Creativity Archives - Visual Resource

Create, don’t imitate.

A message originally penned by Tess McCabe, founder of Creative Minds Publishing.

The quote, ‘Create, don’t imitate’, is one I appreciate and wanted to share with you as I think it can be interpreted in a few different ways.

Firstly….

When thinking about home decorating from a finding your style perspective, the quote provides encouragement to…

“Live for yourself and not for someone else”

a quote from Shaynna Blaze

While it may be unusual for someone to decorate a home, buying all furnishings at the one time and being true to only one style. I like to interpret the quote as license to let a personal style evolve over time, rather than emulating an established style, verbatim.

Perhaps it is more realistic (and certainly more personal and interesting), for our homes to be filled with items treasured from our past, along with newer pieces to meet our comfort, function and aesthetic needs.

When I think about the quote ‘Create, don’t imitate’ in this way, I believe it gives creative license to experiment with old and new, to tinker with established styles and my take on them, therefore mixing things up, in order to discover my own style.  A method which takes courage, and trust in myself.

Shaynna Blaze would also council:

“Your personal style will be a pinch of your past, a lot of your present

and ever evolving into the future.”

Beyond my home decorating interpretation of the quote, I am aware how the creator who originally penned the phrase intended ‘Create, don’t imitate’, to be received.  When creator Tess McCabe first shared the quote on Instagram, she wrote,

*SIGH* Another week, another armload of Insta-stories from artists, makers and designers regarding imitations of their original works being found online. Today, let’s send a message to those who trawl the web for ‘inspiration’ to step back and put their OWN thinking caps on! Feel free to re-post this image in your own feed. Here’s hoping it will flick on a few lightbulbs.

The message McCabe shared is a sentiment many creators of original work know only too well.  And lament when other less creative, or people with questionable ethics… simply copy their work.

As creators of original photographic artworks, we think the message behind ‘Create, don’t imitate’ is inspired, thought provoking and worthwhile.

Why? Because you deserve original artwork in your home – not a copy by someone lacking in the imagination to conceive an original idea, or the skill to execute an original work.

A note about the images:

I gave our young daughter an assignment to decorate the quote I had printed.   The visual at the top of the post, and the next, are both her work. The one you see below was her first go at it. It’s super creative! But then… a five year old is very qualified to provide fresh, unencumbered creative designs.

Colouring design by Roisin Collins. Five-years-old and loving colour.