AWAKENING CREATIVITY {creative habits-1}

For the past several months I've been collecting tips and ideas about stimulating, training, and nurturing your creative side. Some of these ideas came from books and articles I've read, others from my own experience. I like to think of them as creative habits; tiny actions that help you maintain your creativity. Today I will share my first 3 favourites.

CARRY A NOTEBOOK
You probably read, heard, seen this one before; every advocate of creativity suggests you carry a notebook at all times. I'll be honest, I was extremely sceptical of this advice.
First of all, I have a really good memory and rarely feel the need to write my ideas down. Secondly, I do not have urges to write things down, I prefer to think them over. I was never successful at keeping a journal or a diary so having a notebook seems unnatural to me.
Finally I am never sure what to write about .... I gave the notebook idea a try because of my long commute - I decided to use it to draft my blog posts (in fact I am writing this one on my way to work).  One day, when I was feeling creative, I jotted down some of my thoughts that later on became craft projects.  Then, a couple of days later I was happy to have the notebook to write down names of artists my sister mentioned to me.

Before I knew it, the notebook became an important part of my creative process allowing me to"dump" all the ideas, free my head for the new ones, and to use its pages for planning and brainstorming.

Do not dismiss the idea of a notebook even if, like me, you do not feel the urge to write.  Have it with you and start writing down your creative thoughts, I promise you'll see the benefits of this very soon.


FIND YOUR TIME OF THE DAY
Each of us has our own time of day when our energy, capacities, and creativity are at their strongest.  While I am not really a morning person I feel the most productive as soon as I wake up.  These first waking hours are perfect for all the mental work and for my writing.  My head feels clear and ideas are spilling out onto the page.  Later on, during the day, I become "heavy" and quiet.  I like this time for the routine, mundane work but do not expect any creative breakthroughs to happen.  Later in the evening, my energy comes back but this time I am good with actual creating, rather than thinking or generating ideas.  Evening is my time for crafting, working on images, or typing up my blog posts.
This time-energy distribution seems very natural to me.  In fact I can not imagine doing my things any other way and I am always surprised when people don't plan their days the same way.  But we are all different and each of us feels optimal at different times.  Eric, for example, can not be creative in the morning and my sister prefers to paint late at night, time when I am way too relaxed and sleepy to produce anything meaningful.  Even our exercises schedules are different: Eric enjoys working out in the evening and I love a good morning workout that keeps me energised for the whole day.

Find the time of the day when you are most creative.  Try different patterns and see how your body and your brain will react to them.  Do not fight your natural cycle, work with it, and you'll be able to create more effortlessly.

EXERCISE YOUR CREATIVITY
I've already mentioned this and will probably mention over and over again, that I firmly believe that you can nurture your creativity.

Just like physical exercises strengthen your body, quizzed and riddles help your brain to stay agile, doing creative activities will help you in developing your creativity.  

If practicing your craft gets to be repetitive try finding a second (third, forth) creative hobby.  And if your main "occupation" is not very creative having a creative outlet will definitely help you.   Your "hobby" (this is how I call any creative activity done outside of work) might have little in common with your main occupation.  In fact, the less it has in common the more beneficial it is, challenging you in new ways.
I've first noticed this phenomenon during my ikebana classes when I had several ongoing paper projects at home.  After a couple of  weeks I noticed that  I would struggle less with my ikebana arrangements; they came out easier, while remaining complex and interesting.  Even my teacher noticed the progress, mentioning that my works were reaching a new level.  At the same time my paper projects were changing; I created more, had lots of interesting ideas, and really enjoyed the final results.

If you have reached a plateau in your creative domain, if you are looking for new ideas, or if you simply want to nurture your creativity - learn a new craft or try yourself in a new artistic domain.  

You will be pleasantly surprised by the results!


Here you have it, my 3 favourite habits that can help you awaken your creativity.  I will be coming back to the topic sharing more tips and ideas that will undoubtedly help you along your creative journey.

