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Friday 24 August 2012

How to Be Creative

This List came to be via a dear friend who have gotten to know better since she took our wedding photos eight years ago.

  1.   Make Lists
  2.  Carry a Notebook Everywhere
  3.  Try Free Writing
  4.  Get away from the Computer
  5.  Be Otherworldly
  6.  Quit beating yourself up
  7.  Take Breaks
  8.  Sing in the shower
  9.  Drink coffee/tea
10.  Know your Roots
11.  Listen to new music
12.  Be open
13. Surround yourself with Creative People
14.  Get feedback
15.  COLLABORATE
16.  Don't give up
17.  Practice, Practice, Practice
18.  Allow yourself to make mistakes
19.  Go somewhere new
20.  Watch foreign films
21. Count your blessings
22. Get lots of rest
23. Take risks
24.  Break the rules
25.  Do more of what makes you happy
26.  Don't force it
27.  Read a page of the dictionary
28.  Create a framework
29. Stop trying to be someone else's perfect
30. Got an idea? WRITE IT DOWN
31. Clean your workspace
32. Have Fun
33. Finish something

I thing these are great words to live by. Several years ago I went through a very painful and difficult period. The group of friends my husband and I had had for almost a decade chose to abandon us when we were at a very low point in our lives and most needed the support of our friends. I tried in vain to hold on to several people from that group. I was so afraid of offending them and losing yet another friend. In the end I lost about 95 % of them anyways.

In retrospect this is one of the best things that has ever happened to me. I decided that since being cautious and afraid to express myself and take risks had not guaranteed me any kind of security, why not say whatever I wanted and take risks that felt scary and made me feel vulnerable? The way I see it, a whole group of people think the worst of me. So what's the big deal if someone else does too?

I believe the experience of losing a group of friends has made me a better artist. I don't know why it's the painful experiences that help us develop compassion, and push us to grow personally and artistically. But that does seem to be the way it works!

6 comments:

  1. testing comments form

    neat list by the way

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  2. Cool! I seem to have changed the posts in the way I wanted them to be changed. I wanted to be able to interact with other bloggers, which should be able to happen now, but I also wanted to add the option for email subscribers to subscribe to posts. Somehow I have managed to change things so that only one post shows up at a time though. Back to the drawing board! Or Layout tab...

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  3. Wonderful reminders... thanks so much for sharing these creative hints. I'm sorry about the experience you had to go through with your friends but it sounds like you are the winner. Positive, encouraging friends are the very best.

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  4. