Creative rituals, or habits are vital to feed the imagination. To keep your imagination active and expand creative possibilities you have to put effort into finding inspiration, things that light up your soul. That will be different for everyone, whether you’re into musical theatre or you love looking in second hand shops for retro homeware.
There is also scientific evidence in the power of habits, the more you do something the easier it is. That is true of painting at the same time every day or week, as much as it is for exercise or any other habit you want to instil. Part of the reason I advocate to build creative habits is it can be difficult to start doing something creative. Staring at the blank page, or canvas is a familiar feeling, frozen by being unsure what to do or where to start. This feeling never goes away, but it does get less intense the more you practise art as a habit.
The logical side of your brain will put up a good fight and give you loads of reasons why you shouldn’t be creative. The reason you get this negative talk is because being creative is unpredictable, and the dinosaur part of the brain wants to keep us safe by staying away from anything that might be dangerous. It used to be that we humans could end up in life threatening situations should we put ourselves in unknown situations, and where parts of the brain have not caught up with modern life, it puts massive anxiety on anything that poses an unknown scenario.
It’s vital if you want to be more creative you understand this inner critic is just trying to protect us, and keep us away from harm. You can quiet this voice though, by not taking it too seriously, and by flexing your creativity through habitual actions.
So, what does your inner critic say to you? It’s too late to be any good at this, I’ve not got time, what would people think, I’ve not got the money to be an artist? Waiting for the perfect time or permission from everyone is never going to come, so you need to create the time and conditions to be creative. Whether that’s the morning before everyone has woken up, a Sunday afternoon once a week, carve this out and make it non-negotiable.
We kid ourselves before we even start working towards our dream that we need more time, money or resources we don’t have yet. Again, this is your dinosaur brain keeping you safe, putting up obstacles so you don’t even try to do something different. What I’ve found in the last 3 years, is small actions add up that can change the trajectory of your life completely. Simply dedicating a few hours a week, I have been in galleries all over the world, sold many paintings, had commissions and got a taste for the joy art brings to my life and others.
So, here are my creative rituals that help me stay creative, and enhance my creative practice.
1. Journaling
Every morning I write 2-3 A4 pages of freehand writing, anything that comes to mind. It lets my mind rest on the page, and clear out any negative feelings and thoughts. I do find it therapeutic to allow complete freedom in my writing, and get out whatever comes to mind. It also uncovers ideas, new thoughts and ambitions to me, as I let my imagination run on the page.
2. Walking
I consider this a form of meditation, and I’m lucky enough to live near a large park which has lots of inspiration. Walking, observing and notice what you find interesting, it does lower anxiety and makes you feel more in touch with your environment, bringing you back to the present.
3. Sketchbook
My sketchbook is a precious place where I can take any ideas I have lingering, explore them, and collect imagery I find interesting. There are no rules as to how you make up a sketchbook, and as they are not as public as pieces of art (unless you want them to be) I feel I have more freedom to try new things in my sketchbook. I do collect a lot of imagery from designers, artists and any imagery I like the look of. You can also use your sketchbook to self assess your own artwork, think about what you like, why, and what you’d change next time. It’s a place to express yourself and think about how you can make your art stronger, by being authentic about what you like and want to express.
4. Artist day out
Every month I treat myself to a day out, alone, exploring a theme or subject related to my art. It doesn’t have to be an art gallery, it could be a botanic garden, an interesting shop. As a visual artist I do need to explore and find different inspiration to fill my artist well.
5. Affirmations
When I was starting out painting again after a long pause, one of the creative recovery tools for me was affirmations. I took a generic list to start with and gradually started to build my own personal list, which I update every year. Whatever I’m having some limiting beliefs around I chose to focus on for my affirmations, to change my perspective to be open minded and positive. I recommend working with affirmations daily, and some people also use a mood board with visuals of ambitions on, to help your mind focus on your goals.
I recommend you try out these creative habits to start, then build on them with your own preferences. Maybe you want to bring music into your creative practice, and so decide to listen to an album once a week and paint to music. Your environment can also bring you closer to your authentic creative soul, scented candles, plants, the colour of the walls in your studio all have a place within your artistic practice.
This blog was written by Ruth Egon, an artist passionate about encouraging everyone to create. Ruth likes to build confidence in less experienced artists and break down elitist ideas about entering the world of art.
Ruth Egon leads an online art membership, The Art Hub Community! We are an inspirational, nurturing and fun art community. We gather creative souls who are curious about developing their interest in art, through live workshops, forums and inspiring content.
Together we build confidence, express joy and create art that’s authentic to us.
At Art Hub we create art in live group workshops, engage in lively and informative chat forums, share inspiration and grow skills through group challenges. We offer a welcoming, supportive and fun membership, so that we can become an authentic, confident, vibrant, purposeful and connected group of artists.
You don't need any experience to join us, all you need is an interest in art and a willingness to give it a go. Designed to be fun, and engaging and to build your creative confidence, these are the perfect sessions to get you started.
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