A ‘No-Nonsense’ Guide to Creative Dabblers

Creative Dabblers.

My definition? The “cool and creative, not 100% sure, half-ish answer” given by a person when faced with the question, “what kind of creative work do you do?” The actual definition? They are people who actively participate in many different, rewarding creative outlets in order to satisfy their need to express themselves.

You may or may not know a Creative Dabbler; you may even be one yourself. Regardless, this is a ‘no-nonsense guide’ to understanding the signs, symptoms, and causes of Creative Dabblers who lurk among us in the Creative Community.

I’m just kidding. A Creative Dabbler is someone who tries lots of things within an over-arching theme. I am a proud, and confident Creative Dabbler (hi there new LinkedIn job title) who dabbles away in so many things, from photography, to social media marketing, to calligraphy, to baking, to card-making, to singing, to graphic design, to writing, and so much more. I was quite recently asked by a fellow Creative in a survey, “what kind of creative work do you do?” Of all the questions, it was the one I spent the longest perfecting, re-wording, questioning, and re-wording again. It is a common perception to think of being a Creative Dabbler as a bad thing, and that they are people who just can’t figure out what they want to do, or even worse, someone who just isn’t good enough to pick one thing to master.

Now, I am going to call a time-out from this unfair, speculative, and restraining perception, and put into play the argument that dabbling, in general, is synonymous with, and aligned directly with the word creativity.

Here’s 3 reasons why…

1. Unconventionality

As Creative Dabblers, we steer clear of rules and don’t let any sort of guidelines limit us as to what we can or can not do within an outlet. For example, I love photography, but to some, I may not be following the correct rules for “proper” photography. We break free from the individual limitations strapped to each art form and learn and discover in our own way and in our own time. We always give ourselves options.

2. Innovation

Yes, I am drawing parallels between the word “dabbling” and “innovation.” Essentially dabbling can be seen as a form of innovating. By definition, innovating means to make changes by introducing new ideas, methods etc. Naturally, by dabbling we bring to the table lots of different skills from many areas. This also means many ways of thinking, and lots of experience approaching and processing problems in many ways. With this in mind, being able to create your own innovative art form by combining different outlets is extraordinary. For example, I regularly combine calligraphy with watercolour paintings, and I like to use acrylic paints to paint some of the photographs I take.

3. Mindfulness

It is easy to think that Creative Dabblers would have too much on their mind at once (and hey, maybe that is true for some of us), but Creative Dabblers can be extremely mindful in nature and are aware of what they are focusing their time and energy on. Deep down, Creative Dabblers are incredibly intuitive because they know and trust themselves to try a certain thing, and be brave enough to follow it, and they are not afraid of failing. That isn’t to say that we take part in every single creative outlet possibly known to man, because I know well enough that if I were to try ceramics, it would not be pretty… In those moments of creative dabbling, I am being driven by a powerful, gut-driven, heart-centered force. I know what will fulfill me creatively and give me happiness at all times. I know what serves me in a positive way and what doesn’t. And whatever doesn’t, I do not focus my energy on.

I encourage everyone to try creative dabbling, even if you are a master or professional at one thing already. It can open up your mind and your heart, and can help you look at things from a different perspective that you never thought possible before. If you are a Creative Dabbler like me, feel free to try some of my dabbles, or let me know what you dabble in.

#CreativeDabblersUnite