Get Creativity Flowing
To get creativity flowing, we don’t need to have a grand moment of inspiration and work from there. Getting creativity to move means that your creative mind is engaged and active. Thoughts flow more easily when there is less clutter in the mind. The best way to get that clutter out is to have some kind of creative flow or way of expressing yourself regularly.
Creativity is like a muscle; it gets stronger and more effective when it’s exercised regularly. Any form of expression is good – the more ways you can express yourself, the more fully you are able articulate what’s on your mind. A fuller spectrum of creativity is able to get tapped into when we create through different mediums of art.
I play the guitar fairly often and I find that the more I play the guitar, the less creative I become on the guitar. While my technical skills may be developing, it’s hard to keep coming up with new and original ideas. The sound of my guitar becomes less stimulating the more I become familiar and accustomed to hearing it. An excellent way to overcome this is to play with an effects pedal, play a different guitar, or to do another art altogether. Different tones and styles of guitars allow for another range of expression as they tap into different emotions.
Writing a daily blog also helps me get all the thoughts out of my head and keep things more clear. With the guitar, the ability to express myself without words is a great way to tap into emotions that are complicated to articulate. Writing a blog is able to get more of my linear, conscious thoughts out in plain sight. Writing is helpful in keeping ideas and thoughts from becoming stuck.
Playing an instrument or doing an art that is unfamiliar is a great way to get some new artistic insight. It’s liberating to do an art in which you are completely unfamiliar with. When you don’t know the rules and your skill isn’t honed, it’s easier to become more engaged from the excitement of doing a new activity. Additionally, it’s fun to feel inspiration from thinking about the potential of what may come with further dedication and practice.
It’s important to allow yourself to be bad at something without attaching your self-esteem to it. Just because we aren’t good at painting doesn’t mean that we’re bad artists. There’s nothing that demands we be perfect and good at all arts. It’s important to keep your self-esteem separated from your art. We all have good days and bad days, but we shouldn’t let amateur efforts hinder us from developing as artists in new boundaries.
For related reading, please check out How to Work Effectively as an Artist.
