3 Ways to get Creative
Welcome to the first blog post ever!
It’s taken me while to work out what to write on here, but I feel like I should just think about it less, and just write about things that interest me and will hopefully give you an insight into my creativity and inspire you to get out there and add some art to your life.
Throughout this pandemic it’s been harder to get into the right mindset to want to push yourself to get your pens and paper out, and drag yourself away from the Netflix spiral.
I’m no expert or life coach, but I’ve found some great ways to help myself get out of the funk and brain cloudiness. So here are my top tips!
Take your sketchbook out for a walk!
When you’re off on your 20th walk around the block, struggling to stay appreciate the finer things in life, then why not take a little pocket sized sketchbook and pen out with you?
Start by observing what’s around you. If you live in the city like me, then look at the houses. What kind of shapes can you see? Are there circles, arches, nice windows? Roughly sketch them in your book. You don’t have to be neat about it, just get the gist of it. A simple line drawing will do.
This will start to open your eyes to your surroundings and look at things differently. It also gives you a great excuse to look into peoples houses!
You might start to notice the shapes that you see repeated everywhere and they you really enjoy looking at. These ideas can then be taken into other work like collage, painting etc.
If you’re in the countryside, look at the plants and trees around you. What kind of little things can you see? The curve in a leaf, the angle of a branch? Really take the time to not just pass things willy nilly, and start to see the lines and angles in nature.
Just taking this time to observe really takes your thoughts out of your mind. I like listening to music or a podcast at the same time. I always find I return home feeling a lot better and inspired to develop my drawings.
Timed creativity
Set yourself a timer on your phone or watch. Start with 10 minutes.
Get out your arty bits, for me it’s either collage materials or a sketchbook.
Start creating!!!
Do anything you like, just don’t think about it too much. Do what feels right and you will slowly be steered into a direction. This could be doodling different sized rectangles all over a piece of paper or in general for me, I like to get the paper out and do some quick collages.
Don’t think about it, just go for it.
This is literally how I get into the collage mood. I hate planning things, I hate being a perfectionist over things because it stops my creativity. Collage literally made me get creative again! It gives you a chance to make things without stressing over the outcome.
By adding in a timed element, you have less time to think, and just do. Once you've done your 10 minutes, see if you could do another 10 minutes. Maybe tomorrow you could do 15 minutes.
Give it a go!
Scribble
At the beginning of each Scribble Sundays session, I get everyone to just scribble on a piece of paper.
Make some lines, big circles, dashes, dots, zig zags, literally anything that gets your hands moving!
You can have a pen in each hand and go crazy! Just fill that page.
I find that this helps you loosen up and gets you going. It will probably look like a child has done it, but the whole point is that you have begun. You have made that first step of getting a pen out and doing something with it. Well done!
Now you can continue your creativity with whatever medium you like. I usually take this piece of paper and use it to collage. Waste not want not, as my Grandma used to say!
I hope these 3 tips give you some simple ways to get more creative and get yourself out of a funk. I know they have helped me this past year. But remember, you can always just take the time out to watch tv and have a glass of wine! That’s ok too! Especially if it’s a decent wine!
Happy creating
Eloisa x