6 Tips to Build Your Creative Practice
The Creative Practice. We all want one, and to be honest, I think we all need one. I’m not talking about your artistic journey as a whole where you’re mastering a medium or learning all the bones and muscles of anatomy.
While creativity is most definitely a part of that more academic side of your art journey, the kind of creative practice I’m talking about here is the PLAYFUL one. That special space where we get to experience a little bit of freedom. Some people might call this “guilty pleasure” art, but I like to call it “soul food”.
It’s where we reconnect with our 5-year-old selves and remember that we DO have an imagination. That the joy is in simply making something and not in making a masterpiece.
Developing a creative practice is like going to a theatre show that’s all you and all FOR you. You’re the only audience member, but you’re also the entire cast, stage dresser, lighting crew. But it’s special, and it’s worth it, cause it’s yours. It’s a place to break away from the fear of failure and any outside pressure, and create for the joy of it.
So, how do we build this one man show? How do we cultivate a playful creative practice? How do we make space for the popsicle eating kid in us who just wants to make cool things without fearing failure? Here are 6 tips to building a sustainable AND enjoyable creative practice.
Show Up
Honestly, I think this is the hardest and most important part. If no one shows up to make a show happen, it… doesn’t… happen.
Even I struggle to find time to have a playful creativity session, and art is my career. Now, you may not have hours to work in your sketchbook. You may not even have half an hour. But I guarantee you have 5 minutes somewhere in your day to sit down and sketch something.
Don’t know what to draw? Just start drawing some lines and see what happens. Don’t think you can sit there the whole five minutes? Set a timer for one. Simply SHOW UP to the dang theatre. “Butt in chair” as Jane Yolen would say. Sometimes, I only have five minutes to scribble out a doodle. But at the end of that 5 minutes, I give myself a gold star for showing up.
Just be there, be present, and if your 5 minutes are up and you just don’t want to be here, let go of the practice today, and show up again tomorrow. If you follow none of the other steps in this blog post, just try this one, and that alone will kick off a creative practice.
2. Find Your Stage
Having the space to create is very important to me. Of course, you can find pockets of creativity throughout your day without being in a specifically CREATIVE space. Maybe you do some plein air sketching while you’re watching your kiddos at the park, or doodle that funny little dog you see at a gas station. But I truly believe setting a consistent creative stage for yourself is super important too. A kind of sacred space for your practice.
Finding my own creative “stage” has definitely made a big impact in my art practice. I recently upgraded from my childhood art desk to a Fancy Boi Flexispot Standing Desk. (And let me tell ya’ my back is eternally grateful not being crouched like a shrimp anymore.)
I’m a big believer in making a space your own, and that includes the décor. I’m a huge fan of all things cozy, so designing my space to reflect that helps keep me inspired and makes me excited to keep coming back to my practice.
Things like plants, or little crocheted pumpkins, fun nature items I find on my daily walk. Are these necessities? No. Could I make art without them. Absolutely. But they make me smile. They help me walk into my space with good vibes.
The way you set up and decorate your stage is 100% up to you. Maybe you love steampunk and want some super tech-y and gadget-y equipment and décor. Or maybe you love cottagecore and want to grab a cute bouquet of dried flowers to add some color to your space. Whatever floats your boat!
3. Gather Your Props
So we’ve made it to the theatre, we’re chillin’ on the stage. But we don’t have any props.
Now this is completely dependent on what kind of tools you like to use. Just as different shows use different props and costumes, different creative practices use different tools, too.
You might be thinking, “but I don’t have any! Guess I better go buy a whole new haul of art supplies that I probably won’t end up using!” (Or maybe that’s just me…)
Showing up to too many options can be very overwhelming, and completely kills the creativity. Not to mention, that can get very expensive VERY FAST. A digital art practice doesn’t need 5 canvases and 20 tubes of paint. A sculpting practice doesn’t need a bunch of colored pencils cluttering up the space. Or maybe you’re a mixed media artist, and you do want to have a few different kinds of supplies handy. That’s cool too!
But I’d recommend trying to limit the supplies you set out. Try giving one thing a try for right now. Use the tools you already have. Giving yourself one small set of tools like a ballpoint pen and a sheet of printer paper can be all you need to get the creative juices flowing! (Pro tip, this also kicks that “Wasting Good/Expensive Art Supplies” fear out the door.) You can always add more props throughout if you find that this particular show needs them.
Now if you think you need that one special new brush pen you’ve been seeing everywhere to *really* complete your practice then go ahead. Buy the tool, but USE IT. Dedicate at least the next five creative practice sessions to play around with that tool. We artists have that “shiny object” mindset and like to collect every single art supply that catches our eye, but that doesn’t give you the opportunity to enjoy them and get to know them. In the end those supplies just collect dust and leave us with a bunch of old, crusty art supplies to clean out one day.
4. Create Ambience
Once again, this isn’t a crucial part of the practice, but it’s one of the most fun parts in my opinion. It kinda’ goes hand in hand with setting our stage.
Turn on some tunes or a podcast, light a smelly-good candle (Mythologie candles are my go-to!). Grab a snack to munch on and some tea, just don’t be like me and dip your paint brush in your tea cup. You know how many times I’ve googled? “Will I die if I drink paint water?” Save yourself the trouble of googling and be spatially aware of your teacup and paint cup.
