Creativity and the role of friction

Creativity and the Role of Friction

So much of what we do in our everyday lives is creative; if there's enough thought behind it, creativity can often be found there. Interior design is about committing to the process of creating something in a meaningful way.

The spark that keeps interior designers motivated and galvanised is the pursuit of creativity; it is the thing that we strive for every single day. There are a lot of mundane tasks within interior design, but the creative parts are definitely the reward.

So much of design is about problem-solving, which is a creative endeavour in itself. Good interior designers are ones that can think on their feet and find creative solutions to problems quickly as they arise.

Not Shying Away from Creative Tension

Creative friction and tension is vital within the process of decorating. There always has to be a certain amount of play between different ideas and possibilities to arrive at the best solution.

Out of friction comes true creativity; if you repeated the same thing over and over again, it would become boring - you need new challenges to keep things fresh and current.

Beauty Comes from a Greater Place

My early life was centred around a quest to discover and understand different religious practices, philosophies and ways of living. This has led me to explore the meaning of beauty in a myriad of spiritual ways.

In my garden at Gazebo, I have the following poem tiled within a foundation.

The Essence of Desire

*I did not*

*have to ask my heart what it wanted,*

*because of all the desires I have ever known, just one did I cling to*

*for it was the essence of*

*all desire:*

*to know beauty.*

–St. John of the Cross, Love Poems From God: Twelve Sacred Voices from the East and West, trans. Daniel Ladinsky, p. 314

For me, this speaks to the divine nature of beauty, and the deeply human need to seek it. Beauty has a tangible effect on us; it can calm us, excite us, take us into a different headspace - it speaks to our subconscious in a way that nothing else can.

Chaos Framed by Order

Chaotic homes can be transformed by bringing visual order to harmonise a space; this could be changing things like proportions, architectural details and door positions.

I also love the relationship between chaos and order in gardens, mixing chaotic and wild planting with formal clipped hedging.

I believe you need discipline for chaos to thrive.

Further reading

• St. John of the Cross