Creative Process

I would love you to believe that all of my creative experiences look and feel like the pic above. 

Serene.

Beautiful.

Fresh.

Colorful. 

Candlelit.

They don't.  

My creative process never looks like that.  

It does look a lot like this:

That pic was taken last summer, but my painting corner right this minute looks pretty much the same, and I've painted more than a hundred pieces since then.  

A hundred pieces.   

The vast majority of them ended up in that bin under the table on the left to be chopped up into art journal pages or used for firestarters.   

It's all part of the process.

Artists think and talk a lot about the creative process.  We need to be aware of it so that we're working with it and not against it. 

Discovering my Creative Process

The creation of art from conception to framed piece is a messy process, internally and externally.   

Over the last few months, I've kept track of how I work through things, what is satisfying, what isn't.  I'm identifying the reality of my own creative process and where the gaps are.   My goal is to fill in the gaps with things to help me bridge the parts that I have a hard time with or with things that help me feel more peaceful about the process.

I've been searching for a routine.  A ritual.  A structure to hold onto when the creative process dictates that I need to let go of so many other things.     

The ideal structure for me would be broken down into easily identifiable parts, so that I know what part I'm in, what part I need to do next and what parts I need extra support for because they scare the hell out of me.  This way I can stack the deck in my creative favor.   

This is what I discovered.

Robin's Usual Creative Process

• Get an idea and jump right in and paint, paint, paint.
• Fail a lot.  Learn a lot.
• Get frustrated and feel like a failure a lot. [A lot.]
• Accidentally produce something pretty good. 
• Feel like a failure because I have no idea why that one turned out so well.
• Wonder if I can ever do another one.  A lot.
• Feel bad. 
• Frame the good one and feel pretty good about it.
• Hang a show and be grateful to the people who come, are lovely and who don't say how mediocre my art is, even though I know it is.
• Come home and panic and start painting a lot.

Why do I keep doing this? 

Why do I keep painting when I feel so bad about it so often?

Because now and again, I can tap into that flow where my brain feels great - working out the creative issues that arise in a piece. 

Also, I love learning and I'm learning a lot as I study painting. 

Also I've painted enough decent pieces now that I am almost convinced that I can do another nice piece, eventually, even though I'm on draft #8 and it still looks like crap. 

Also I've learned to believe that 'a breakthrough is right around the corner'.   

Even so,  I want to move from being a 'sort of promising' artist to an actual 'accomplished' artist.  If I can get out of my own way, and find the right teachers and put in a million more brush miles, I am confident that can happen.    

Part of getting out of my own way is to outline a new and improved process.  And I have found one.

Robin's New & Improved Creative Process  [The 7 P's]

• Pause:  Be still and just think about the work in general.  Let things float and sink in my consciousness.  A quality 15 minute meditation to some nice music is good for this.  I don't have to plan any work, I just have to be still with it. [Note: Even though I know this works, I almost always skip this part entirely and jump right into painting.  I am terrified of inaction and feel such an urgency to paint Something.  Anything. Painting horrible art is better than doing nothing. It will take discipline to make this Pause an anchoring part of my practice.]

• Play:  Try some new brushes or paper or other materials.  Get messy.  Get to know some new colors.  No product or goal in mind.  No judgement.  It's play for heaven's sake.  I need to have this stage because I need to allow 'purposelessness' now and then. [Note: I skip this stage, too, because I'm all worried about wasting time or materials or that it's not 'serious'.  Being 'Serious' is important. I have a long history of being very serious and earnest about things. One Must Have a Purpose. Those skills have paid off in important ways, but it's time to give over to play.]  

• Peruse: Look through reference materials [I have sooo many].  Don't stress.  Trust that the next subject is there.

• Pull out:  Select a few of the ones that spark my interest.

• Plan: Sit down with the reference material and Do The Plan.  Composition sketch, color test, notan, whatever.  [Note: This *always* pays off and is actually quite enjoyable, except I often rush past it to start another draft.]

