A Year of LIving Creatively

Its been over a year since I made the commitment to making art everyday.   It has been incredibly empowering and has lead to some exciting developments.

One of the best things that has happened is that in a very real way, creating art has lead to more creating of art.  I think this is true of any practice--doing more has lead me to be more motivated and more inspired to do even more.  It is pretty cyclical that way.  And so, the more I create, the more I create.   

It has also been true that the more I create and put out into the social media universe, the more jobs and commissions I have received.  Last week I shipped out 9 (9!!!) paintings to new homes, and I have 5 more in progress that I am hoping to finish and ship out by the end of January.  I'm also working on a new book (details coming soon!) that I am very excited about.

Here are some simple principles that have helped me in my practice of making art every day.  

1.  Making art everyday does not mean finishing a piece of art every day.  It can be anything from doodling/drawing while relaxing at the end of the day to adding a layer or details to a piece of art.  most of my art takes many layers--I almost never finish a piece in one sitting.  so I am not looking towards completion--only working on the process.  

2. Finding my best time to work:  I am at my most creative and motivated in the late morning, so I do my best work then.  I find that if I get started around 9 or 10 in the morning, after getting the kids off to school, attending to emails and more mundane tasks, then by 10 I am ready to get painting.  If I hit my stride, I can work for a few hours before stopping to do other non art related work.  In doing art everyday I have learned that I have a pattern, and if I wait too long to begin, nothing real or productive will get done (unless I am on a deadline, in which case I push myself and end up creating on fumes--sometimes this pushes me to create my best work, other times it just feels desperate).

3. Having supplies at the ready: I know which supplies I use the most, and generally have them available when I get started.  This includes the paint colors I use the most, the brushes, canvases, cups for water (really--you have no idea how annoying it is to be ready to paint and not be able to find a container for water), and a clear working space.  I do like a good art supply run, but running out to the store instead of using that time to create is not so productive.  

Here are some of the pieces I have created this year:  

I have benefitted so much from creating art every day.  I can't wait to see what will happen next!

Setting Yourself Up For Creative Practice in the New Year

The creative process is as nourishing to me as the air I breathe or the water I drink.  The more I create, the more complete I feel.  However, even for me creativity does not come without its challenges.
Recently I decided that I would make a new committment to creative practice--to being in my studio EVERY day.  I made no further plans, trusting that allowing for creative time would be enough to make something interesting happen. Indeed, it has been true that just setting the time aside to create has been incredibly empowering. However, I have found that in my intention to enact a daily creative practice, I need a little more than just  time.

I know a lot of people make committments (dare I say resolutions?) for the new year. Of these, I think that developing a creative practice could be one of the most positive, even life altering resolutions one can make.  To this end, I'd like to demystify a bit of what it takes to start and maintain a daily creative practice.

Four Simple Things You Need In Order to Set Up and Maintain a Creative Practice:

1. Inspiration: I'm starting with the big one, because I know some people think that this is a big magical thing that certain people have and others don't.  I'm not sure that's true, though I do know a few people who seem to have been born without that creative gene.  However, YOU are reading this post, and so YOU are not that person! You may not know exactly what your inspiration is just yet, but if you have the interest I really truly believe that is all you need to start with.  If you have the interest, and you set up the time and the space (see below), the inspiration will come.  And if it doesn't? Well, that's why God invented Pinterest.  I will be devoting another post soon to inspiration prompts, but you really don't even need me for that.  There is pinterest, there are a million artist and art teacher posts and blogs, and creative ideas are a dime a dozen on that thing called the internet.  For that reason, I'm bowing out of this one, and asking you to trust me on this.  Set up the next three pieces, and you will be well primed when inspiration comes calling.  And if it doesn 't come calling?  Go look for it.  Its out there. Google it. I promise.

2. Time: Probably the biggest barrier to maintaining a creative practice is finding the time to do so. Making time is really about shifting priorities.  If you think you have no time, there is really nothing I can say that will shift that perception.  But if you, like me, want to make time (or need to make the time), the best suggestion that I can make is to plan it in advance and set it up like an appointment. Figuring out the best time for your creative work is very personal, and it also takes a bit of introspection.  I know that my best time for innovative work (large painting, writing, developing new ideas) is the morning, in my studio, but my best time for maintenance work--lower key work that requires less creativity but more technique like sewing or small scale drawing, or developing my website is at night, in front of the tv. This is different for everyone, but I do think it is essential for whatever you do to figure out when you are at your best, and set that time aside for your work. If you are just starting out, or strapped for time, you might also identify where in your schedule you can fit in a small amount of time for creativity.   It could be at night after the kids go to bed, or very early in the morning.  I think  30  minutes a day is a reasonable amount of time to set aside, but if that sounds crazy to you, even sketching on a piece of scrap paper for a few minutes a day can be satisfying.  You may find that if you make this a regular practice, you can get a lot done in a few minutes--and you may eventually start adding more time without even really thinking about it.

