Creative Thought Space |
Dmetri Kakmi | Melbourne, Australia | www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dmetri_Kakmi
Essayist, Reviewer, Speaker, Broadcaster, Editor, Author
What do you think being creative means?
Creativity is an expansive brain. Open curiosity is a necessity. So is not being afraid to think for yourself and to express a particular outlook. Creativity encompasses all aspects of life, connecting disparate ideas and experiences in a distinctive manner.
How do you include creativity in your life?
Through writing and fashion. I write for three and a half hours, five days a week. I am also passionate about clothes and take care when I dress. Home is calibrated to support a calm environment that allows for work and relaxation. Preparing meals for friends and family is a gesture of love and gratitude. Getting high and dancing to techno is a bonus.
What are your thoughts on how your life has influenced your creative imagination, and how your creative imagination has influenced your life?
I always say I’d be a basket case if I didn’t write. One good thing about a traumatic upbringing is it can feed writing, and the writing can keep demons at bay. Writing is performance art. For each piece, whether it’s fiction or non-fiction, I adopt a different persona to tell a story. At the end, I doff that persona and take on another. It’s a kind of acting, becoming someone else, while remaining grounded in yourself and the demands of your chosen art form.
What, if any, exercises do you do to get into a creative mode?
In lieu of exercises, I have habits and totems. My habit is to sit at my desk at 9.00 a.m. and get up at 12.30 p.m. I am strict about this and do not tolerate disturbances. Prize totems on my desk include a bronze sculpture of the god Pan, a genie bottle from the TV series I Dream of Jeannie, and Sufi prayer beads from my homeland, Turkey.
How important do you think creativity is in life?
Creative expression is important to me, but I am not convinced it’s a necessity for all. Though doubtless what constitutes creativity is open to interpretation. Basket weaving anyone?
Creativity is an expansive brain. Open curiosity is a necessity. So is not being afraid to think for yourself and to express a particular outlook. Creativity encompasses all aspects of life, connecting disparate ideas and experiences in a distinctive manner.
How do you include creativity in your life?
Through writing and fashion. I write for three and a half hours, five days a week. I am also passionate about clothes and take care when I dress. Home is calibrated to support a calm environment that allows for work and relaxation. Preparing meals for friends and family is a gesture of love and gratitude. Getting high and dancing to techno is a bonus.
What are your thoughts on how your life has influenced your creative imagination, and how your creative imagination has influenced your life?
I always say I’d be a basket case if I didn’t write. One good thing about a traumatic upbringing is it can feed writing, and the writing can keep demons at bay. Writing is performance art. For each piece, whether it’s fiction or non-fiction, I adopt a different persona to tell a story. At the end, I doff that persona and take on another. It’s a kind of acting, becoming someone else, while remaining grounded in yourself and the demands of your chosen art form.
What, if any, exercises do you do to get into a creative mode?
In lieu of exercises, I have habits and totems. My habit is to sit at my desk at 9.00 a.m. and get up at 12.30 p.m. I am strict about this and do not tolerate disturbances. Prize totems on my desk include a bronze sculpture of the god Pan, a genie bottle from the TV series I Dream of Jeannie, and Sufi prayer beads from my homeland, Turkey.
How important do you think creativity is in life?
Creative expression is important to me, but I am not convinced it’s a necessity for all. Though doubtless what constitutes creativity is open to interpretation. Basket weaving anyone?