• Proceed to Paint: Do the drafts. I always edit and refine and do another draft. Just like I never expect my first session of writing to be the only one I need, I don't expect that my first painting of a subject to be the best one.  I allow and will do as many drafts as necessary.  I keep records of this process: the number of drafts, sizes, paints, what I liked, what I didn't.  [This is the stage I get stuck in.  It feels 'productive'.  There is plenty of evidence that I am *doing* something.  See that pile of duds?  I've been busy doing. It helps me justify the time, effort and resources spent in this pursuit. That pile of duds may be evidence that I'm a crap artist, but at least I'm busy working on it.]

• Put final touches on:  Sign, Photo, Record, Mat, Frame and Share.   [This is my favorite part.  I love framing.  I love photographing. I love recording the details on Artwork Archive [record keeping software.] I love seeing the pieces all dressed up and finished and ready to hang.  I love sharing: web, social media, blog.  I love all of it.  But as soon as I get it done, I get anxious and start to panic.]

And then...Because I'm afraid of inaction, I usually jump right into the painting phase again.  

That's right.  I skip phases 1-5 and just start painting.  Out of fear. 

This is when I need to remind myself to begin at the beginning and plan for and allow that sacred Pause.  And then Play.

I need to allow an ending and a beginning.  This means I need to stop panicking at the end and jumping back into the middle.   I can honor that transition from ending to beginning instead of pretending it doesn't apply to me. 

If I can learn to allow that, to stop rushing, I will increase the peace I feel about the whole process, which in turn should help me have greater insight and do better work.

In addition, I can lean on this structure.  After the Pause, I know what I'm going to do next.  Play.  And then I know that I will Peruse.  And Pull Out.  I know this process works because I know what to next. 

That's my plan.   I'm going to stick to it for the rest of this year and see where it takes me.

What does your creative process look like?

Creative Wounds

Creativity is a dynamic thing.   It ebbs and flows.

When you're in flow, it's awesome.  You're creating great stuff  - or learning great stuff and you don't care that the finished product is less than stellar.

A creative ebb is not so awesome.  Staring at the blank paper, brush in hand, wondering if every successful thing I've done before was a fluke is not my idea of a good time.

I was talking to an artist friend recently about what causes creative block and we ended up talking about the notion of 'creative wounds'.

Since then I've been thinking about the things that have caused creative wounds for me.   Wounds serious enough that I just don't want to try any more.

The most serious wounds for me come when I come face to face with my mindset problems.  And they almost always center around Expectations. 

• Others' expectations that my work should be better.  More original.  Less colorful.  More urban.  Less rural.  More sky.  Less sky.  More floral.  Less like me.  More like something else. 
• Others' expectations that they are the gatekeepers of beauty and they have the right to judge my creative output. 
• My expectations that my work should be better.  That it should be easier.   That I should be able to do things faster.  That I should have better composition, or color harmonies, or subject matter, or something.  That I should get into more juried shows and that if I don't, it means I'm a bad artist.  That someone else gets to decide what 'good' is and if I can just figure that out and spend 24/7 practicing, then finally I'll be 'Good'.  
• My expectation that all efforts that aren't great [frameable/sellable] are a waste:  of effort, of time, of materials.  And that all waste is evidence of a deep character flaw.
• My expectation that my worth is completely and totally tied to the worth of my final product - and that is determined not by me, but by Others.

Geeze.  It hurts just thinking about it. 

