How To Unlock Your Creative Flow
It is a commonly held belief that creative ability is a gift one is born with - or not. While some may be born with a more creative disposition, creativity is an almost universal aspect of human existence. Creative ability is closely related to problem-solving ability - an essential skill for early humans in order to survive and thrive in a hostile environment.
Nowdays, creativity is mostly a skill that is associated with the arts. Even those in the arts often have the belief that one is born with the skill, or not.
It is an essential skill for the visual artist - because it fosters both imagination and the ability to problem-solve. Whether you think of yourself as 'creative' or not, remember that it is not a fixed trait. Rather, it's a skill that can (and should) be developed and nurtured.
We often feel the "spark" of a creative new idea can is like a sudden, magical event. That may be true once in a while. More often, creativity and creative thinking is more often the result of consistent habits and a receptive mindset. Building, maintaining and making room for the creative 'sparks' has more to do with building a working routine that allows for both spontaneous inspiration and dedicated work.
Let's look at some ways to open your process to creativity.
Sparking Creativity
Creative sparks often occur when you're not actively focused on them. You have probably had the experience of having an 'aha' moment about something unrelated to your current activity. Sometimes this happens during dreams while we sleep, or quiet moments when we are awake. It happens this way often, when your mind is open to a wide range of possibilities. If you are looking to stimulate a creative 'aha' moment, try one of these:
Change Your Environment: The same surroundings seem to promote the same sort of thoughts and thinking patterns in our brains. Interrupt this routine thinking by changing your environment : go for a walk, work in a different room or a coffee shop, visit a museum, or simply take a new route to the store. The stimuli of new sights, sounds, and smells might help change your perspective.
Embrace Boredom: Intentionally allow yourself to be bored or let your mind wander without a phone or a to-do list. This creates space for new ideas to emerge from your subconscious.
Diversify Info Intake: Reading, listening to new music, and talking to people are a way to get started. Even better, do each of these things in a way that is different from normal - different genres of books or music, and conversing with people outside your normal circle. The more varied the information you take in, the more surprising the connections your brain can make.
Play and Experiment: You likely take your painting seriously, and you should. But take time to play, explore and experiment. Try out a new medium, a different color palette, new brushes, painting surfaces or other tools. Don't take this work too seriously or worry about the outcome, just enjoy the process of exploration. Work done without expectation removes the pressure to finish your next great work! It's essentially a low-pressure environment that often leads to unexpected discoveries.
Physical Activity: There is a strong link between physical movement and creative thinking. Going for a walk, running, or doing yoga increases blood flow to the brain, while diverting the mind and attention from the normal thinking patterns and process of your painting routine - n mental environment ripe for creative thought.
Creativity As A Routine Course
While sparking creativity is about opening up, maintaining it is about building a routine that supports that openness. Establishing a process and routine that turns creative thought into inspired work is key to the life of a working artist.
Establish a Routine: Show up every day - or as often as you can on a regular schedule. Showing up regularly, at scheduled times trains your brain to be ready to work, even on days when you don't feel inspired. Few artists are able to spend full days of uninterrupted painting time in the studio. Those pursuing their art on a part-time basis are even less likely to have hours upon hours available. One key rule : MAKE TIME. No matter how much or little this might be, dedicate whatever time you have to painting on a regular basis and then get to your studio and work.
Discover Freedom In Constraints: It seems as if confining yourself and your work with 'rules' would be constraining. Instead, they set up a problem that has to be solved differently than normal. Problem-solving in itself is a form of creativity. When the problem has to do with creating a painting, it requires solutions that involve the materials and supplies of an artist - you are more likely to think of it as creativity since it involves art - but it's still problem solving. One method that has worked for me is in using a limited color palette of three colors. This works especially well when the colors are unusual.
Keep Sketch Journal: Carry a small sketchbook to capture scenes, objects, color or patterns that inspire you throughout the day. This habit has multiple benefits, not the least is that you are building a bank of ideas and inpirations for future works.
Respect Your Process : Fear of failure might be the single biggest enemy of both effort and creativity. We often have that beautiful finished masterpiece in mind when standing in front of that blank paper. Remind yourself that the goal is to show up and do the work. The quality of a single session is less important than the consistency of your practice over time. Practice consistency automatically leads to consistency in results.
Seek Feedback : It's a scary notion but sharing your work with others provides new perspectives and valuable insights. Working with and recieving feedback from a trusted colleauge or mentor can help you overcome blocks, technical and compositional challenges. You may even find it stimulates your own creativity.
There is alot to absorb and act on here. It might be daunting to take all of it on at the same time. To get started fostering creativity in your artistic life, select one or two ideas from each section - Sparking or Routine - and implement them one at a time. Allow each to become habit and introduce the next.
Consistency is the key - stick with it, develop habits and routines and you'll be on the road to a discplined approach that will enhance creative flow and promote production and output.