The Creativity We Forgot We Had
What if creativity has always lived inside us?
As kids, creativity came naturally. It was woven into our days through elementary school art classes, where we painted freely, built from scratch, and let our imaginations take the lead. But by high school, creative time often shifted into electives like ceramics or home economics (now called family and consumer sciences), which came with more structure and fewer chances to explore. The open-ended play of childhood gradually gave way to assignments and expectations, and with that, our creative spark began to dim.
By the time we reach our twenties, unless we’re actively pursuing a career in the arts or music, creative activities often shift into the background. What once felt essential becomes “just a hobby,” something we squeeze in when we have the time, if at all. Little by little, creativity starts to feel like something that belongs only to the professionals: the painters, poets, photographers, and musicians.
But creativity isn’t limited to those titles. It’s not just about picking up a paintbrush or keeping a journal. It shows up in everyday life, in how we solve problems, try new recipes, decorate our homes, raise our kids, or build something from nothing.
Often, it’s not until we’re older that we circle back to those creative parts of ourselves. We realize that creativity was never really gone; we just stopped giving it our attention. And now, more than ever, we need it. Creativity fuels connection, encourages fresh thinking, and helps us build stronger communities. It’s not a luxury; it’s a vital part of how we live, grow, and, yes, thrive.
“It’s about how we make and weave meaning and richness into our days. Being creative means possessing curiosity, the ability to observe keenly, and a passion for innovation to move about in space and time in new ways. It means trying something different, which requires us to take the leap to trust our intuition so we can play in the unknown.”
For our sold-out April event tomorrow (we wish we had more spots!), we’re thrilled to partner with artist Sarah Madiera Day (SMD) and Christina Bechstein (CB)—teacher, artist, and founder of Lovelab Studio—for a conversation exploring the many meanings of creativity and its process. As a preview of what’s to come on April 9th, Sarah and Christina share their thoughts in a short Q&A below.
Can you share a little about your background and what you do?
SMD - I’m a Maine native who was raised on an island at a summer hotel. This feels like a foundation for the person I have grown to be, with my love for nature, interiors, art, hospitality, and so on. From the start, I’ve always been curious, creative and artistic. Growing up, I saw this as my fatal flaw because wrangling a busy-minded child can be challenging. But as I’ve gotten older, these flaws have proven to be an asset.
2003-2007 I attended Wheaton College on an academic scholarship, earning a BA in art with a minor in economic theory. When I graduated, I had no clear direction for my degree. I spent the next decade searching for my path, working for many small creative businesses while continuing to make art and renovate the spaces I lived in as a side project to satiate my personal passions.
In 2016, after having my first child and feeling like a career nomad, my husband and I decided that I would fully commit to pursuing my art and see if I could turn it into a sustainable job. Using that busy mind, my 10 years of small business experience, and the gift of Instagram, I slowly built my art business. My originals began to sell, and I recognized a gap in the affordable art market. I began making print reproductions of my pieces and offering them at affordable prices. I modeled my consumer based on myself, a literal person who loved beautiful things but had a tight budget. I began coupling my art with my home projects to show how art could work in spaces, and now, nine years later, I have a business that sustains both my life and my love, built on a genuine passion for creating inclusive art for all.
CB - As an artist-mother-educator, I run a brick + mortar business called Love Lab Studio in Portland, Maine. My days are spent setting up creativity for children and mixed ages in the studio, plus being out in the world doing the same with community partners.
Growing up, creativity was woven into everything. I lived all around the United States and have early memories of my mom (a super creative teacher) getting free paint buckets from the hardware store, painting and nailing them all over our apartment wall in my bedroom as an alternative to a dresser! All my grandparents were creators; my grandmother created amazing pen + ink illustrations for newspapers and magazines, plus designed her clothes, while my grandfather was a composer, and my early years were steeped in him playing music. My Dad was an inventor, a grocer, and loved to cook. As a teen, I got a scholarship to attend art school, and that was the start of many years of education, exhibitions, collaborations, and projects.
How do you personally define creativity?
SMD - Creativity is the ability to think in a way that is unique. It allows you to explore ideas or solutions that are inspired by you. Creativity can manifest in many ways from artistic endeavors to everyday tasks—and is often characterized by a willingness to look for new possibilities. It is to live life curiously and explore those curiosities.
CB - For me, creativity is a process and part of what it means to be human.
I see it as a basic human right. I also think we are creating together our shared world, all the time.A big part of my work is setting up, with a trauma-informed lens, accessible creativity. Because we need to express ourselves - all of us, we need to be creative and share our voice either through dance, singing, visual art, crafts, or gardening. It's not only fundamentally human, but doing it together - whether side by side with our child or in community, brings out our best selves.
A great example is the Portland Lantern Walk. Thousands of people make lanterns and then gather to sing, dance, + walk together in light. Creativity can illuminate our shared humanity and potential. There is nothing quite like it!
So the question for me always is, if we are co-creators of this world, what are we making? Imagine what kind of world we could make together if we saw ourselves in this empowered way!
