Free Your Artist

January 2002

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Quote | Visualization | Affirmation

Free Your Artist

"There's a number-one rule that's most important every time you create anything: You have permission to fail, to be mediocre, to suck sewer slime."

   —Pam Grout, author of Living Big, Embrace Extraordinary Life

Creativity Exercise

I gave my nieces a couple of different gifts this Christmas. One was a spirograph®, the other an etch-a-sketch® both of these gifts constrained how they drew. So I've been thinking about how the medium we use can constrain our creativity and how trying an entirely new medium might stimulate or gel a project idea. For instance: if you write, try drawing or dancing or acting or doing cartoon panels.... if you dance, try painting or sculpting....if you sculpt try writing. Be aware of how the medium feels for you. Are you exploring outside your comfort zone, does dancing feel really stupid (did you knock over something?). Does the pen feel awkward in your hand, too small or big and the words won't come? You can include your reaction to the medium in your exercise. Switching mediums can be freeing since you can "blame" any lack of perfection on the "wrong" medium....Explore being free and most of all allow yourself to fail—or be less than perfect.

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Affirmation

I try new things with joy. Every medium and every way I explore my creativity expands it and my creative life.

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