I am great at making excuses for not producing and practicing my craft. My family needs me, the paint needs to dry, I need to rearrange the studio, oh look I am almost out of paint, I only have 2 hours, I can’t find what I was working on…. and so on and so on! There are many things that can hinder the ability to make art but we either let those hindrances stop us or we find ways to overcome so that we can create! I have put together a few things that have helped me be more proactive in making art. I hope they also help you!
- Create anyway even when you don’t feel creative:
Such a simple thing to say and yet I can spend hours telling myself this. I have had many students tell me that they are just not in a creative mood and so don’t want to work on art. I always tell them to do it anyway! I am not always in a creative mood but I can always work on my craft or experiment with some new medium or techniques. Also you might start to feel more creative once you start!
- Create good habits and plan your schedule so you have time to create:
Decide that you are going to make art or be creative. Decide what that looks like for you. For me I have set aside 1 day to be in my studio for 6 hours. I have also decided that I want to do something artistic every day. I can and will talk myself out of creating so I have decided that during my kids nap/quiet time I will do at least one thing. The key to this is reminding yourself that this is something that you are doing. Even if you don’t feel like being creative you need to just create anyway.
- Have resources available:
Now I have my own tiny studio in my basement with all of my art supplies, reference photos, and books. I also created kits for myself to make it easier to take my supplies out of my studio. I have my watercolor tote, my thread art bag, and a pencil box so I can just grab a sketchpad and go. I also have sketchbooks throughout my house and I use my Surface to doodle on also. I have found though that even having these resources available doesn’t help. One thing that really has helped me recently is having doodle books that have prompts for me to do. Sometime these take 5 minutes or 45 minutes. The great thing is that it has me creating and trying different things. The current book I am working on is The Art of Silliness by Carla Sonheim.
- Create with someone else:
Creating with someone else holds you accountable. You could sign up for a class or if going to a physical class is not an option there are many online courses that you could sign up for (Carla Sonheim also has some amazing ones!). I have small children and I find the arts very important so I make sure to teach them art. I have set aside one day a week where we learn and delve into an art concept or a new medium. I get to create right along with my kids and I feel a lot less inhibited. I also make regular dates with my husband and go to those sip and paint nights.
- Stop thinking:
I have so many preconceived notions about my ability and what I am capable of. If I continue to let these thoughts guide me then I will never try anything new or challenging! Sometimes I need to just remember to stop and just enjoy the process. I don’t have to have a set goal or idea in order to create. I also keep a file with ideas for art that I want to create. Having a list of ideas of I want to expand upon keeps me from looking at my paper and wondering what I will do today.
I hope some of these ideas will help you create more. For me they are essential for continued growth! Also I get to have fun and just keep my mind thinking outside the box of my normal parental and teaching duties. Thank you for taking the time to read and leave a comment letting me know how you promote creativity and making art!
