Is creativity like a lightning strike that zaps us…but not often enough? Or is it a journey where we nurture ourselves and grow in order to create? Do you feel blocked? Do you know that you are creative but you want to be more creative? Yes! However, our left brain which is full of doubts and analytical, methodical thinking crushes our creativity daily. How do we empower our right brain? We create a habit! We exercise our right brain. We give it power….muscle memory.
I’m constantly working on myself, my business, my family. My left brain works overtime. My right brain is getting squashed. So, if you feel the same with pressures of daily life, then join me in creating a new habit. We’ll work through exercises based partly on The Artist’s Way, by Julia Cameron, Kaleidoscope by Suzanne Simanaitis, and Living the Creative Life by Rice Freeman-Zachery. These are all great books for your creative library! I invite you to run out to your local bookstore and pick up these copies. If you are reading along in the Art’s Way, read through page 24.
Here’s an interesting quiz on right brain versus left brain. Thanks to Donna T, from Texas for sharing!
Creativity…..Innovation….Imagination
How do we get there? What’s the process? When was the last time you did a self evaluation on the last time you were creative, innovative and imaginative? Take out a piece of paper and divide it into thirds. Write down the creative things you did this week. Perhaps it was the way you displayed something in your house, the way you dressed, the meal you cooked, etc. Did you innovate? Did you try the new BronzClay, a new clasp, a new UV resin technique? How did you use your imagination? Did you sketch, did you dream, did you explore? Write it down. Commit it to paper. It’s not enough to think this through.
Here are some suggestions for getting there, for getting started and for staying in that mindset:
Take a Class. It doesn’t have to be in a technique you are going to use in your work. Take something that interests you. A pottery class, a knitting class, a glass class. You never know how it may effect your work and if nothing else it excites your right brain and gives you that lightning strike.
Write in a Journal. I like to cut out pictures from magazines. Anything that captures my eye. The color combo, the mark, the texture, the shape. It doesn’t matter. Cut it out and paste it into a 3 ring binder. This allows you to move the pages later. Write yourself a note about why you like it. A quick thumbnail sketch if you desire of what you could do with that idea in your work. Think laterally. If it’s a cactus, don’t sketch a cactus in your work, sketch how you could take the undulating form of it’s ribs and put that into a piece. Keep a section of your journal for techniques. You never know, you might use a technique laterally. Not the way the author intended but you innovate a new way to use that technique in your work.
Create a Vision Board. A vision board is usually a foam core board or posterboard where you cut and paste the things you want to invision in your life. Whether it’s a goal, an idea, a desire, a want, a need, etc. If you want to be well known for your work, you cut out a picture of someone who is well known. If you want money you cut out pictures of money, etc. You want to go to Arizona (hint) you cut out picture of the desert. You place this vision board in your studio where you can see it everyday. You look at it everyday. Images stay with us more than words. This is why advertising is so huge. Give them an image that can stick and they’ll remember it. Remember we attract what we think, desire, and believe we can have. The Vision Board will help you envision your desires and attract them to you.
Brain Spill. I talked about this in the May Whole Lotta Whimsy newsletter. Here’s what I am challenging you to do…everyday before you do your creative work at the bench….or even if you are not going to work at the bench…do your Brain Spill exercise. Julia calls it the Morning Pages. However, many of us are not morning people. I find it works best if done before you create. Take out a piece of paper and write whatever comes to mind, stream-of-conciousness writing, for 10-30 minutes. You need to fill at least 1.5 pages, and 3 is best. Don’t worry about what you write. It should be silly, make no sense, and will probably be full of negative things. That’s okay. You are getting it out of your head. This is why it’s called the spill or dump! It is a form of meditation. A time to let go! Once you have finished, take 3 negative things you wrote and turn them into positive affirmative statements. Don’t be tempted to reread these pages. That’s why I don’t recommend putting them in your journal. Toss them, burn them, get rid of them. You’ve taken all that bad juju out of your brain, don’t put it back in!