2. Space: For some projects all you really need is a cleared kitchen or dining room table.  I do have a studio in my basement where I do all my really messy or larger projects, but when I just want to sketch or work on a small watercolor, I find I prefer to work on my dining room table so that I am near my family.  This way, if the kids are busy playing around me, I can actually be present and creative at the same time. I also have space set aside for supplies.  For me this is primarily in storage bins and shelving units in my studio, but I also keep some basic supplies in a cabinet in my kitchen. I pull these out whenever I find that I have a few minutes or an idea that I want to work on.  These are usually "dry" supplies--pens, markers, oil pastels and paper, but lately I've also been keeping a watercolor tray and some paintbrushes available so that when I want to create something its not such an intense process to get my space ready.

3. Supplies: This is a big one.  Depending on what you want to do, supplies can be as simple as pencils or markers and paper.  If you are serious about making this work, I suggest investing in good quality sketch or mixed media paper or an art journal and some good drawing pens. I personally almost never use pencils, especially for quick sketches and doodling--I prefer not to get caught up in trying to make something perfect and doing a lot of erasing. I draw with pens or markers,and allow for happy accidents.If I don't like the way something looks, I keep drawing and adding to it until I like it better.  Or, in some cases I throw it out (gasp!).  If that is not your style, you can substitute some good drawing pencils and a kneaded eraser for the markers. Below is a more extensive list of the types of things I always have on hand. Obviously this is based on the type of work that I do regularly, so see it more as a suggestion, and take from it what you will.

My Basic Studio Supply List:

• Computer paper or scrap paper---I don't waste my good paper on sketches or doodles, so I always have lots of cheap paper around. I also tend to turn my grocery lists, to do lists, old flyers and used envelopes into small drawings as well.  
•  Mixed Media Art paper (sizes 9x12 and 11x14)---they come in pads, and I always have some around for whatever small drawing or watercolor projects I want to do.
• Watercolor trays--for beginners I like Prang--they are inexpensive and the quality of color is actually very good.  I also use tubes of Grumbacher watercolor paint for my professional projects, but the Prang trays are good enough for quick projects.  
• Oil pastels---these are great for quick sketches, and I also use them in a lot of my mixed media work.  I add them as detail to my acrylic paintings, and I use them in watercolor resist.
• Acrylic paint-I use Liquitex. I suggest having some basic colors plus a lot of white to start (cadmium red, pthalo green, ultramarine blue, cerulean blue, cadmium orange, cadmium yellow, naples yellow, dioxanne purple, burnt sienna, white).  You can mix these to create lots of other colors and shades.
• Pallette for mixing paint and cup for water
• Paint brushes---I use synthetic acrylic or watercolor brushes in three general sizes.  If you have a small, fine tip, a medium fine tip, a medium square, and a larger tip brush, you should be Ok to do most of what you want.  
• Markers--I really like the the Pitt artist brushes, especially the Big Brush black india ink pen.  They don't last as long as I would like--or maybe I am just really hard on them.  but a new one makes an amazing line that I have not been able to find in any other product.  I replace them regularly, and at around $8 a brush, it can be an investment.  But I really like the result, so it is worth it.  I also have a box of art markers that I have collected over time.  In my box I have prismacolor art markers, lots of colored sharpies, and some brush markers in different colors.  They are useful to have around, but I don't use them a whole lot.   
• Glue, painters tape, mod podge, varnish--you know, for putting things together and finishing them off. A lot of my work has collage or mixed media elements.  Mod Podge is amazing for those projects. I use cheap foam brushes or cheap painters brushes from the hardware store to apply the mod podge.  I always seal my work with a quality artists varnish that works for both acrylic and oils.  
• Sewing supplies---this may just be for me, but since I've gotten into making art dolls I find these sewing supplies invaluable--I use them for my soft sculptures, but also sometimes with my mixed media paintings:  good scissors, different colors of multi-purpose thread, lots of different fabrics, needles, polyfill stuffing.  

Ok, Ok, I know this sounds like a lot--and if you were to actually see my work space, you'd see that this isn't even half of what I surround myself with--you never know when you're going to need it!  but I saw this ecard the other day that just about sums it up perfectly for me: 

In any case, I really do believe that everyone could do with more creativity in their lives.  Adding a creative practice to your day or week is a great way to increase positivity  and its cheaper than therapy!  Do you have a creative practice?  What helps you make it happen?