My Creative Process

Ilene Lee
English 1B
27 August 2009
Tuesday-Thursday

In the eyes of James Baldwin, an artist must be imaginative and take the ugliness of truth in society and turn it into a liberating beauty that sets things straight. As an artist, I write to share my thoughts and emotions of issues that are important to me, such as women’s rights, global hunger, and the lost youth in America. My creative process stems from the core ideas and morals that I have been raised to believe. I rely on my instincts and personal experiences to guide myself through words that mean something- words that express my truth.

When I write, I isolate my thoughts into a deep corner and question the themes and ideas that exist around a particular subject. I apply my mentality into a state of “aloneness of birth or death” (1) and think about a topic at its core state without any outside influences from others. It is imperative for me, as a writer, to keep my thoughts as raw as possible, to ensure that my words create a powerful and original voice. Baldwin explains that an artist “is his own test tube, his own laboratory, working… to supersede his responsibility to reveal all that he can possibly discover concerning the human bring” (2), similarly, I write to fulfill my own discovery and to illustrate what I have learned in my research. I am not fighting to sound the smartest or most eloquent, but simply fighting to share my voice; to show that my words have meaning and depth to our lives. I strive to release the truth I perceive to be reality in the experiences of my life.

When it comes to my audience, I have no better guests than I, myself. My thoughts are mainly for my own insight and knowledge- to reflect on my perspectives in life and gain a better understanding. I have no one to make proud, no one to impress and instead of fighting for another person’s approval- I am writing for my own personal sake. Baldwin explains that all human have their own belief of what is true. An artist simply breaks down their own ideas and shares it with the world, whether or not a person chooses to believe that artist depends on their own free will. My motivation is to seek a truth that I can find fit for our society. With all the changes and taboo situations that occur daily, I am still trying to improve my ever-expanding knowledge of this world and becoming closer to understanding the purpose of myself.

Works Cited
Baldwin, James. "The Creative Process". Creative America. 1962