Have you been feeling a bit…under-creative as we head into the final quarter of 2020?
In September I started feeling as though in the middle of a tug-of-war. While I crave to be creative, crave to stick my fingers into paint or mold some clay, or write a new story, it seemed like every time I had a bit of time to do it my mind was completely drained of ideas.
I just felt tired. And yet in NEED of being creative.
A friend of mine gave me a great idea when talking to her about his conundrum. First, she suggested I find a creativity in which I had no ego attached. That took me a minute. I don’t have my piano with me, so even if I could take my ego out of that (my desire to be good at playing all my life always brings ego into piano playing) that was out. Living in a small corporate apartment while we wait to move took out painting or clay. I don’t want to pay for the mess they will make.
Which led me to learning to sketch. I’ve always wanted to learn and felt like I could keep ego out of it since I really know nothing about it. Hence, my challenge to myself to sketch something every day for a month. Mostly to get shading right, and then I’ll move into something harder.
Ha! They aren’t great, but it felt good trying. I’ve been sketching something every day and look forward to trying it. I am not good, but that isn’t the point. Sketching the light on an apartment ceiling the other evening from the dog park, I started to notice the shadows and how light moves on a ceiling. It’s really interesting how our brains will start to lean into creativity when we give it a chance.
Another challenge my friend suggested was to find a word of the day, set the timer for one minute and write a story. It’s almost impossible to write a good story in one minute, but it’s fun. I actually set the timer for two minutes, but nothing more than that.
Want to read some two minute stories? Now, don’t judge me too much.You can laugh, for sure. Or roll your eyes. The point isn’t to have a masterpiece, but to tap into another part of my creative brain. See? Trying to have no ego here. Operative word being: trying!
The flames of the fire stood as still as four-year-old ballerinas dressed in tutus.
A small leaf, dry and brown, flitted across the pavement, scratching it as it went. Like sandpaper taking its last strike at a piece of wood or a pencil of chalk marking the end of a playground race. Such a delicate thing, pliable and soft just a few weeks ago, now sounding its way into winter.
A book for stormy weather. A what a storm it was. Fighting, screaming, eye-rolling, accusing threats. Emma would have to escape for a long time for this one.
What about you? What can you challenge yourself with?
I talked to Mike Brennan about creative habits this past week, a conversation you might be interested in. He gives lots of tips and has a great story about creating his own habits to feed his artistic abilities.