Hi John,
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I led a fun workshop with Marisa from Creative Thursdays this week. We explored five ways to spark creativity when those pesky Creative Blocks creep into our minds.
Grrr... it happens to the best of us!
With Creative Blocks on my mind, I thought it would be fun to follow up with yet another way to break through them, which brings me to...
Art Journal Experiments!
Art Journals or Sketchbooks can be our safe spaces for playful experimentation and cozy spots with no wrong or right way to make art.
βIt is a happy talent to know how to play. β - Ralph Waldo Emerson
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My art journal is filled with all sorts of these. Lots of weird and wonderful playful exercises that allow my mind to wander.
Back to Creative Blocks, when we don't know where to start, other artists can help jog our ideas.
I call this exercise Art Inspo Echo.
This is a fun pathway to begin:
- Gather your tools: Find your favorite art materials and put them in front of you. Mine are a sketchbook, fluid acrylics, and paper ephemera.
- Find inspiration: Spend 2 minutes to find an artwork youβre inspired by. Flip through an art book, scroll through Instagram, or pop over to Pinterest. Donβt think too hard about it. Just choose something that youβre attracted to. This will be your muse for the exercise.
- Create your version: Using this image as a starting point, create your own version or inspired artwork based on the piece. Maybe your work looks nothing like the original, but you love the color palette, so that becomes the color palette you'll work with. Perhaps you borrow lines, shapes, or the whole thing!
- Play! Imagine yourself at play with this other artist, having a dance around the paper, and the artwork that flows out is now a blend of your ideas. The improvisation is sure to land somewhere interesting!
I've also shared these tips on Instagram. If you found this exercise helpful, I'd really appreciate it if you could take a moment to check out the post here, give it a like, and maybe leave a comment. Your support helps boost the post so more creative folks can discover these ideas. Thanks in advance!
Playfully creating,
PS. I'm considering creating a new workshop or course for adults who want to explore and enhance their creativity through hands-on art exercises. If this interests you, I'd love to hear your thoughts! Click here for a short survey, and let me know if you'd like to learn more when details become available.
Useful Resources
Whatever your next creative project might be, if you need some help, I have tons of resources waiting for you. Pop over to the blog for creative activity ideas. There are free tools on the Creativity Resources page of my website, and you can find affordable classes in my shop. Follow along and see what I'm up to this week over on Instagram.