The beautiful artwork for the Awakening Creativity series is made by my talented sister Liza

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Previous posts from the Awakening Creativity series:

AWAKENING CREATIVITY {How are you creative?}

The title for this post is a question sir Ken Robinson 

 recommends each of us to ask.

  Instead of wondering "how creative am I?" 

think "how am I creative?"

What is creativity? 
Can creativity be nurtured? 
Are some of us born creative while others are not? 
Can I become more creative?  

These are some of the questions that run through my head while I work on the Awakening Creativity series.  I do not have all the answers yet, but from my reading, research, and personal experience I now firmly believe that creativity can be developed and nurtured.

I believe that everyone can create.  How I can be so sure?  Because for most of my life I didn't think myself to be creative.  For most of my life I was sure that some of us (like my sister who is an artist, or Eric, who was always involved in creative projects be it music, photography or graphic arts) are born creative, while others (me) are not.
I used to gawk at creative projects and felt like I could never come up with one myself.  I was sure that my creative gene was simply not there.  Fast forward to today, when my head is buzzing with ideas.  I try, test, create, and share craft projects.  Days when I do not create feel empty and dull.  Today I believe that each of us has his/her own creative potential.  I also believe that creativity is not limited to arts or crafts.  You can be a creative mathematician, a creative researcher, or a creative homemaker.

My creative awakening began with a very mundane activity: cooking.  About 10 years ago, when I moved out of my parents house I taught myself how to cook.  I had little culinary knowledge and lacked any cooking experience.  Like many others I began with cookbooks, cooking magazines, and blogs.  I followed the recipes, learned different techniques, and in a couple of months felt very comfortable with my every-day cooking.  In fact, I was so comfortable that I stopped relying on the recipes and began tweaking, adapting, and, at times, completely changing them to satisfy my taste.  I no longer followed one set of instructions, instead I would find several recipes, combine them, adjust, and come up with my own creation.  It didn't feel like a creative process at all.  At best it felt like an attempt to vary my weekday menus.

One day, during one of those intensely interesting conversations with Eric, the topic of creativity came up.
-Well, I am just not creative - I said with a certainty in my voice. - I am not good at painting, I can not improvise when playing piano, and I do not dance, sing, or perform!
- But you cook - said Eric
.... and went on explaining to me that my creative strength was not in visual arts but in the culinary art, in the way I created new dishes, combined ingredients, mixed spices, and assembled menus.  This was the first time I thought of creativity as something applicable to any task, any process or job.

If you never thought yourself to be creative I am certain you are wrong!  

You might not be an amazing writer but maybe you are an inventive engineer.
You might not be a talented singer but maybe you come up with new games and stories for your little ones.
You might not be the next Picasso but maybe you find new ways of performing the same 'boring' task at work.

Truth is, you are creative in one field or another (or in all of them).  You just have to find it.  You need to find your creativity because it already found you!

The beautiful artwork for the Awakening Creativity series is made by my talented sister Liza

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Previous posts from the Awakening Creativity series:
SIMPLY BEGIN
STEP OUT OF YOUR COMFORT ZONE 
5 WAYS TO FIND YOUR INSPIRATION

AWAKENING CREATIVITY {5 ways to find your inspiration}

Today I want to continue talking about creativity.  In the previous posts from this series I've talked about the importance of beginning and my experience of stepping out of the comfort zone.  Today I want to ponder the topic of inspiration and look for ways that can help you find and keep your muse.

Staying inspired is one of the crucial and at time challenging parts of any creative process. I am sure that every artist goes through periods of creativity and inspiration just to be faced with moments of procrastination and stagnation; those moments when you find yourself staring endlessly at a blank page not knowing where to begin. I know this feeling all too well, and at times, even when my head is full of creative ideas, I still feel uninspired.

