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Creativity Doesn’t Diminish with Age: from Writing Groups to Lifelong Learning, Here’s How Lake Seminole Square Keeps You Creative

A woman sitting at her desk thinking

What were the things you dreamed of doing when you were younger? Being an artist? A photographer? A musician? A writer? A designer? If you’ve been hesitant to revisit the hobbies of your youth because you’re wondering, “Does creativity decline with age?” recent research shows it’s never too late to be creative.

While we as a culture tend to think of creativity as being something primarily for younger people to indulge in, it’s been shown that creativity remains important to foster as we grow older. You even have the benefit of additional knowledge, experience and patience to finely tune all of your crafts.

For inspiration, here are a few examples of people who many would consider late bloomers:

  • Laura Ingalls Wilder began writing “Little House on the Prairie” at age 65. In fact, there are a lot of writers who started later in life like Cormac McCarthy, Frank McCourt and Toni Morrison.
  • Actor Dame Judi Dench rose to international fame at age 61 and today is widely considered one of Britain’s greatest actresses.
  • Grandma Moses, the American folk artist whose work was featured at the MoMA in New York and who graced the cover of Time in 1953, didn’t begin painting until she was 78.
  • Smoky Dawson, known as Australia’s first cowboy and a pioneer of Western music, became the oldest person to compose, record and release a new album at 92.

What if I Don’t Feel Creative?

Creativity, like any skill or talent requires practice and repetition. You wouldn’t start walking half a mile one week and expect to run a marathon the next, would you? However, if your goal was to run a marathon then you’d start by slowly building your distance up until eventually you could do it. The same applies to creativity. The best way to start is to just start.

Look for creative inspiration or things you find creative. It could be a book, a poem, a movie, TV show, painting, craft ideas and so on. Being able to recognize something as a creative solution or as an expression of creativity is a good place to start. You don’t even have to like it, just recognize that it’s something you wouldn’t have thought of on your own.

How to Stay Creative

Once you find your creative spark, be a lifelong learner by remaining curious, exploring the world around you, meeting new people and trying new things. Sometimes that looks like taking a class, picking up a new skill, going to a gallery, seeing a play, attending a discussion group or learning about the latest technology. Creativity can help you see the world in a different and more exciting way.

Find Your Creative Inspiration at Lake Seminole Square

Lake Seminole Square offers so many ways for you to stay creative — or rekindle a creative passion — through a variety of amenities like our arts and crafts studio and woodworking shop, book clubs, writing groups and lifelong learning courses and lectures. To learn more about how