Little Actions That go a Long Way to Growing Your Creativity

Boosting your creativity does not have to be a difficult task. Being a more creative person requires the habit of engaging in creative thought processes. There are many ways to increase the amount of times you engage in those processes. Some are easier than others, but none require any drastic life changes. For example, one simple way to boost your creativity is to surround yourself with diverse individuals. Trying a new hobby can give you a double boost in creative power. Not only will you meet new people with different backgrounds, personalities and experiences, but you’ll also gain the benefit of a new activity that challenges your mind.


How about spending time with children under the age of 6? Children are very creative. They are not inhibited by the worries of what others will think of them. This allows them to think freely and openly. We allow ourselves to lose this ability as we become adults. By spending time with children, we are encouraged to revisit this part of ourselves. So....go fly a kite!


New experiences expand your creative power. Attend a cultural celebration. Visit a museum, especially if they are featuring an unfamiliar artist. Listen to a new radio station or a band you never imagined you would enjoy. Just get out there and try something new. Watch a foreign film. You can also eat and drink different foods and beverages. Experience the new tastes and textures of foods from other countries, regions, and restaurants. How do these new experiences boost your creative power? New experiences help to create new neural pathways in your brain. This can help you see your world from a new perspective, a very important quality for creativity.


Experience everything fully, even everyday tasks. Take a walk in the woods and truly listen to the sounds, smell the air, feeling nature, and take it all in. Expand your mind by exercising all of your senses in a new or familiar environment. Small changes in your current environment can also boost your creative power. Drive a different way to work. Change the lunch you eat. Pretend you are a tourist in your own town. What would you do this weekend if you were a visitor?


Relax and de-stress. Exercising regularly stimulates endorphins, which reduce stress. A person who manages stress well will most likely be more creative. They spend less effort on unproductive worry and more time thinking positive and creative thoughts. Meditate, look at old family photos, take a bubble bath, or do whatever makes you feel good. Living your best life will broaden your horizons and boost your creativity.


Thomas Watson, Sr., former President of IBM, said, “Success is on the far side of failure.” Be willing to be impractical and willing to make mistakes. Creativity and original thinking is all about expansion, not contraction. Sometimes the best discoveries are found by accident. Attempting to see other points of view will increase the range of your thoughts and the possibilities that are open to you.


Boosting your creative power doesn't have to be a big strain. By trying simple things such as a new hobby or spending time with a young child, you can enhance your creative abilities. Seeking new experiences and making small changes to your current environment also increases creativity. Broaden your horizons while exercising your brain and the habit of being a creative thinker will follow.

Creating a Great Piece of Art, Not Just a Good One.

With creativity comes the decisions about how hard to work on a particular project. Discipline usually goes hand in hand with accomplishment. Just as action is necessary for any kind of success.

I illustrate this idea with a pencil portrait of a young girl. She is a very pretty and lively girl and doesn't need extra decoration around her. I nonetheless chose to place her in front of an interesting batik wall hanging when I took pictures of her....and furthermore decided to draw the background. I probably spent as long on the design in the back as on the actual portrait. Did I have to do that for a pleasing portrait? No. Does it help in creating a memorable statement. I believe so.

We all have to pick and choose our battles. Go ahead and have the discipline to create unique and personal statements in whatever medium you express yourself. The effort will be worth it.

Dreams are a Source for Creative Ideas

Creativity does not happen in vacuum. It is usually fostered by something that’s already there and already swimming around in your head. That is why dreams are so important. Dreams allow us to tap into those ideas. In our waking hours, we are focused on the thoughts of the conscious mind. In our dreams, our subconscious mind takes over. We explore our thoughts without judgment or reservation, with reckless abandon.


Dreams tap into the mind's wonderful ability to imagine, to remember, to evaluate, and to synthesize. They mimic a significant stage in creativity: you guessed it, brainstorming! When you deprive yourself of sleep, you deprive yourself of the necessary dream time needed to recharge your batteries and be inspired. Dreams have been the spark of inspiration for many talented and creative individuals from many professions. Artists, philosophers, scientists and inventors have all given credit to dreams for their inspiration.


