Interview with:Nikola Sokol [snick2thestreet]
CREATIVITY
 | How and why did you begin to be creative? Creativity has many different variants, categories and characteristics. It is something that evolves continously whether you're doing something or nothing at all. Usually, creativity comes from the inside of a person though the reaction may be triggered by something totally out of one's boundries. For me it all started when I was expressing my feelings on paper. It was back then that I truly realised that there was more to creativity besides just doing it. The first piece of writing I did was a poem, but not a short one. This one was over two pages long containing nothing but rhymes. I wasn't really thinking at the time I was writing, but the moment I read all of it back I just couldn't imagine I had really written it all. From this moment on I wrote more and more. As words became the written, images resonated within them. I no longer was specified to creativity of one kind because words contained many more. The mind became but a tool to be used wisely only when needed, but moments like these are hard to find when you write without specific thoughts. My creativity was born through the mind of the unthinkable, in the very heart of the subconsciousness. The only thought I ever had was the one expressing things for which no expression can be found. |
| Your mind is your work tool. How do you take care of it? The mind is a powerful weapon as it can be one's ally as one's biggest enemy, but how to ensure yourself not having a mind controlling your every action? It is quite hard to reply to questions involving an answer which differs for every single of us. Every single person has an own way of dealing with this strange, possibly treacherous, but powerful weapon. Some of us even tend not to pay attention to it which is by all means, in my opionion, a big mistake. When I'm being creative, of course I use my mind, but I do it partially and efficiently. When I write I use nothing more than my fantasy which does not necessarily come from my thoughts. Dreams come forth from one's heart's biggest desires or even fears which we do not easiliy let go off, but how would you battle those fears? Speaking from my own point of view I would instantly try to face my biggest fears in order to overcome them even though they persistently try to get into my head. The moment I think about my fears is the moment they start taking over as this again might lead them slowly but surely to interfering with my intentions spreading doubts. On the other hand though, thinking about my fears might help me face them. Sooner or later I arrive to the point where I decide whether to shut my fears off and force myself to forget them, or let them in and try fighting them off with my heart's desires while those fears forcefully make me face them. At this moment, I think I would take the last choice! |
| How do you avoid repeating yourself, or falling into formula? How do you stay fresh? In my opinion, repeating yourself isn't such a bad thing from time to time, as it helps build consistency in the things you do - but of course, it would be bad repeating your mistakes over and over instead of learning from them.
Staying fresh for me only means that there's more out there than just that what you see, think or feel. It feels like this very question questions my reasons for advancing and moving forward. When I keep repeating myself too much, I notice there is nothing new to keep me moving forward; directly meaning, that I'd lack inspiration and motivation to move on. This again is something disturbing, but common for many artists - just like a writers block for writers that needs overcoming.
When I fall into formula I lack inspiration, while that very same reason awakens my motivation to search for all those things enhancing that formula. The consistency which is created at that point is the one modifying the "falling-into-formula-state". It works as a counter-effect, making that very same formula equal to the formula that gives me reason or motivation to find new inspiration. |
| Do you have a ritual like retiring to a lonely place from time to time to cleanse your mind? My source of inspiration is everyone and everything around me. Retiring to a place where I can be alone from time to time is not much of an issue when it comes to cleansing my mind if I'd have to be completely honest. However, taking a deep breather in a nice and quiet place does its miracles every once a while.
I'm usually totally obsessed with crowded and vivid places because they honestly resemble me as a person. Socializing is what I love to do, so if there's fun to be given or taken, it'd be the place to find me. My room usually is the one and only place I spend most of my time at, as I can make it as vivid or as relaxing as I desire. Mood-swings however, do occur often - some of them just drag me away to silent places like parks, while others drown me deep into the places where the wildest things in life can be found. I could conclude that I don't literally have this sort of ritual, but act upon my own mood or intuition when the situation calls for it. |
| Who have your teachers been? A question like this usually tends to be answered by naming a specific person or even multiples, but that doesn't literally mean that it can't be a true and honest answer! To me, this question itself actually already is a part of my teachers list as it questions my opinion, asking me to tell what I know. I know it sounds a bit bold but there is some truth to it for my part. I have this slight interest for many things, even those things which have never been on my mind before. This can be really troubeling when it comes to making decisions in life but yet again it is a piece of inspiration. I learn from everything around me, from friends, familly, music, movies, nature, world, life, relations, problems, mistakes, sadness, happiness etc. In fact it is everything I experience or even try to think or dream of experiencing, those are my teachers in life. I can for example write about anything I see with my bare eyes, feel with my heartbeat or think of in my mind. One other important teacher of mine was motivation through imagination. "My IMAGINATION, is my MOTIVATION, to get the ELEVATION, to a higher INSPIRATION" |
| "To give birth to ideas." Is this only an expression, or are there really parallels between giving birth and creativity? Ideas are created through enormous amounts of information, or so-called inspiration, that we all already might posses. All those little bits and pieces of information we gather with the passing day, enhance the ideas we have.
