Last week I wrote about the so-called “creative block” and how we can get stuck if we allow ourselves to.  It seems a natural transition then to write about “how to” get unstuck or move past that stuck using some tools and techniques, right?

Sorry, I’m not going to do it.  Oh sure, you can use a creative thing-ma-jig to jumpstart your creativity and it may work or at least may seem like it works.  Until you try it the next time and it doesn’t work and you find yourself in that same sorry state of frustrated mind, wanting to throw the paints across the room. “Hey!” your mind blurts out, “maybe I can be like Jackson Pollock!”

But then you wouldn’t be painting like you.

Any technique really that you hang on to, or depend on to pull out your creativity, becomes somewhat of a crutch.  It’s a temporary outer tool rather than the inner tool of self connection that allows your creative voice to be heard and seen.  

To me this is the mistake so many people make when trying to draw their creative selves out; they are still looking at what they create through the eyes of judgement.  Those critical eyes that compare ones’ art to the “standard”, what art should look like.  When you look at your art through these eyes there is expectation, and wherever there is anticipation in this way, you are likely setting yourself up for disappointment, looking too far ahead of yourself and your creative process.

True Creativity breaks the rules! It does not follow a predictable path.  It does not rely on gimmicky ways to express.  It may use them, but it doesn’t need them.  Sometimes they are a crutch that we use until we can see that we have what it takes to be creative, we have our own inner muse.  That’s okay.

Once you are able to connect with your creative Intuition however, there is no turning back.  You will ride that creative flow with such enthusiasm you will wonder why you had not let yourself do it before.

With the flow comes the ebbs. It will feel natural. You will feel connected.  You will trust yourself and make your own rules, so that you can break your own rules.  You will feel the freedom of your true creative being.

If you are not sure where to begin, think back to when you were in kindergarten or earlier.  Think back to when you created for the sheer expression and enjoyment of it.  It did not matter what others said. There was’nt a voice inside your head saying “why are you doing it that way?” or “that doesn’t look right!” You were caught up in the moment as your brush moved across the paper following the brush then leading the brush when the urge arose.

Freeze that moment.

Picasso described it so wonderfully: “Every child is an artist.  The problem is how to remain an artist as he grows up”.

At a certain point in our development we start to judge our art through different eyes and often what happens is our creative flow becomes stifled.  We block our selves.  We lose touch with our child artist who is connected to their own needs and desires.  

Somewhere in there, inside of you that child awaits, ready to break the adult rules that smother creativity.

It’s there inside of you.

Trust and you will find it.

Want to find that connection to your true creative self again? I am giving a full day Painting With Your Muse workshop in Toronto. I’d love to have you join me!