an assumption that you can't be creative but also be serious and vice versa. It bugs me that because I chose a serious career path there is an assumption that I am not creative, whereas I won prizes for my artwork at school and was strongly encouraged to go to art school. I didn't because I was also very good at maths so went after the money!!

Is the OP Peaches Geldof?

Hooded Crow - it does sound a bit "Only Gay in the Village" doesn't it?

I'm so different. Everyone is against me because I am so different. There is no-one else quite like me in the world.

Really, really want to know how old the OP is. My money is still on not old enough to vote.

While the OP sounds like the sort of classic twat that I have occasionally had to deal with professionally ('I'm this like great writer and here's my manuscript submitted in green ink in a fluffy notebook - what do you MEAN you won't assess anything that isn't properly typed?') there are people who will pick on anyone they percieve as non-mainstream. Remember Sophie Lancaster

Herione - you may be 'Creative' but you seem a bit of a gap in the imagination department if you really can only judge people by the clothes they wear and the stationery they use, oh and the job they do.

I think that perhaps you don't mean 'creative' so much as 'arty-farty'