I appreciate there is a school of thought out there, with people who have been told – or tell themselves – they aren’t creative.

Perhaps people think creativity must be perfect, or ‘pretty’, or liked by other people.

Perhaps people think creativity is only for those who call themselves ‘artists’, or have been trained.

Perhaps people think creativity is a dark art and too mysterious for mere mortals.

Creativity, for me, is the outward expression of an inner yearning.

It’s a way of saying, ‘I think’, or ‘I care’, or ‘I love’, or ‘I seek’, or ‘I feel’ or ‘I believe’ or ‘I desire’ or ‘I question’ or ‘I understand’.

It doesn’t have to be paintbrushes or a melody to express this inner yearning. It doesn’t have to be a dark and tormented moment to trigger the expression.

It can be cooking. Or creating a fantastic face of makeup. It can be a desire to create something to bring joy – to yourself or others. It can be big, small, something you do every day, something you do occasionally.

Creativity can be just for you, or for others.

I’ve always felt creative.

I’ve always been interested in the arty-farty and it doesn’t really matter the medium. Oil painting, acrylic painting, drawing, watercolours, pastels, silk painting, embroidery, patternmaking and sewing, flower arranging, poetry, cooking. It bubbles around and around, and then out.

I love colour. And texture.

Contrast, intensity, layers.

Changing fabrications and executions. Chaos and structure.

I’ll take it all.

I want to take what’s bubbling around and make something of it. I want to use inspiration and create something for people to take a moment and feel. I don’t mind what they feel, but in a world whirling and swirling and moving so quickly; feeling, connecting, taking a moment to embrace emotion and impact and delight is what I want to enable.

And it’s not just in the traditional sense of ‘creativity’ I feel creative.

I believe the work I do as an executive is creative – find solutions, strategic, connecting people and ideas. It often takes great art and thought and planning and ingenuity and a little bit of magic to bring an organisation’s vision to life.

To understand how you can pitch an idea or an outcome to a person in such a way they jump on board.

To solve a customer’s problem in such a way they believe your brand promise. To make a connection past a transaction.

All these are ways of celebrating my creativity.

And now it’s time to become a creative with my ideas on the outside.

To show more of my art to the world.

To take my painting and move it past the canvas.

To take my love of fashion and texture and colour and bring my vision to life for others to wear.

To take the ideas I’ve been carrying in my soul for years and show them the light.

Because I believe my creativity can be the answer to someone else’s questions.

Can be an expression of who they are.

Can fill someone else’s heart.

Can fill my heart.