I don't think giving birth to ideas is a discussing matter as ideas, most of the times, come forth through interaction with our surroundings. I believe we can change ideas into a new variety of ideas, but can never give birth to an idea, as it always exists of another component that "already gave" you the idea for a possible change in it. We see an idea, find the missing or unnecessary pieces in it, apply the changes and so create a new idea. Though I must admit that some people in this world do have a strong way of modifying ideas and so create something new, something that does not resemble the previous idea from which it was changed into the new one. |
| Does spirituality contribute to your creativity? A quite interesting question to be asked if you ask me. If this has anything to do with the mental state of a person, then I'd definitely say that spirituality has a great deal of influence on my creativity.
If you want to achieve something in life, whether seen as possible or not, then you can - because there's nothing strong enough to stop you from trying. More than your best you cannot give. Ending up satisfied is what counts in the very end, whether your result be positive or negative. I've learned myself that so far in life I've only ever learned from things even though reaching the ultimate aim was not the result. All these bits and pieces combined will someday give me more opportunities to be even more creative, inspired or motivated. In my opinion, nothing really ends until the source of a desire has burned down to ashes; and "only you" as a person can let that happen. |
| It is possible to fall in love with a bad idea simply because it is yours. How do you avoid this? Yes, it is quite easy to fall in love with your own ideas though they may be bad, but what actually does freak out the mind is the question whether those ideas are bad to you or those around you. Some will say that your idea is a bad one, others might actually like it; so how do you realize for yourself, how do you decide your own idea being good or bad?
I don't like falling in love with my own ideas, though I can remember the times I could show crazy admiration for the quotes I've ever made up. The ultimate reason for me to gain grasp of love for my own ideas is the moment those ideas grasp others to love it. I am creative because I love to share and inspire, and the outcome of that keeps me motivated to do it over and over again. Should it be a negative result, such as a big dislike on my work, I'd see it as a critic and try to find a new way of inspiring my surroundings. So whether my idea be good or bad, I'll keep motivated through the impact it has on my surroundings - but I will never let that impact change my ways of thinking or doing the way I do the things I do. That would no longer be "me", but what "others make" of me. |
| Declaration: With what person or business would you like to work? There have been many things in life which called for my interest. I have always been busy experimenting with my ideas through inspiration of others as this lead to me developing my subconscious thoughts of and views upon things. My personal world of inspiration today is shaped by countless little pieces of inspiration I've ever received. With these pieces I managed to assamble the final picture of my world just like puzzles do upon completion.