The only way to get over these types of wounds is with a lot of care.  Creative Therapy, if you will. And that's going to be 90% deciding how to think about things differently and 10% practice reminding myself to think about things differently.  These are my current mindset shifts:

• My opinion of my work [and my life] is more important than anyone else's. [I'm going on a juried show hiatus for a while.  I'm generally just fine when I get rejection letters, but this summer I want a break from that.]
• All great artists do the equivalent of piano scales for.ev.er. before they get great and those resources are not wasted, but merely stepping stones to a more satisfying-to-me place. 
• My worth is completely independent of my creative output.   A stack of 'bad' paintings is evidence of practice, nothing more, nothing less. 
• Learning and experimenting can be fun.   Actually fun.   I'm good at learning, not so good at fun, so I have given myself the task of learning how to have fun.  [Which makes me laugh, so I think I'm on the right track.]  I think that will involve a lot of paper and paint and exploration and experimentation and stacks of things that will never see a frame.  

And I'm Ok with all that.   I can feel my Creative Wounds beginning to heal already.  

My Best Life Now - Retreat 2018

My Best Life Now

Weekend Retreat

October 12-14, 2018

Bloomfield, Indiana

_____________________________________________________

You are going to LOVE what 
WE have planned for YOU!

Do you crave more creativity in your life?  More balance?  More 'Yes!'?  A lot of us do! Now, imagine yourself spending a weekend in a luxurious space with a group of supportive women who are all looking to move forward on their journey to living their Best Life Now. 

You will be immersed in an experience carefully designed to support big shifts in how you think about what is possible in your life.  By the end of the retreat, you will have a clear idea of what your Best Life looks like, strategies for making it a reality, and a support system to help you live your Best Life Now.

This retreat is for all women who want to move forward on the journey to living their best lives now.   

Facilitators:

Robin Edmundson is an award winning artist and blogger who has been teaching creativity since 2003. Her professional and artistic path has been full of twists and turns so she has a lot of experience blazing new trails. She's excited to help you get started on your journey to a happier and more creative self.

Amy Kimmel is a Women's Empowerment Mentor, Certified Intuitive Reiki Master, and Yoga Teacher-in-Training focusing on discovering the magic we all have inside that allows us to live our soul purpose. Her loving, no-nonsense approach will help you fully tap into your power so that you can learn to shine your brightest inner light and live your best life.

Embrace your present life
Unleash your Inner Power
Dream big
Visualize your Best Life
Organize your ideas
Identify your struggles
Make it Achievable
Gather your Support
Celebrate the journey
 

Highlights of the retreat include: 

• Mini-workshops: spirit dolls, affirmations, dream boards, creative journalling
• Optional creative activities: watercolor for relaxation, exploring essential oils, dancing, personal ceremonies and rituals for creativity, spirit names/totems.
• Great food and sisterhood. [All meals included]
• Meditation, yoga, reiki.
• Luxury accommodations: fireplaces, heated outdoor pool, lake with kayaks, tennis courts, walking paths, etc.
• Retreat tickets and accommodations priced and listed separately.

Venue:

We will be staying at an estate just north of Bloomfield, Indiana.  We get this whole place [33 acres] to ourselves for the weekend!  Staying at the house gives you unlimited access to the lake, kayaks, pool, tennis courts, walking paths, fireplaces and companionship of other retreat participants. Overnight guests may stay up as late as they want to take advantage of all that this luxurious venue has to offer.  Even better - our experience is that some of the best Aha! moments come after hours when people are relaxed, getting to know each other and really talking. 

Prices for accommodations vary.  There are two private rooms [queen bed] with private bath.  There are two rooms with several beds and a shared bath.   

For more details, see my website HERE

Creativity Exercise: Finding Beauty

Creativity is born of desperation.

It's true.  If we weren't desperate, we would have no need at all to do anything new.  

Remember that saying, "Necessity is the mother of invention'?   Necessity and desperation are the same thing.  

We need to fix something.   We need to save someone who is hurt.   We need to feed our families.   We need to find work.   We need to put this big pile of stuff into that not-big-enough space.   We need to get a long list of stuff for school with a short list of resources.    We need to entertain our kids or ourselves.   We need to do something harder than we have done before.   We need to finish what we've started.   We need to see if we can build/make/write/compose something from nothing.    We need to know if we can take an idea and make it real.    We need to satisfy our curiosity. 

