How To Boost Your ARTistic Creativity

Last week, I spoke about creativity at work. This week, I’m going share some go-to tips you can use when you’re wondering how to boost your artistic creativity.

I’ll also be hosting a Facebook Live at 5 pm Eastern today where I go over these tips in more depth, using props…a virtual show and tell. If you can’t join me, just go to http://facebook.com/kathyramsperger and you’ll be able to click on it, view it, and ask questions in the comments section. Hearts and other emoticons are welcome, too!

Use another medium.

Look at art online. Visit a new museum. Go to a concert. Learn to salsa or tango. Do whatever kind of art you don’t normallly do.

Exercise.

I say “Exercise” often. But I can’t say it enough. Exercise is meditative, it produces endorphins that calm us, it grounds us, and it helps us produce faster and better.

Turn off the mind.

That’s right. Shut off the mind monkeys. Shush them. Tell them it’s naptime, or let them go out and play. If they persist, tell them you’ll be fine without their input for an hour or two or that you’ll call if you need them.

Brainstorm.

Let go of outcomes and let some inspiration in instead. Stop thinking about sales or patrons or audiences or avatars, and BRAINSTORM. Doodle. Color. Mind Map. You can do this on a live team or a virtual one. Or alone. This lets your mind monkeys play and lets you travel new neural pathways, which almost always lead to a light bulb moment.

Imaginate.

Close your eyes and see your project as it is now. Notice what’s missing. Record whatever comes to mind.

Pretend.

Step into someone else’s shoes…just for five minutes. Then create something they would enjoy. Remember blanket tents, tree houses, toys made out of vegetables and twigs, neighborhood talent shows? Remember how artistic you were then? (Note I didn’t say perfect. I said artistic.)

Have a Cause.

Then create for that cause. It’s amazing how much more unique our art becomes and how much it inspires others when we create it for a reason, and if it’s an admirable reason like a little Syrian boy crossing the Mediterranean on a raft or a doctor who’s saving a little girl’s scorched face in a war zone in Ukraine, even better.

Employ a little Math.

Solve an algebra problem. Play chess. Put a puzzle together. Alternatively, do something mundane on autopilot…anything repretitive or different fro our norm. Then come back to your plot, brush stroke, or score.

Sleep or Eat on it!

Sleep or Eat. That’s right. Self-care is just as important as meeting your schedule and deadlines. Even more so. Our bodies cannot perform if they do not have adequate sleep, a sense of safety, or the proper nutrition.

Please note that these tips are meant for ALL artists or ALL humans who do anything remotely artistic. Knitting, sewing, metallurgy, copywriting, presentations, child care. The list goes on.

(My little secret: If you boost your artistic creativity, you’ll boost your art sales!)

Try a couple of these tips you’ve shied away from in the past, and let me know where it leads here. If you’d like more tips or want to talk about how to enhance your creativity anywhere, any time, I’m happy to have a brief consultation with you, set you up for a six-week coaching package, or let you know about my classes.