BLOG #6: Artists vs Creators Vs Makers Vs ???

 to art (/ärt/)

verb

to make or create something that has never before existed, with intention, often over a period of time

Anyone can art!   ....Right?

After a couple of years running a creative business, we have found that not everyone agrees. 

"Oh, I'm not creative."

We "creative people" hear this phrase often. One colleague even said to me recently, "I've actually given up trying to convince people that they're creative." 

As a creative business, we think about the word/identity "artist" a lot, and why some people embrace it while others struggle to own it--if they even want to own it. In our attempts to market an "art residency" in northern Colorado, we've tried expanding our language to include words like "creator" or "maker," even "crafter" or "creative" whenever we talk about our business to others. 

As a language major in college (German) and former English tutor (to German students), I enjoy thinking about this kind of challenge. I believe this issue is simply a limitation of the English language. 

Our language just doesn't have the right word to describe a person who can build or renovate a building, decorate a room to their liking, design and implement a statistics or scientific research experiment, make a handmade birthday gift for Grandma, or arrange a stunning garden, AND: 

• doesn't like drawing or can't draw realistically, so thinks they can't draw
• isn't going to use their vacation time to paint on a canvas with a paintbrush
• never learned to sew, form a clay pot, draw a horse realistically, or about how colors work (or don't work) together
• never really enjoyed writing
• didn't choose art or choir or band as a school elective
• feels lost (or even stupid) in an art museum or at art-related activities
• doesn't have the patience for the kind of tedium making art sometimes demands
• is fine with all of this

Anyone who fits these descriptions is TOTALLY fine. We are all different, and we all have our strengths. The ways we differ from one another is an asset to the human race.

I would still argue that everyone is creative if we could just expand the definition of "creativity." 

Lol, let's just make an announcement that we plan to make a big change to the English language and expect everyone to follow suit right away!!

Yeah, I guess that's not how it works. 😋

Ultimately, Kestrel Fields Studio strives to market to the people for whom a retreat/residency program is the right fit, solving a unique problem.

While it is true that Kestrel Fields Studio & Art Residency welcomes people who identify as artists, creators, creatives, makers, crafters, etc, it turns out that's hard to market. All those words muddy the message; we've lost your attention in trying to find whatever word resonates with you before we've even gotten to telling you what we offer!

What are we to do? How can we work within the language we've got to find just the right people for our service?

If you've made it this far, click below to keep reading about who is exactly right  for an art residency or creative retreat at Kestrel Fields Studio.