Creativity is born out of all that need.  

It's easy to let creativity take a back seat to other stuff:  Other stuff takes our money, our energy, our space our time, our focus.    We give priority to our families, our jobs, our pets, our house, our lawn, our friends.    That's normal.    That's appropriate.

This exercise is for those of us whose creativity needs to be unshackled for a little while and let out for a walk.  This is for those of you who are desperate to feel creatively alive again.

Task:     Find 10 beautiful things inside your house.  Take a picture of them or draw them or write them or compose them. 

That's it.   Think outside the box.   Look at the cobweb in the corner with new eyes.   Spray it with water and take a picture of it.    Look at how the books on your bookshelf have beautiful lines when you tip your head over and look at them sideways.  Look at the texture of that old drawer pull.  Listen to the music of the dryer.

There are 100 beautiful things in the same room you're in right now.   Find 10 of them and tell me about them. 

Good luck.  Keep in touch.

Creativity Exercise: Can do

A beaver did this with his teeth

Task 1. 
Part 1:   Sit down and write a list of 10 things you'd like to do to further some of your creative goals.   They don't all have to be about the same goal.   They don't have to be related at all.  Or write down 10 creative things you'd like to do.  Or 10 things you want to do to be more creative.  Or 10 things that would help you be more creative.  Just get 10 things down. 

Do it.  I'm sure you have a pen or pencil and a piece of paper close by. 

Go ahead.   I'll wait.

Part 2:  Now, go through your list and schedule a time to accomplish each thing.   I'll wait.

How did this go for you?    In most creativity classes that I've taught there is a range of responses.

Group A:  Some people get stalled right up front.   They don't understand the instructions.  They can't find the right pen.  It's too hot.  They make excuses.  They get distracted.   They don't want to make the list at all. 

To them I suggest that they are more in love with the idea of creativity than they are with actually being creative and I assign a new task:    Write down ONE creative thing you'd like to do and schedule it.

If you can't do that, then you need to understand that you are your own biggest creativity obstacle.  No one can help you be creative if you are unwilling to do the work.

Group B:  Some people write down the list and have no problem scheduling.   They just needed a nudge to get them on their way.   Kudos to them!

Group C:  The majority of folks get their list on paper,  then have trouble scheduling.    I hear a lot of  'I can't. So I ask, 'Why can't you?'   And I get a lot of reasons.

I can't because it costs too much. 
I can't because I don't have time.    
I can't because I don't have the space, or the materials, or the skills, or the tools, or transportation, or a babysitter, or a computer,  or...

Task 2.   Write down all of your reasons for not being able to schedule your creativity goals. 

Look carefully at your list.   Look critically at your list.   Be honest.

Find all of your 'I can't...' and 'I don't have...' and  'It's too...'.   How many did you have?

Change all of those 'I can't...' and 'I don't have...' and  'It's too...'.  to a form of  'I choose not to...'

You'll end up with something like these:

I can't go to the museum because I don't have a babysitter.  
OR:   I choose not to go to the museum, because I choose not to get a babysitter. 


I can't finish my novel because I don't have a computer.
OR:  I choose not to finish my novel because it would be too hard without a computer.
OR:  I choose not to finish my novel because I choose not to buy a computer.

I can't paint because I don't have the money for good paint and brushes.
OR:  I choose not to paint because I choose not to spend the money on paint and brushes. 


I can't take that class because it's too far away.
OR:  I choose not to take that class because I choose not to make the arrangements to get there.

[Did you do this?    I hope so.   Leave a comment and let me know. If you did, then you are a very brave soul.  Congratulations for doing this work and for moving along in the direction of your goals.   I hope you're pleased with yourself!]

Choices
The vast majority of what we want to do, we have the ability to do.  When we're really motivated, nothing gets in our way.

