There is no one who’s described the art of creation better than Kurt Vonnegut. He said, “The arts are not a way to make a living. They are a very human way of making life more bearable. Practicing an art, no matter how well or badly, is a way to make your soul grow, for heaven's sake. [...] Do it as well as you possibly can. You will get an enormous reward. You will have created something.” 

And so, we’re celebrating all those who’ve been creating, spending their precious time working on something that makes one smile, in the hopes that it’ll inspire you to create something of your own. For better or worse. The Reddit group named “Something I Made” has become a hub for people to share their works and get advice or applause, and 2.5M people have taken a liking to it. 

One of the page's moderators  u/mtj510 told Bored Panda that the pictures of finished handmade projects, as well as products that are useful in day-to-day life (especially if they come with instructions on how to make 'em) tend to grab the most attention from members. Yet, the one project that the moderator will forever remember is the "knitted gloves with 'flowers in a sunny meadow' pattern. Never seen anything like this," they said.

Make life more bearable. One may ask, why do we have the inkling to create stuff, especially nowadays when we can go out and buy the things we need, in all the various shapes and sizes, without sacrificing too much time or effort? However, it’s not always a need for something that drives us to create. 

Tanner Christensen argues that, for some people, creating is an emotional response. When a lot of thoughts and stressors begin spinning around inside of your head, one of the best ways to relieve the compression is to create, to get everything out of your head and into the real world. 

On the other hand, some people create as a means of meditative practice. Repetitive motions, pretty colors, shapes, different textures, and the sense of letting go of it all and focusing on something being born in front of you. Then there are the reasons of boredom, monetary incentives, and anything else, but Tanner believes that understanding why you’re creating can help you identify what to create.

Practicing an art. With any practice comes a methodology; however, when one is just starting their creative journey, it can be daunting to know where to begin. Do you need all the fancy tools? Do you need to watch 50 tutorials, or can you just do it and learn on the way? With all these ideas present, which one should one go with? All this can be enough to deter anyone away. 

Best-selling author Dan Brown states that there are usually five stages that most creators subconsciously follow while pursuing their creative endeavors. Preparation. Idea generation, brainstorming, and active thinking. Incubation. Taking a step away from your idea before you sit down to flesh it out. 

Illumination. The merger of ideas into one decisive project, otherwise known as the ‘aha’ moment. Evaluation. Reflecting upon the initial concept or problem and seeing if the solution aligns with the initial vision. Verification. This is when the hard work happens. Lots of thought before lots of work. But this is just one way—you can always experiment with doing everything the other way around, or starting in the middle. The world is your oyster. 

No matter how well or badly. Here’s an interesting take: Society defines creative acts through a complex process of social judgment. As argued by John R. Hayes at Carnegie Mellon University, the quality of the products of creative endeavors relies most heavily on the opinions of relevant experts in making such judgments—music critics, art historians, scholars, and scientists who are presumed to know the field. 

Even expert judgments are highly subjective and are frequently influenced by irrelevant factors. However, Hayes notes the three criteria that are essential for an act to be considered creative: 1) Originality, 2) Value and interest, and 3) Reflection on the mind of the creator. But regardless of all this, the motivation behind creation is what will lead us toward fulfillment, regardless of the outcome. 

Make your soul grow. Failing is a significant element of the creative process. It’s rare that things go perfectly smoothly each and every time, but that’s why it’s a practice. Atychiphobia, or the fear of failure, may keep one from ever stepping up to their creative potential. Yet Anthony D. Fredericks argues that while most people consider success and failure as polar opposites, in reality, they are both parts of the same process.

Throughout his research, Fredericks found that one of the most distinguishing features separating creative people from non-creative people was that creative people tend to make lots of mistakes and continue to work through them, while non-creative people make a mistake and stop. Just as Robert Kennedy stated, “Only those who dare to fail greatly can ever achieve greatly.” 

You will have created something. Thus, dear reader, what can we take from all of this? One must brave the sea of uncertainty in order to find their truest calling and the pleasure that creation brings forth. Allow yourself to fail, allow yourself to not be as good as another, allow yourself the freedom to experience creation in its rawest form. 

As the moderator of the group says: "Beginners are welcome in our community, we encourage constructive feedback and ideas." They continued to say that "the beginning can be hard, but persistence pays off," and we can't help but agree. Make sure you check out their community on Reddit and consider becoming a member for a continuous stream of happy content!

As you continue to scroll through this list, make sure you’re upvoting your favorite creations from fellow humans, leaving comments below, and sharing your own works and creative processes. I bid you a day full of inspiration, and I shall see you all in the next one!