The Secret To My Maker Creativity? Star Wars!

A few years ago, I was in a creative slump with no projects I was excited about.

Today, I have a massive list of projects I am excited to build and not enough time to work on them all.

How?

By rewatching Star Wars.

Really? Star Wars?

When Star Wars Episode 1 came to theaters, I was immediately a fan for life.

I could not get enough of the sleekness of Naboo and Coruscant, the grunge of Tatooine, the amazing Jedi, the mysterious Sith, and hearing the origins of Darth Vader. I watched and read every behind-the-scenes piece I could find, which was no small feat in 1999. I wanted more and looked for it anywhere I could.

Yes, Phantom Menace gets hate online, but it has a special place in my heart for how it broke me into the fandom.

But How Did Star Wars Unlock Creativity?

While we owned VHS, DVD, and Blu-Ray of every Star Wars movie, when they started streaming on Disney+, rewatching became even easier to do often.

I was already making things, but in a funk about what I really wanted to make. As I was rediscovering my love of Star Wars, I found myself wanting to make things from the franchise. It began with the 2x4 Mythosaur Skull and has snowballed into wanting to transform my home office and workshop into Star Wars rooms.

As I rewatched, I paid more attention to things that were similar to what I had already made, but they were Star Wars, so cooler.

Star Wars Gave Me Permission To Be Creatively Less Than Perfect

I had struggled with wanting everything to be perfect, but Star Wars isn’t about perfection.

The Empire is sleek and polished.

The Rebellion is dirty scraps bolted together to get the job done.

Star Wars made me realize that by theming my projects after it, I could intentionally create things that weren’t perfect. Things that look worn and dirty, but work to solve the problem at hand.

I didn’t realize it at the time, but Star Wars was my only creative hope and I’m sure glad it helped me get out of my creative funk.