When we're not motivated, it's easy to say we can't because it's easier to believe that than it is to take responsibility for doing things that are inconvenient or hard or new.  The reality is that We Can, we just choose not to because we don't want to do things that are inconvenient or hard or new.  That's normal, but normal might be getting in the way of your creativity.

Every time you hear yourself saying, 'I can't', change it to 'I choose not to'.    Soon you will see that it is your own choices that move you toward your goals, or keep you stalled.  

You may have really good reasons for choosing not to do your creative something right now.   Prioritizing is a good thing.  The point is to remember that you are not a victim of your life.   Your choices shape your life. 

Think about one of your creative heroes.  Your hero is just a regular person like you.   The only difference between you and your hero is that your hero made the choices to move in a creative direction.   Your hero did the work.   Your hero scheduled her/his creative goals.   You can, too.     Revisit your list above and schedule your goals.   Make the choice to move in a creative direction. 

Creativity Exercise: Getting to know your inner critic

Everybody has an Inner Critic.  This is the part of you that is your Censor [Julia Cameron's name for it].  It's job is to protect you, to prevent you from hurting or embarrassing yourself, to show you how things ought to be.  When it gets out of control, it tells you every little thing that's wrong with you and how you should have done it differently and better.  It has the benefit of hindsight.  It gets to pass judgement after the fact.   

The Censor gets you where you live.  It gets in your face.   Under your skin.  It's in a permanent Vulcan mind meld with every fiber of your being. 

It's time to put your Censor in its place.    As a useful employee.  One of many.   The perfect doorman - making sure you're all zipped up with no toilet paper hanging off your shoe and no spinach in your teeth before you sally forth into the world.    That's where its job description ends.

We're going to take a long hard look at your Censor and then see what duties it has usurped in your psyche.

1.  What gender is it?   It isn't necessarily the same as yours and the gender of your critic isn't a comment on your sexuality either, so relax.

2.  Give it a name.  I've heard of them called Darkspume, Fangxiety and BadKarma.  Also Maleficent.   Mine is named Loretta.

3.  What does it sound like?   It's always yelling at you, so this one should be easy.   You may discover that it sounds like someone you know or even a combination of several someones you know.    That's OK.   It happens a lot. 

4.  What does it look like?    Draw a picture of it.  Don't feel like you need to be kind.   It never does.

5. Now we need to see what job description it thinks it has, so we're going to let it talk for a while.   Write this down:    I am a brilliant and prolific artist [or writer, or musician, or business person, or mom or ....].   Write it ten times.    If you have a very active Inner Critic, by the time you're done with the tenth line, that critic will be bursting to tell you how it is. 

Let it rip.    Give it full reign - it already thinks it's royalty.   Write it all down. 

6.  Now take a quick glance through all that garbage to see what airs your critic has been putting on.   The roll your eyes and say, 'Oh, puh-leeze'.     [Really.   That helps.]

7.  Talk back to your critic.   My favorite response to Loretta is, 'You don't know that.'   Another one is, 'You're making way too big a deal out of that.  I don't do drama anymore.'    It's amazing how a couple of stock lines take all the wind out of her sails. 

8.  Politely inform your critic that although you appreciate what s/he is trying to do, you've got it all under control and don't need their help except to be the doorman [or whatever]. 

9.  Draw a picture of your critic dressed up like a doorman [or whatever].


Here's mine:  

Meet Loretta.   She's 'religious', which means that she goes to church a lot.   She spends a lot of time telling other people how to do things.  She always has one hand on her hip and her other hand shaking a finger at someone.   She wears great big glasses and she carries a purse which she likes to smack people with.  She wears ugly orthopedic shoes.

Loretta likes to think that she is God.  Or at least the Pope....or maybe a bishop.   She thinks she knows everything.   She thinks that there is one Right Way to do everything and every other way is Wrong.  She is very emotional and dramatic.   She likes to call me stupid and I hate that. 