This is what happened when I decided to create a new collection (the one that later on became MY LOVE) for my Etsy store. I had images and ideas floating in my mind, I knew what "feeling" my collection will have, and what types of embellishments I would use. I felt like I had everything ready, yet I was unable to find way of tying all the elements together. I wanted to use dark red and dark blue as main colours but didn't want the 4th of July feel. I added brown and white, but that just made the whole palette look "official" and serious. No matter what I've tried I wasn't grasping the whole project and it was so frustrating since all of the elements were right there in front of me.

Finally I've decided to stop agonising over the idea and switched to other projects while keeping My Love collection in the back of my mind.  Then, one day as I was browsing through images, clicking from one link to another, I've stumbled upon this photo by Jennifer Causey:

All of a sudden I knew how My Love collection will look like.  This image, that would've went unnoticed on any other day, caugh my attention.  This image had all the missing elements for my new collection.  This image became my inspiration!

Inspiration does not always come suddenly and there are times when you can not "afford" waiting for it.  You might be on a strict deadline, when "waiting for the visit from your muse" is not part of the contract.  To speed up the waiting process here are 5 things you can do:

1. BE OPEN AND LOOK FOR INSPIRATION
While it may seems that inspiration appears out of thin air, sitting and waiting to get inspired will lead you nowhere.  Look for your muse; try new things, browse through the works of other artists, listen to music, dance, go to a museum/theatre/concert.

2. WORK ON A SIMILAR BUT SMALLER PROJECT
Starting a similar but smaller project can lead you to unexpected places and get the ball of ideas rolling in your head.

3. FIND INSPIRATION IN NATURE
Nature is one of the best sources of inspiration.  Look for your muse outside; get out of the city or spend a day in a park.  Pay attention to colours, shapes, and patterns around you.  Listen to the birds' songs and watch leaves dancing in the wind.

4. SLEEP, EXERCISE, TAKE A SHOWER, EAT
Switching gears is important.  When feeling stuck and uninspired it's good to take a well-deserved break and do something mundane.

5. GO ON A CREATIVE DATE
This recommendation comes from Julia Cameron's THE ARTIST'S WAY.  She recommends having some alone time spent crafting, practicing, and looking for inspiration.  Make time for yourself and your art.  Take time to nurture your creativity.


As I was writing this post, a quote from Hilary Mantel came to my attention:

If you get stuck, get away from your desk. Take a walk, take a bath, go to sleep, make a pie, draw, listen to ­music, meditate, exercise; whatever you do, don't just stick there scowling at the problem. But don't make telephone calls or go to a party; if you do, other people's words will pour in where your lost words should be. Open a gap for them, create a space. Be patient.

How do you stay inspired?  Do you have tricks that worked for you in the past?  Where do you go to find your muse?

The beautiful artwork for the Awakening Creativity series is made by my talented sister Liza

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Previous posts from the Awakening Creativity series:
SIMPLY BEGIN
STEP OUT OF YOUR COMFORT ZONE

AWAKENING CREATIVITY {stepping out of comfort zone}

Last time, as part of AWAKENING CREATIVITY series, I've talked about the importance of making the first step of your creative journey, the importance of "simply beginning". Today I want to talk about a rather uncomfortable but extremely useful and important part of your creative awakening - stepping out of your comfort zone.

Stepping out of one's comfort zone is not an easy matter: we get comfortable and good at doing things a certain way, be it working with a familiar medium, using favorite colour palette in our paintings, or creating objects we've made before. Why would we want to break the routine that has worked for us all this time? Why do we need to change things?

As it turns out, imposing certain limitations makes our brain work in a slightly different way; it forces us to think and to adapt rather than to go through familiar motions.  It also forces us to change the familiar route and to arrive to a new destination.

Stepping out of the comfort zone would mean different things for different artists.  You are the one who knows your own process better than anyone else, you are the one who knows what feels comfortable and what would be changing.

