I’ve always held to the notion that there is a difference between actors and movie stars. More specifically, one is a subset of the other. While some actors become movie stars, I would not consider all movie stars actors. Thanks to the recent posting of an article by my friend and fellow blogger Rob Fike on the 12 Most Striking Tendencies of Creative People, I’m thinking a similar axiom exists also for creatives.
First off, we all have the ability to be creative. Any of us can take a can of Play-doh and make it into something. But to do something truly artistic with it is something different altogether.
I would propose that while all people have the ability to create, not all are creatives, not all are creatives. As I’ve reflected on the qualities listed in the article Rob posted – as well as other more intangible ones – among the creatives I know, it occurs to me that not all of those who create have the traits that make someone a creative.
Creatives possess skills and abilities and merge that with their imagination to become the true artists. They are the ones who express themselves through painting, photography, writing, acting, music and myriad other forms of expression that move us and challenge us in ways that not everyone can. Creatives tap into their limitless imagination to pursue artistic expressions that are unique expressions of themselves.
The best artists use not only their skill, but also tap into their imagination to create the stuff that has no peer.
For further reading, I’d love for you to check out a post from a site I really enjoy: Idea Sandbox. They posted a great article called “Difference Between Artistic and Creative Ability” that was a springboard for a lot of my thinking on this subject.
So, which are you? Creative or artistic?
reylo: 
To me the word artist has become a strange combination of different ideas. Being creative is the inherent quality of an artist. Divorced from creativity, an artist is merely a technician… using a set of skills, abilities and tools to make something.
But that creative spark is what makes an artist an artist. The idea that begins a journey toward an expression of themselves, an ideal or something even beyond that – a divine spark.
Just as writers can take a piece of news and write about it, someone with art skills can take a piece and create a decent facsimile from that. But a true artist/writer can see an idea and look inside themselves for a creative angle to express themselves (or a point of view/idea).
Too often we see someone in marketing making good graphics, but it’s really just a copy/paste of someone else’s art. While this is good in many ways, it doesn’t make that person an artist. They may go home and be an artist with their own work, where their creative isn’t stifled by companies looking to be “trendy”.
my 2 cents, good post, Rey.