Now sometimes I can sketch for hours without listening to anything other than the birds outside my window, and other times I really need some music to liven up my energy and keep me grounded in my practice. What I listen to is very dependent on what part of the practice I’m in. If I’m doing some serious problem solving in my art, anything with words is a no-go. Lyrical songs? Out. Podcasts? Out. Disney movies? Sadly, those are out, too. My favorite thing to listen to for this is soundtracks. I love instrumental music. (Go check out Joe Hisaishi! Fantastic modern composer, composed most of the Studio Ghibli soundtracks. Great stuff.)
If I’m sketching for exploration or painting more intuitively, I’ll often put on a podcast or a movie to listen to. Some of my favorite podcasts are 3 Point Perspective, Make Art Don’t Starve, and Elyse Myers’ Funny Cuz It’s True. And basically any Pixar movie is a go-to as well.
Having a playlist of music or a particular tea you drink when you’re sitting down to create can be a really good way to get yourself in the zone. Our brains are actually pretty cool when it comes to developing habits. When we start to develop a habit, our brains create associations between consistent variables called “neural pathways”. (There’s your Nerd Fact of the Day)
So, if you light a particular candle every time you sit down to paint, your brain is going to associate that scent with creativity. This can be a nifty little way to trick yourself into being creative even when you aren’t super motivated. I’m not advocating tricking yourself into art ALL the time. If you’re constantly feeling unmotivated, you may be experiencing creative burnout, and that can’t be cured with little brain magic tricks. If you ARE experiencing burnout, go check out this YouTube video for some handy-dandy tips on healing from it.
5. Put on the show YOU WANT
If you’re having ZERO fun with your creative practice, you’re not creating the right things. Maybe your subject isn’t really vibing with you. Maybe you’re pushing yourself to paint realistically when all you really want to do is create ink pen comics.
It’s always great to try new mediums or styles or subjects. We want to learn and to grow as artists. But THIS creative practice is about playtime. This is not the part of a video game where you take on a big boss battle of a project. This is the part of the game where you’re just wandering around admiring the world-building.
Grab a notebook and write down 20 things you like. And I don’t mean just artsy stuff. If you like a particular flower, write it down. Maybe you’re really into boats. Write that down. Maybe roller-skating is your go-to weekend hobby. Put it on the list. I guarantee you’ll come up with 20 things in no time.
Now, take a look at that list. Scratch off whatever doesn’t interest you to incorporate into your creative practice. If you love antique cameras, but the thought of sketching one doesn’t mesh with you AT ALL, put a big ol’ “x” on that idea. Maybe you’re cool with trying ALL of these ideas. That’s great too! But pick one for now, and save the rest for a rainy day.
Now grab whatever supply is speaking to you, and put this idea down on canvas or paper, or, I don’t know, a Microsoft paint document? Do your thing and have fun with it. Don’t make it harder than it needs to be.
6. Improv
Improv is one of the most INCREDIBLE forms of theatre in my opinion. It’s the method of taking one idea or joke or theme and just running with it. Comedians working the crowd and coming up with the most hilarious jokes off the cuff. Actors developing a scene and creating a story on the fly.
Improv is a challenge. And sometimes, you just don’t tell a very good story or your joke falls kinda’ flat. But sometimes the most INCREDIBLE magic is made during improv. The same is true for your creative practice. Throw something a little unexpected in there. Grab a new medium or color that you don’t normally reach for. Or splash some coffee on your page before you start sketching. Or pick a subject you’ve never tried before.
Loosen up and just let art happen. I know that’s oftentimes easier said than done. It’s scary trying something without knowing where it’s going. That element of potential failure can be terrifying, but it really doesn’t have to be. Remember, this is playtime. If your sketchbook page ends up a big blobby mess, that’s okay. It wasn’t a waste of time. Even our “failed” pieces are still a part of our journey.
Every failure makes you a little less scared to fail the next time. 5-year-old you, wasn’t concerned about failing. You simply played and explored and drew. Not every drawing looked awesome, and not every episode of “Let’s Play ‘House’” was the most elaborate storyline. But you didn’t care. You just had fun, and explored your creativity.
Throwing a bit of improv in there can spice things up and help you discover new things you like in your creative practice. Sometimes it’s an absolute failure, and you learned a lesson from it. Sometimes it’s your new favorite piece and you hang it on your wall for everyone to see.
Developing a playful, creative practice is about finding the joy in the process and letting your inner kid come out again. At the end of the day, art is about having fun. Finding joy. Growing and improving your skills is fantastic, but if genuine love of creativity isn’t at the heart of it, it’s not really worth it. That’s a one-way ticket to resenting your art.
Not every creative session is going to fill your soul. Sometimes, an idea just doesn’t work out. Sometimes you sit and stare at the page for an hour, and move on. Sometimes you just want to swatch your colors instead of painting a picture. All are ABSOLUTELY FINE. They’re all a part of the journey. If one day doesn’t work out the way you wanted it to, don’t beat yourself up about it. I give you full permission to laugh it off and walk away for today. You’ll show up again tomorrow with a fresh mind, and you’ll “take it from the top”, as they say.