When I craft there are two things that remain constant: I often take my time and I mostly use colours that I like.  If at the beginning of the project I do not have a palette that inspires me and brings images to my mind - chances are I would either never begin or would abandon the project half way though.  I depend greatly on colours and the palette of the project often dictates its success.  Time is another important condition for my work; I am not a fast crafter - I take my time adjusting and rearranging elements of my craft projects.  Most often than not I leave the layout for at least 24 hours and get back to it with a "fresh eye" the next day.  I need my time and I am not good creating fast or under pressure.

One day when I felt uninspired and had sort of a creative block I decided to step out of my comfort zone and create something in a colour scheme I didn't particularly enjoy and do it in one sitting, in less than an hour.

I went through my stash and found paper of an uninspiring shade of pink (pink is one of my least favourite colours).  I've had this paper for quite sometime and was sure I would never get a chance to use it.  Besides being pink it had the least interesting flowery repetitive design with yellowish-brown elements thrown in for a good measure.
After selecting the paper I gave myself a time limit: in less that an hour I had to create a card using pink paper as a background.  Let me tell you right away, I've failed the time limit and ended up spending almost 2 hours on the card, but the important thing that happened was me not putting it away for 24 hours.

The process itself was quite fascinating: after looking at the paper I decided to add dusty-purple as a complementary tint.  Since I was exploring unusual territory with colours I also thought of doing some heat embossing - a technique I like but do not get a chance to use often.  I've added a quote embellishment and picked buttons to decorate the card.  The project that seemed scary and intimidating at first turned out to be engaging and fun.  A couple of hours later, slightly past my time limit, the card was ready.

I was very happy with the way it turned out.  It definitely had elements of my style but at the same time it's colour palette was unlike any of my creations.

I do not expect this type of results every time I step out of my comfort zone.  I do believe, though this type of "exercise" to be extremely efficient in waking up my creativity.  I encourage you to give it a try, next time you feel "blocked" or simply have time to experiment - use an unusual tool, create in colours you do not like, or simply make something unusual...

STEP OUT OF YOUR COMFORT ZONE!

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Two years ago: MAKE UP BAG

AWAKENING CREATIVITY {simply begin}

Can you think of a creative project that you keep "putting off"? You admire works of others yet every time you want to create something similar tons of excuses pop into your head: you have no time, your idea is not good, you have no space for the project ..... You know the story?!

"Artbooking" was this type of creative activity for me. I could spend hours looking through photos of art books, I admired artists' techniques and the free flow of their ideas. Yet I was always reluctant to start an artbook of my own. I kept asking: what if it won't be pretty? what can I write about?  I can not draw to begin with, so what if it will be "weird"?  Questions and doubts soon became excuses: no time, no supplies, no beautiful images, no ideas ....

And then, one day, as I was going though my pile of inspirational images I decided to make a collage (something I rarely, or should I say never made before).  I cut out several images, found scrap paper to go with them, took out a notebook and made A FIRST PAGE IN MY ARTBOOK!

I looked at the collage and surprisingly I didn't find it stupid or useless.  I didn't even think that it was "weird".  In fact, I liked it a lot.  It was not as intricate as pages of seasoned "artbook-makers", but it made me smile and I was happy I created it.

Over the next few months I filled several pages of my art book (I promise to share them with you in "PEEK INSIDE MY ARTBOOK" series) and I continue my "artbooking" adventure.

I might not do it often, but every time I create a page I smile. I take my time to enjoy the process, to marvel at the final creation, and I absolutely love flipping through the pages of my artbook. ... oh, and I am yet to ran out of ideas for pages.

So if you have a creative project that you admire, or a new technique that want to try, or maybe an idea that has been buzzing in your head, do not wait!

SIMPLY BEGIN TODAY!

Believe me, those excuses and doubts will disappear fast once the process gets started.

I would love to see your creations.  Feel free to leave a link in the comments to show what kind of new projects you've began today!

Anya
P.S. For the second part of the series click here


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A year ago: WEEKLY KALEIDOSCOPE