Create Astonishment

January 8, 2025

Art, in its truest sense, is not just about the finished piece—it's about the process of creation itself, the act of bringing something into existence that did not exist before. The artist, in this dance of creation, performs a delicate act of both expressing the self and unveiling the unseen. Through brushstrokes, sculpting hands, or the careful placement of notes, the artist creates. And yet, it is often the outcome—the finished piece—that holds the power to astonish. Why is it that this astonishment is so vital to true creation? What makes the artist's work stand out as unique, not only in its form but also in its capacity to evoke wonder?

Uniqueness of Creation

At the core of every true work of art is uniqueness. It’s not merely the technical precision of a brushstroke or the mastery of a particular medium. What makes a piece of art stand apart is that it is the artist’s own creation—a product of their imagination, skill, and inner vision. When an artist picks up their brush, their creation is an act of rebellion against the already known. No other hand, no other mind, can produce the exact same thing. Each brushstroke, each moment of focus, each shift in movement is part of a process that brings forth something new into the world.

It’s important to recognize that this creative act extends beyond mere inspiration. Inspiration alone is fleeting, a whisper in the wind that calls forth an idea. But it is the artist’s deliberate work—their painstaking process of translating thought into form—that transforms an idea into something tangible. The brushstroke is not just a technique, but a manifestation of the artist's voice in that moment. Each stroke is alive with intention, and that, in itself, is creative art.

Dream State vs. the Work State

There is a subtle but crucial difference between what happens in the mind of the artist while they dream and what occurs when they are actively engaged in their work. In dreams, the boundaries of reality often dissolve. Images flow freely, sometimes absurdly, sometimes beautifully, but the dream world rarely produces something entirely novel. In a dream, nothing is truly unexpected—it's a patchwork of previous experiences, thoughts, and feelings rearranged into surreal scenes. While the dream state offers inspiration, it is not where true artistic creation occurs.

It is in the wakeful moments of work—where the artist is actively engaging with their medium—that creation transcends the realm of imagination. It is in the deliberate crafting of forms, the conscious manipulation of material, and the honing of technique that the artist steps beyond the confines of their own mind. The work itself reveals new possibilities that the artist could not have conceived in the abstract. It is here, in the process of bringing forth, that the boundaries of imagination expand.

This distinction is important because it suggests that creation does not come from the unconscious mind alone, but from the intersection of thought and action. It is the “work” that makes the dream real, turning ephemeral ideas into something concrete and unexpected.

Outcome and the Astonishment

When the artist steps back and gazes at the finished piece, there is often a moment of astonishment. The forms that were once intangible now exist as objects—paintings on canvases, sculptures in space, melodies in the air. This moment is crucial, for it is in this astonishment that the artist understands that they have transcended their imagination. The creation has become something more than they envisioned; it has taken on a life of its own. The artist may marvel at the fact that something so unique, so remarkable, emerged from their own hands.

But here’s the catch: if the artist does not experience that astonishment, they have not created something new. Astonishment is the mark of something truly original, something that defies expectations. If the work does not surprise or move the artist (or the audience), then it is not a true expression of creativity—it is merely an exercise in technique.

This is where many creators fall short: they get too caught up in the mechanics of their craft—the colors, the materials, the patterns—and forget that the true magic of creation lies in the outcome, in the way the work can surprise, challenge, or even bewilder both the artist and the viewer. The artist’s journey is a continual process of pushing beyond what is familiar and into the unknown. Without that push into the unknown, there can be no astonishment, and without astonishment, there can be no new form of creation.

Key to New Forms

The idea of "new forms" is not just about the physical appearance of an artwork, but about the novel ideas and perspectives it offers. When we talk about creation, we are speaking of something that has the potential to alter how we see the world. Art that astonishes is art that does not merely replicate what has come before, but introduces new ways of thinking, new modes of perception. The artist’s brushstrokes are not just marks on a canvas—they are the birth of something that has never existed, and in that moment of birth, there is a fleeting, magical astonishment.

This astonishment is what drives the creation of new forms, not just in art but in all creative endeavors. Whether it's a writer crafting a new narrative, a dancer creating a fresh movement vocabulary, or a scientist coming up with a groundbreaking theory—astonishment is the spark that fuels new discoveries.

As artists, we must ask ourselves: Have we reached that point of astonishment in our work? Do we stand in awe of what we have created, as though it came from somewhere beyond our own thoughts? If we do not, we must keep searching, keep experimenting, and most importantly, keep working. For it is only through this ongoing process of creation, in which we allow ourselves to be astonished, that new forms can emerge.

In the end, the artist's greatest contribution is not just a painting, a song, or a sculpture. The artist's true gift is the way in which their work leaves us—and themselves—in a state of astonishment, gazing at what has been created as if it could not possibly have come from this world. And yet, it did.