A blank canvas. Sometimes an artists biggest fear. Where to start, what to draw/paint……it can be really overwhelming. I am facing a blank canvas. With my latest fabric deadline met, it is time to look ahead to the next one and get started. I find myself in this same spot over and over again, looking for a new way to start, a new way to re-invent my style, a new way to appeal to the voice(s) in my head. These are the days of staring at blank sketchbook pages, spending too many hours on Pinterest, reading and re-reading my giant stack of magazines (reading is really a rather liberal term here as I am pretty sure I have read only a handful of magazine articles in my life, it is more of a picture-looking-at experience). What do I draw…what do I create….where do I start?
There are a lot of creativity challenges on the internet. Some of them 30 days, 31 days, and even 365 days!!! I don’t know about you, but that is a lot of commitment for a girl like me. Can’t I do it now? Today? In five minutes? I need to challenge my creativity while I am giving my kids a bath. Is there a program for that? So I have come to this conclusion. I need to do my own creativity challenge, on my own time and at my own pace. And it needs to be one that I can use and reinvent over and over again. In my search for help with this I found this article. Here is a bit of info from it:
“In today's always-on, 24/7 business world, when are we supposed to generate creative breakthroughs? In-between checking our iPhones, responding to email, and updating our Facebook status? We're so busy being "heads down" on our to-do lists, that we fail to spend time being "heads up" to explore the possibilities.”
Does that ring true to you like it does to me? If only my iPhone could be creative for me. Is there an app for that? But here is what it goes on to say:
“One busy executive schedules "Think Weeks" a few times a year. He goes off into seclusion for a week, loaded with reading material and time to explore his creativity. His staff waits with baited breath to hear about his newest ideas for the business. In fact, some of this company's most important advances originated during these Think Weeks. His name? Bill Gates. His legendary time to think made an indelible mark on Microsoft, and was the source of many of their biggest innovations.”
Bill Gates. Insanely creative man. And who doesn’t want to sneak away for a week and come up with creative ideas? But most of us can’t. After acknowledging that, the article goes on to say that “Scheduling just 5% of your week to reflect, think, and create can yield dramatic results”. Okay. 5%. I can do that!
So let’s see. 5% (and even more when possible) of my week dedicated to creative exploration. I want to make this amazing. I want to make this epic. Okay, maybe just effective. Let’s start there. Here is what I am going to do….
1. Pick a great spot (this can change every time) to go to that is quiet, and free of distractions. For me that is my laptop and phone. And make the spot pretty, if possible. I like pretty.
A bit excessive? Maybe. Maybe not.
2. Take a notebook, sketchbook, good pencils, pen or other writing instrument, and some good music (not on the PHONE!).
My favorite sketchbooks are Moleskines. You can find them here.
My super favorite pencil. LOVE this pencil. You can find it here. Did I mention I LOVE LOVE LOVE this pencil???
3. Free your spirit. Don’t judge what you draw/doodle/paint/brainstorm. Don’t think I am preaching, because this little bit is for me. I am terrible at that. Sometimes that is why I like drawing with pen. You can’t erase anything, you have to just work with it. I have come up with some good stuff that way.
4. Two hours a week, eight hours a month (based on a 40 hour work week. You can always up that!!). So that means if I want to go away for the weekend and have a creative weekend, that would work for my month. Now, that doesn’t meant that this is the only time I am going to be creative. This is when I come up with the ideas, sketches, doodles and brainstorms that are going to carry me for the week.
So what do YOU think? Do you want to join me for your own creativity challenge? Remember that doesn’t mean that you have to draw. You can use the time to come up with ideas. Or new ways to face challenges in your life. Creativity isn’t limited to art, sewing, crafting….it is in every single part of our lives. So be creative!
