What Constitutes Creativity?

[erulissedances]

My DH and I love watching creative competitive TV shows - Project Runway, Project Accessory, Work of Art, etc. The entire idea of having to produce something meeting specific parameters within a limited time frame and, sometimes, utilizing specific materials really appeals to me because I am a deadline-driven person and operate best with due dates hanging in front of me. But I have also, lately, become aware of the different ways that personal creativity can be expressed.

I have an LJ 'friend' who is a member of another LJ group (etc., etc., etc.) who is doing a fundraiser for another 'friend'...my goodness. How very convoluted. The focus here is the people who have banded together to offer products for auction to benefit Person A. These are all creative people - authors for the most part, but also other craftspeople. And reading through the posts offering their various donations, I am thrilled with the variety of creativity that I'm seeing there. Authors are donating their books, crits, or face-to-face meetings. Artists are offering prints, paintings, books in which their artwork appears, etc. Craftspeople are offering weavings, glasswork and knitted items. The variety of items that are now being offered for the benefit of this one specific individual is wonderful, and is increasing hourly. Humanity is so VERY creative.

Buttons are SO not my media, but why is art like this considered craft instead of art?
It could be used as a wall installation in aggregate...just a thought...

Yesterday my DH and I spoke about which TV creativity challenge show we would want to appear on if we had a choice. I suspect I would either do Project Accessory or Work of Art, and I'm tempted to focus more on Work of Art. My DH immediately asked me what I had ever done that would be considered art instead of craft. I had no real answer for him because I am a crafter who thinks that my choice of media shouldn't eliminate me from the "art" world. I have confidence in my work, but it obviously isn't shared by my DH. *sigh* Sometimes I feel as if I'm rowing against the current all of the time - it's exhausting. Then creativity takes me by the horns again, shows me my next project, and I'm swimming above the flow caught in the stream of air and floating above the waters once again. I just wish there were more of the floating times, and less of the rowing ones :-)