Some people believe that creativity is only for "creative types." What’s your take on that?
SMD - We are all creative in one way or another. Creativity is not subject to just one thing; it finds its place in so many things. We often associate the word creative with a grand talent, but we all hold creativity in our everyday lives. What you eat, what you wear, and how you live all have aspects of creativity riddled through them. Creativity is both large and small, and it is about recognizing the small bits and adding them up to fully recognize that we all hold this attribute.
CB - Because most of my active work as an artist is done alongside the community - children and grown-ups, I get to see creativity in action all the time - all ages, races, classes, and backgrounds. I align with thinkers and artists throughout history who see us all as artists. Naming oneself a “type” can feel limiting and unempowering. My work is about setting up the opposite of that. I encourage people to get creative in their own lives through any of the arts or however they can; it’s also so good for us!
That said, there are people whose professions and callings are artists and creative educators, and we need to lift them up.
IT’S THE LITTLE THINGS
Mary Beth and Tenaya share what creativity means to them and how they practice it in their lives.
Mary Beth - I’ve honestly never thought of myself as being creative, but the more I’ve spoken about this subject with friends and especially recently with Sarah, the more I realize how creativity runs through my life. In the past, in my head, I have automatically gone to “I can’t paint, draw, write (insert any “creative” field), so I’m not creative” - even though I do all those things from time to time in my own way. Looking back, creativity was shown through during my corporate beauty days when I would build out extensive press travel itineraries with fun activities for product launches to get editors excited to write a story about our brand. From designer showroom tours, to private mornings at Musee d’Orsay, to behind the scenes at Crazy Horse and Luis Barragon’s Casa Estudio, and more - my team and I created these memorable moments to tell creative and exciting stories and show it was more than just a new lipstick.
As I’ve gotten older, I’ve revisited some areas that brought me creative joy as a child. It’s a bit silly how we forget how much joy creative outlets bring us. When we first moved to Maine, I took a year of pottery classes, and it brought back memories of the four years I took ceramics in high school. As I do crafts with my two little girls, I’m always reminded how much I enjoyed art class as a child and, up until high school, would even tell my parents I would be an art teacher when I grew up. It’s fun to be messy again! As I’ve gotten older, I’ve also come to realize that I show my creative side quite often through clothing. After spending close to ten years having to wear black to work five days a week, it’s a breath of fresh air to have fun with color and patterns. Sharing a few things that inspire my creativity:
The beach—I don’t know if it’s the salty smells or the cleansing air, but the beach has always been a place for me to clear my head, breathe, be at peace with my thoughts, and spark ideas. The seashells that are great for painting don’t hurt either.
The Dollar Store or Goodwill—give me 20 minutes, and I love to gather random and colorful materials to create with or save for a rainy day. Also, garage sale season is upon us, folks—such a rush.
A glue gun - enough said.
A sunny walk - yes it’s very simple - but a sunny walk creates sparks - not the “I want to do a collage craft spark” but more the “Hmmm maybe I’ll try conquering that problem from a different POV” spark
Tenaya - As a kid, I never did the whole summer camp thing or had a calendar full of activities. Most days, I was just doing my own thing, totally wrapped up in my little world of make-believe. One summer, I made a life-sized Monopoly board and got the neighborhood kids to be the game pieces. I ran backyard blackjack at my parents' house, made jewelry to sell to people driving by, and even started a DIY radio show with my friend Julie when we were ten.
Looking back, I see how easily creativity showed up for me. It was never something I tried to do; it just was. But as I got older and more serious about sports, that creative side started to fade. Being playful wasn’t really part of being a teenager. I was focused on making the Varsity Field Hockey team, chatting with friends on the phone, and keeping up my grades.
In college, I kept telling myself I’d sign up for an art class, but never did. I didn’t see myself as “an artist,” so I never took the leap. Still, many of my closest friends were artists. Their creativity felt like a world I wanted to be part of, even if I wasn’t sure I belonged there.
Professionally, I ended up in advertising, an industry that prides itself on creativity. But because I hadn’t gone to portfolio school, I wasn’t seen as one of the “creatives.” I was the one managing client relationships, growing the business, and keeping things moving. I loved being around the creative teams, though, watching their ideas come to life, secretly hoping they’d invite me to their creative brainstorms and see me as one of them. I used to joke that I was “creative-adjacent,” but deep down, I really wanted to be more than just next to the creativity. I wanted to be part of it.
It wasn’t until a couple of years ago, when I started working with smaller companies that didn’t have the budget for a copywriter, that I began to write. Then, a year after launching my own business, I started held with Mare—bringing people together through meaningful, creative events.
The truth is, I’ve always been creative. In the way I put outfits together, in the jewelry I found in an Upper West Side flea market, in the sketches and watercolors I chose to decorate my home, and yes, professionally, in the marketing strategy I developed that helped ignite ideas. Even now, when I draw stick figures or dance interpretively with my daughter, I’m being creative. It just looks different than I once thought it had to.