Waving with the magic stick on the set is what my dreams are all about, working with new people, experiencing new things and finally sharing the inspiration with the world just like Jon M. Chu did in order to inspire it! Nevertheless, he is not the only person who inspired me since I love fantasy as well. Think of movies like Harry Potter and Lord of The Rings which for example play with my imagination through theirs, but it is not just the movies as one whole which inspire me. All the people, the whole crew, involved in creating amazing pieces of art like those are the biggest inspiration of all because they are the ones who gave shape to the world you see when watching! |
| What criteria do you use when selecting someone to be a part of your creative team? If I would have to look for personal characteristics in someone I would love to work with, I would most probably aim for their sense of humor and the ammount of spontaneous activity they deliver. I'm quite spontaneous myself and love to brainstorm but patience is of huge essence when it comes to that. I think it would be quite hard for me to work with someone who always just keeps rushing into the scene. It's fine to do it once a while when you're inspired, but that no longer falls under the category patience in my opinion. To me it is more the spontaneosity of one's inspiration which causes this once-a-while "tolerable" moment of rush. It is purely the excitement of a person overwhelmed by his or her ideas during the moment of visualized imagination. When choosing a person to work with I would definitely look at one's creativity and the way of dealing with that creativity. My greatest importance next to the mind-setting is the way a person interacts with his or her intuition. We have to think and work beyond facts or just thoughts. A person must feel free to improvise, make mistakes and experience failures because only then the realization will become true that all failures are great lessons for every one of us. |
| How is an idea sold? If I'd have to be completely honest I would say that I haven't come to experience that part in life yet! Judging from my intuition, which is actually what makes me follow my dreams, I would say that socializing is a great step to getting your ideas well-known! In order to sell the ideas they must first convince the audience or a larger group of the ones interested in what you have to offer. Providing the public with information throughout social networks is a great idea to let them discover your work, your passions! It's actually easier said than done, especially if you're a newcomer to this kind of world. Like I said, I've never experienced something like selling my own work yet since I never actually came up with the idea of doing it. I'm not experienced enough yet on this territory as I still linger at its surface, but to conclude my answer I'd say it all takes lots of effort and patience to achieve something! Everything that has ever become "big" once started off "small" |
| What do you feel when, after two or three years, you see an idea of yours again? This has actually happened to me many times before. Every time I read back the things I've ever written I realize that there are things in there unfinished or unnecessary. Sometimes I even end up not understanding my reasons for writing an entire piece, as the message of it somehow has faded away.
There could be many reasons for my not understanding it, but most of the time I think it's just me and my thinking that has changed over time while getting older. It's quite fun to see your own development, the ways you grow up in and the change in your vision upon things. It definitely is a good way, for me that is, to track the steps of my former self and see "what" has changed in "which" way. It can also explain the relations between you and many other things involved in your life; sometimes it even gives a clear outcome why your present behaves the way you know it. Comparing your wishes, ideas and inspiration at the time of writing with those in your present, often shows similarities and differences you've never thought of being created. |
PERSONALITY
| What hobbies have you got? This a rather difficult question for me to answer since it's my addiction to keep trying out new things with every opportunity I get. I've been through a huge variety of sports, but have so far maintained only of them in passion; my addiction to dance whenever the music moves me.
I love reading movie scripts, watching movies and listening to music. These are just those general things which you can come across in the hobby-list of an average person, leaving out the script-reading one. I write allot, and that's just about anything that jumps to mind. Inspiring, advising, supporting or just making people laugh is what I like to do in my free time, but this again is something you could find in a general hobby-list. Traveling the world is something I'd love to do if my financial state wasn't such an issue.
One of my biggest addictions of all times, alongside music and movies, is watching Japanese Anime and working out one of my own with a friend of mine. We've been working lots on it so far and try to progress more and more with the passing months. Nevertheless, socializing with other people, making new friends and living life are those things that creatively represent me. |
| A bad habit you have overcome. Ever since my young years I've had the bad habit of biting my finger nails. Due to my dads constant pressure and my getting older I eventually managed to get a stop in it. When I think back at the times I'd used to bite my nails, I just get disgusted by the very idea. Luckily I've never experienced that nasty finger-nail polish, which of course gives you an awful taste when you try biting your nails. |
| Which animal do you prefer for company? Well, I've always been into mystical creatures like dragons, as my Chinese zodiac is "Dragon" that would make perfect sense. When it comes to reality based animals, I could say that a wolf resembles me as a person the most even though my surname in translation means "Falcon". This very idea of a wolf resembling me would perfectly fit into the fact that I'd like to have a wolf-dog breed as a pet, no doubt a bit dangerous for its wild habits of nature. A Siberian Husky might do as well, which is my favorite dog sort because of their looks. I do have a cat though, and she's the princess of the family. |
| If you were to return reincarnated, which real-life person would you like to be? I've never actually given a thought to this matter as I've never thought of being anyone else beside myself. Being myself has had me go through lots of troubles and hard times, but yet again provided me with two times the amount of random luck and joy in life. I just like it the way it is and the way I am, and there's not much I'd think about that needs a change. |
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808 visits Whohub
Nikola Sokol
Amsterdam
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