The only thing I like about her is her hat.  That is a great hat.   I'm going to keep that hat, and give it to some other part of me that isn't so hard to get along with.   Loretta won't need it when she goes back to being a doorman. 

This is Doorman Loretta.  She has stripes on her hat and pants.  She has a lot of buttons on her jacket.  She's very good at making me stop and make sure that my shoes match and that I don't have ink on my face before I leave the house. 

Creativity Exercise: Breaking it down

Weeks ago I started writing a creativity exercise about making altered books.   I had the idea, I sat down and wrote a bit, and got stuck.   For weeks.   I'm sure you know how that feels.

It took a while for me to realize that the problem was that I'd bitten off more than I could chew.   I couldn't figure out what to do next.

I do that a lot.

A lot, I tell you. 

It's kind of a problem sometimes.  

I get overwhelmed, then anxious, then cranky.  I worry, I whine.   Then eventually I figure out where to go next and I get going.

And that's the trick!   Figuring out what to do next or what to do first.

Inspiration - British Gardens

It's January and I'm sure I'm not alone in needing a bit of garden cheer to get me through the winter.   I have two books to recommend today about gardens.  The first is about one of the most famous gardens in Britain, Sissinghurst.   The second is about a fictitious garden in Cornwall.   They both make me very happy.  Links at the bottom of the page.

Gardening at Sissinghurst, by Tony Lord, is a beautiful description of the garden rooms at Sissinghurst estate, which was owned and landscaped by Vita Sackville-West and her husband, Harold Nicolson.   The photos are wonderful and the descriptions of the estate and her gardening and design methods are very instructive for those of you who love gardening and garden design.   I noticed when I was linking this book that there are several other books out there now about Sissinghurst, so if you fall in love with this garden, there's plenty more to read about it.

I love stories about less than perfect, less than beautiful people finding themselves in situations where they have the chance to believe and follow a dream.  I also love gardens.  Nancy Atherton is the author of this series of mysteries featuring  the supernatural Aunt Dimity, who continues on after her death to watch over her friends and family.  Aunt Dimity and the Duke is the second of the books published in the series, but the first chronologically in the stories, and it's the only one I really consider a gem.  I smile all the way through this book, every time.  It's about a middle aged gardener starting over, a stained glass window, a magic lantern and the restoration of an old garden inside the marvelous grounds of a Cornish estate.  It is the literary equivalent of a chic flick, but if you need a little dose of optimism and a happy ending, then I highly recommend it.

Creativity Exercise: Affirmations

An unfortunate time honored tradition of artists is that mythical belief that in order to be a ‘real’ artist, you have to suffer.    ‘Real’ artists are tortured, miserable, addicted, sad, etc.  Somehow, they periodically emerge from their fog of dysfunctionality to create masterpieces, the genius of which the public attributes to the misery of the artist’s hard living.    This is nonsense. You are much more likely to be creative and inspired when you have a clear head and feel good. 

Affirmations are positive statements about yourself as a person and as an artist that make you feel good.   Julia Cameron, in her book The Artist’s Way, has a whole section on affirmations. [If you don’t already have the book, get it.   It will be one of the best investments in your art that you ever make.]   Most of what I’m saying here, she said first in that book.  Affirmations are the shield you use to protect yourself from others’ artistic or anti-artistic drama.   Affirmations are personalized to protect your specific vulnerabilities.

The first step to creating your affirmations is to identify your vulnerabilities.   Julia Cameron recommends that you have a little chat with your internal Censor by sitting down with paper and pen and writing down all of the awful things that are bouncing around in your head about you and your art.  This might be hard, but it’s worth the time.   Do it.  Right now.  Spend 10 minutes and begin with this:   I     your name here    am a brilliant, prolific artist.  Write that 10 times in a row, then let your Censor loose and see what it says.  Write down all of the nasty stuff that comes out.   All of it.  Do not stop before the 10 minutes is up.

