What Happens When We Create Together?

Most of our workdays are spent accomplishing things.

We answer emails. Sit in meetings. Solve problems. Meet deadlines. Move from one screen to another. Even when we enjoy our work, much of the day asks us to be productive, responsive and focused on an outcome.

Then someone puts a paintbrush in your hand. Something shifts. There is paint to mix, a blank surface to figure out and absolutely no spreadsheet waiting for an answer. The conversation changes, too. People laugh. They wander over to see what someone else is making. Someone inevitably announces that they have no idea what they're doing. And ten minutes later they're completely absorbed in it. I've watched this happen over and over at Aluminary Arts.

Creativity changes the conversation

One of the things I love most about making art in a group is that everyone begins in roughly the same place. Job titles don't matter very much when you're trying to decide whether your painting needs more blue.

The person who manages the department may be asking the newest employee how they created a particular color. Someone who is normally quiet may suddenly have everyone gathered around their painting. People discover things about one another that simply don't come up during the workday.

And unlike many traditional team-building activities, nobody has to perform.

There is no competition to win, puzzle to solve fastest or expectation that everyone will suddenly become more outgoing.

You're simply making something alongside other people.

We may need this more than we realize

So much of modern work happens through screens—even when we're sitting in the same building.

Creative work asks something completely different of us. We use our hands. We notice color and texture. We experiment. We make decisions that don't have a right answer.

Perhaps most importantly, we give our brains permission to wander a little.

That's something adults don't get nearly enough opportunities to do. Children understand creative play instinctively. Adults tend to believe we need a reason for it.

Maybe we don't.

The interesting part isn't the painting

People sometimes arrive at the studio worried about what they're going to make.

“I haven't painted since school.”

“I'm not artistic.”

“Mine is going to be terrible.”

But somewhere along the way, the finished painting stops being the most important part. The experience becomes the point.

It's the conversation across the table. The surprise of discovering that you actually enjoy watercolor. The coworker whose painting looks nothing like anyone else's. The laughter when something doesn't go according to plan—and the realization that it may actually be better because of it.

Everyone leaves with artwork.

But they also leave having experienced one another differently.

A different kind of time together

Lately I've been thinking more about how creativity fits into the workplace—not as another productivity tool, but almost as the opposite.

A chance to stop producing for a little while.

We've begun welcoming private groups to Aluminary Arts for team outings, celebrations, employee appreciation and creative breaks. We can also bring art experiences to larger groups at their workplace.

What I enjoy most about these gatherings isn't seeing a company “do an art class.”

It's watching coworkers become a group of people sitting around a table making things together. There's a difference.

And perhaps that's why these experiences can feel surprisingly meaningful. When we step outside our usual roles and do something unfamiliar together, we create room to see one another—and sometimes ourselves—a little differently.

A thought to take with you

The next time your team needs a break, a celebration or simply some time together, consider doing something where nobody has to be particularly good at it.

Make something. You may be surprised by what else gets created along the way.