Creative genius Edgar Allen Poe has attributed much of his creative prowess to dreams. They inspired the mood and themes of his stories. Carl Jung, founder of analytical psychology once wrote, "All my works, all my creative activity, has come from those initial fantasies and dreams which began in 1912, almost fifty years ago. Everything that I accomplished in later life was already contained in them, although at first only in the form of emotions and images." Even musical artist, Billy Joel, reports he experiences his music in his dreams before he makes it a reality.


Everyone dreams. Those that say they do not simply do not remember their dreams. Since dreams can be a great source of inspiration, make the most out of them. As soon as you wake up from a wonderful dream, write it down. Keep a writing pad or a dream journal beside your bed for accessibility. This will help you remember all of the fabulous details. Write down key points that answer the five Ws and one H. Who was there? What were you doing? How did you do it? This can also be a great way of finding out what it is you really want out of life. Try sketching your dreams out with your own pictures. Think about how the story would continue. Remember creativity is merging our information and experiences in new and different ways.


One important way to maximize dream time is to get enough sleep every night. Adults need an average of 7 to 8 hours of sleep a night. While teenagers may need to sleep a little longer to truly be at their best. When you try to remember your dreams after a restful night’s sleep, there are some tips to make the recall easier. First, try remembering the events of the dream backwards. If you get stumped, simply ask yourself, “What activity was I engaged in before that?” If you notice recurring events that could not possibly happen in real life, do not ignore them. Keep track of them, as they are your proof that you are dreaming. As you boost your creativity, these dream signs may come in handy. Could you develop a story or song around them? Aha! Dreams have presented yet another way to use your creative genius.


Dreams are the brains way of exercising our creativity. Dreams take our library of thoughts, experiences, and knowledge and create an exciting experience for everyone. Everyone has the power to dream and be creative! Many popular artists and creative geniuses have said that they were inspired by their dreams. Keep a dream journal so you can record your dreams. Look for patterns and recurring things. Get the right amount of sleep, and be open to your dreams recklessly exploring your subconscious thoughts. No matter what you do, feel free to dream. Worst case scenario is you don't become inspired and you are simply watching a movie. Relax and enjoy the film you create!

Creativity and Your Subject

Robert, pencil drawing 30x40 inches

I love to capture people's personality in a portrait. Despite the fact that the artwork must look like the subject, there is still a lot of room for creativity. All the environment is open to manipulation. Really take a look at who your subject is and you will get clues as to what interesting items you can include in the picture. You can choose an expressive pose. You can show important aspects of your sitter's nature.

Relax and Be Creative

When no longer constrained by the limitations of conscious control, our subconscious minds have a far greater capacity than we can possibly imagine! So, it is up to us to give the subconscious the room it needs to arrive at solutions to our problems. The best way to allow our subconscious that space to achieve creative problem solving is to be patient and believe that the answer will come.

Patience is a challenge because most of us want instant gratification. We have been trained by media and advertising to want things quickly. Be patient and allow the solution to come at the right time, which may not be right now. Assuming you have done some research, brainstormed and put some effort into this, patience will have its rewards. Next, belief is necessary for any success to happen. You must have belief in yourself, your creative abilities, and your subconscious mind. Trust and faith are other good words to use here. Trust that you have done the work. Have faith that you have looked at the problem from multiple viewpoints, that you have been open-minded and asked for input form others. Trust and believe that your problem is worth solving! One last thing to do is to assign this project to your subconscious. Literally tell your mind to take care of, and then let it go. This means, you need to go do something else other than just think about your problem.

Do whatever you need to do to get into a relaxed state. Go walk around the block. Execute some jumping jacks. Listen to some good music. Standing, stretching and walking around the room may be enough. This should help you get in a more positive mental frame of mind.
Enjoy!

Art, Passion and Creativity

Chrome to the Bone, Carbon pencil and Prismacolor

You will inevitably be more creative when you are passionate. Don't try to be creative just to imitate someone...be creative to suit yourself, your goals and interests. I love drawing shiny objects. That love keeps my attention focused long enough to produce a drawing like the one pictured above.