Once you have your list of nasties [Julia calls them ‘blurts’], you know where your vulnerabilities are.   Now it’s time to build shields to protect these parts of you.    Take each nasty and turn it into a positive statement – an affirmation.   ‘You’re a terrible writer’ turns into ‘I’m a great writer’.   ‘You can’t do anything original’ turns into ‘My art is inspired and original’.   ‘You’ll never make any money doing this’ becomes ‘I support myself with my art’.    Do this for every single nasty.  Email me if you’re having trouble with one of these.  I’ll help you turn it into an affirmation. 

The next big objection that frequently comes up at this point is this:  Why should I do these affirmations, when they are clearly not true?  These affirmations are lies.  Every time I say this affirmation out loud, I feel like I’m lying.    

You have a good point; the affirmations aren’t true. Yet.  But remember this:  Your nasties aren’t true, either, and you were willing to believe them.  You have a choice.   You can choose to keep believing the nasties, which aren’t true, and which make you feel bad, thereby decreasing your creativity and productivity.  Or, you can start believing your affirmations, which aren’t true [yet] and which make you feel good, thereby increasing your creativity and productivity [and the likelihood that they will come true.]  Your choice.  You’ve been willing to feel bad before.  Are you willing to feel good now?

                     

Creative Exercise: Play

I am a worker bee.  I work.  It’s what I do.  One of my big challenges over the last few years has been to learn to have fun.  I have never been a good at having fun.   I’m rather earnest by nature and I take everything Very Seriously.   This means that I’m extremely conscientious and more than a little intense -- which is all well and good when I’m being responsible [which is pretty much all the time], but not so good when I need to stop working and relax or get some new ideas.    

Fun is not someone that I know well.   I’ve heard that she hangs around Inspiration and Relax a lot and I’ve been advised by more than one person that if I’d invite Fun over more often, then Inspiration and Relax would show up, too.    I tried it a few times – and they were right.  It’s just that I keep losing Fun’s number, or perhaps I’m just afraid that Responsibility will get mad if I hang out with Fun too much.  Clearly I need to work on that.  

Wait a minute…. I think I just found a way to Work at Fun.      (Banging head on desk…)

The trick to getting Fun to show up is to let yourself get to know Play.    Play shows up when you stop doing whatever-it-is-that-you’re-doing so seriously.  The relationship between Doing Things Not Seriously and Play is a lot like the Clark Kent/Superman thing. Try it. It really doesn’t matter what you do as long you do it Not Seriously.    Walk from the bathroom to your bedroom, not seriously.   See how not seriously you can go get the mail.   Try turning off the lights, not seriously.   Walk the dog, not seriously.   Clear the table, not seriously.  Every time you do something Not Seriously, it’s Play in disguise.   No kidding.   Keep practicing.  Soon you’ll find a way to turn a lot of your Work into Play.  Wherever you find Play, you’ll soon find Fun.  Fun likes Play and if you can just get Fun to show up, then Inspiration and Relax will show up, too.    

This week’s challenge is about learning how to play again at your art.  Choose a task that you want to do (or are desperate to be done with already) but you’re not that into right now:  New Year’s Resolutions; finishing Chapter 4; writing the orchestration for that sound track; fixing that scene in Act 2; cleaning up your space so you can get to your paint and canvas….you get the idea.  Now start that task – but start it Not Seriously. Not Seriously will turn into Play, who will invite Fun and pretty soon, you’ve got a party.  I wouldn’t be surprised if they bring Silly along.  She may be blonde, but she’s not as dumb as you think.  

Fun and Play may not be looking for commitment. Sometimes they prefer a one night stand.  It’s fine if they show up just long enough to get your creative party started.   And don’t worry that the party will spoil your masterpiece.  This is an easy party to clean up after.   And while you’re straightening things up afterward, you just may stumble on some hidden treasure. 

P.S.  I’d love to know what hidden treasures you found after Fun showed up.  Let me know how you are doing with your creative challenges.  Leave a comment.