Creative Thought Space |
Andy Dinan | Melbourne, Australia | www.marsgallery.com.au
Director & Founder of MARS Gallery (Melbourne Art Rooms)
What do you think being creative means?
1. Being creative means different things to different people - for me it is the way I greet every minute and every day. 2. It is evident in every area of my life - my thoughts - my health - my love for my life and its contents - being creative is a reason to live. It is not an option for me, it just is.
How do you include creativity in your life?
Creativity is in every moment of my life - it’s in the way I greet the computer on my desk, it’s in the way I wake my children, it’s in the way I cook and think and breathe. I don’t think about trying to be creative and it always floors me when I realize that we are not all thinking - doing - being alike and I am used to now often being alone and different in my creative mind. I went to a freedom-creative school and never really thought too much about thinking of following a creative life, it just evolved that way. It was not a career strategic move or a strategic way of conducting my life I just believe in being true to who I am and for me that is a creative way.
What thoughts do you have as to how your life has influenced your creative imagination, and how your creative imagination has influenced your life?
My imagination and my life and my creative force are one. I never see any divide they are an integral part of each other. I could not imagine a life without creativity or a life without imagination, they just flow and if one gets out of sync then things usually go off the rail and disaster happens - that’s why to be true and to be who I am, is I have found the only answer and that means following my creative imagination and voice.
What, if any, exercises do you do to get into a creative mode?
I never consciously try to “get” creative - I just be me. If I feel low energy or out of sync I know it and I know I can look at various things according to the energy level e.g. yoga - massage - walking dog on beach - hanging with kids - cooking - being in nature - dancing - getting drunk off head - these are all ploys to put me back in sync, but as I’ve got older I’ve found I need to be simple and clear and follow my inner voice. Creativity flows then.
How important do you think creativity is in life?
It is everything. It is the core of all - it makes life - it makes a reason for us to be here. It is natural and it is the thing that makes me - me.
1. Being creative means different things to different people - for me it is the way I greet every minute and every day. 2. It is evident in every area of my life - my thoughts - my health - my love for my life and its contents - being creative is a reason to live. It is not an option for me, it just is.
How do you include creativity in your life?
Creativity is in every moment of my life - it’s in the way I greet the computer on my desk, it’s in the way I wake my children, it’s in the way I cook and think and breathe. I don’t think about trying to be creative and it always floors me when I realize that we are not all thinking - doing - being alike and I am used to now often being alone and different in my creative mind. I went to a freedom-creative school and never really thought too much about thinking of following a creative life, it just evolved that way. It was not a career strategic move or a strategic way of conducting my life I just believe in being true to who I am and for me that is a creative way.
What thoughts do you have as to how your life has influenced your creative imagination, and how your creative imagination has influenced your life?
My imagination and my life and my creative force are one. I never see any divide they are an integral part of each other. I could not imagine a life without creativity or a life without imagination, they just flow and if one gets out of sync then things usually go off the rail and disaster happens - that’s why to be true and to be who I am, is I have found the only answer and that means following my creative imagination and voice.
What, if any, exercises do you do to get into a creative mode?
I never consciously try to “get” creative - I just be me. If I feel low energy or out of sync I know it and I know I can look at various things according to the energy level e.g. yoga - massage - walking dog on beach - hanging with kids - cooking - being in nature - dancing - getting drunk off head - these are all ploys to put me back in sync, but as I’ve got older I’ve found I need to be simple and clear and follow my inner voice. Creativity flows then.
How important do you think creativity is in life?
It is everything. It is the core of all - it makes life - it makes a reason for us to be here. It is natural and it is the thing that makes me - me.
About
Andy Dinan created MARS - Melbourne Art Rooms - some 8 years ago wanting to support and promote mid-career Australian Artists. Some 7 years ago she founded the group “Off Your Back”, a coat collection that happens every winter for the St Kilda Crises Centre and to date has collected some 50,000 coats that within 24 hours are dry-cleaned and on the back of someone that needs them on the streets - no money ever changes hands. Andy has been for the last 8 years on the T.L.C. Advisory committee.
Andy is a mother of three crazy kids and when she is not reading or sculpting she is planning her next family holiday to a country that no one seems to ever know about or how to get to.
Andy is famous for her pet beagle “Lucky” and creating the character “Gallery Girl” which in 2011 was a short-lived visual arts television series on C31. If Andy ever has enough money and time the series could return.
Andy Dinan created MARS - Melbourne Art Rooms - some 8 years ago wanting to support and promote mid-career Australian Artists. Some 7 years ago she founded the group “Off Your Back”, a coat collection that happens every winter for the St Kilda Crises Centre and to date has collected some 50,000 coats that within 24 hours are dry-cleaned and on the back of someone that needs them on the streets - no money ever changes hands. Andy has been for the last 8 years on the T.L.C. Advisory committee.
Andy is a mother of three crazy kids and when she is not reading or sculpting she is planning her next family holiday to a country that no one seems to ever know about or how to get to.
Andy is famous for her pet beagle “Lucky” and creating the character “Gallery Girl” which in 2011 was a short-lived visual arts television series on C31. If Andy ever has enough money and time the series could return.
