Last week we looked at the reasons creative practice, AKA art making is important.  But one of the biggest blocks to people actually having a creative practice is that they do not begin, and if they do, they do not continue.  Sometimes people don’t engage in art making because they don’t see themselves as artists.  Artists by their definitions include only those who make a living from their art in some form or another. Basically, the belief that they do not have the right to be spending time engaging in art making if they are not “real artists” holds them back from exploring their creativity.

We are all artists. We are creative by design.  And although it may be expressed in different ways, we all have the right to express our creativity in any way that supports creative practice.  This means that if we choose to doodle daily as our practice and honor this as our creative expression then we can.  If we choose to paint for the sake of painting focusing on the pleasure in the process instead of on the product, then we can.  If we choose to dance our energy out in a frenzy without standard technique or skill but simply guided by our need for self-expression, then we can.

Permission is key, we must believe that we have it in us, that we are creative beings. Permission to make mistakes while exploring our creative expression is necessary. In fact, in an art class when students were told  that they would be graded on quantity rather than quality they made higher quality pottery compared to the other half of the class who were asked to make one piece which they would be graded on for quality. See BBC article How creativity is helped by failure.

The next step is sustaining the practice.  Once you have acknowledged that you are indeed a creative being with a need and desire to create, then it is a matter of finding the time or setting the time aside for yourself.  This could be at regular intervals or random times.   Ultimately you need to decide which approach is best for you, spontaneous, or planned/scheduled in.  I find that if I do not set aside time for my creativity it can get lost in the business of the day.  If however I make it part of my routine, the same way you might watch the news daily or have a cup of coffee or tea, then I will create regularly.  If however, I leave it to chance, it often gets pushed to another day.  For those who may not want to create the same time everyday or week, you may want to try prioritize your art making time on your “to do list” so that it is part of your daily routine. In either case the spontaneity of what you decide to make in the moment allows for flexibility.

Regardless which way you chose to set up your regular creative practice,  you need to be prepared with the tools of your expression, paper and pen, brush, or sculpting media, whatever entices you.  Have them ready by storing them nearby where they can be easily accessed.  If it is not set up that way, then you are more likely to get side tracked when you go searching for your art supplies to get started.  I can’t tell you how many times in the past that I fell into the trap of tidying or organizing something else instead of playing with my art materials because they were not easily accessible.  There are many ways to setup your space for this purpose (which I have written about previously), regardless of whether you have an art room to use, a table in the kitchen or a corner in a room.

To recap: 

Believe in your inner artist.

Give yourself permission to create.

Accept that mistakes are part of the creative process.

Incorporate art making into your routine.

Prepare your space ahead of time.

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