Affirmations. Pick 10 things that are positive that you can say to yourself after you do your Brain Spill. These can be written in your journal. They can be posted in your studio.
Artist Date. Do something for yourself, by yourself. This is time to be intimate with yourself to replenish that pond. It is something you commit to doing once a week for 2 hours. No interference, no spouses, no children, just you. You could go dance, cook, bowl, knit, do needlework, see a movie, play bingo, go antiquing/junking, visit galleries or museums, take a long walk etc. My secret time is going to Bingo with my mom, Sharon. Sharon is also my business partner. She loves bingo. Bingo is mind-numbing and monotonous. That’s why I love it! I get the greatest ideas when I’m there. My sketchbook is right by my bingo cards and reading for the receiving. An artist’s date is time to receive. The Daily Brain Spill is a time to send out what you want, your desires, your thoughts. Don’t be tempted to short yourself and skip it for the week! Be ready for any opportunity to receive an idea, to replenish the pond. “Art is an act of the soul, not the intellect,” say Julia. Your soul needs some entertainin!
We are sensory oriented. When you are doing these exercises…which we are going to do daily, right….light a candle or incense. Your brain will start to recognize it as part of the exercise and tie it to the experience. Baseball players have a trigger when they perform. For some it’s the velcro on their glove that they open and close before stepping up to the plate. For others its the tapping of the cleats with the bat or digging into the ground with their cleats. Robert Dancik uses the singing bowl before creating. These are all audible sensory triggers. Maybe for you it will be listening to 10 minutes of powerful music. Create that trigger but make sure it’s tied to one of your senses: taste, touch, smell, hear, see.
Don’t put it off…start with me today. Leave me a comment or email me directly at tonya@wholelottawhimsy.com. It’s a bit difficult to write to yourself everyday, which is essentially what I do on this blog. It’s good to know that others are participating. I love to hear other’s opinions and thoughts. Even if you disagree, please share it with me. I can learn from you.
Hope you enjoyed the photo. It was taken last night during one of the desert’s amazing monsoon storms, by my genius husband. There are more in the muses section for your enjoyment. I leave you with this quote:
“So you see, imagination needs moodling —-long, inefficient, happy idling, dawdling, and puttering.” Brenda Ueland. I call this mulling, not moodling, but it’s all the same.
Take time to mull or moodle and entertain your muse!
I’m thinking about it, but in the meantime – moodling is such a grrreat word. Noodling around with your mood. It can flexible but still have a bit of a tooth, be soft and super pliable or be uptight as uncooked pahsketti.
Journaling, morning pages, remembering to put something on my boards has always been really hard for me. I do it for a while and then.. It falls by the wayside. Even if I’ve done it for a few months. Habits are way harder to install and maintain than *they* say.
I’ve tried journaling at various times in my life, never successfully. I will try some of the brain drain exercises though, I’ll append them to my daily sketch time and see if they will help my basic creativity. If you ever come up with a way to make 28 hours from every 24, please let me know. It’s time, not creativity, that is my personal enemy.
Wonderful post! As usual. And I love Drew’s photos and the “Picasso” ;o) For some reason it makes me think of “Wallace and Gromit” … that’s kids culture for you !
One thing that works well for me (besides burning up that brain spill page, which for me are actually complaint letters I never send, only burn) is to put on my favorite “personal legend” (Paulo Coelho, The Alchemist) type song – you know, the one that puts you in the right mood – and dance alone in the studio for a few minutes and let it all flow. For me it really works as a great trigger.
I recently completed a 12 week Artists Way Program based on Julia Cameron’s book. I found the class very helpful because it pushed me to try journaling and artists dates and because I often got insights into myself by listening to others. I see what you are doing Tonya as a way to keep this going. Thank you!
I’m coming to the party a little late, but I’m all ready to go, nonetheless. I’ve done Artist’s Way in the past, and Julia Cameron has a lot to offer. (I’ve never managed to conquer the no-reading week, though.)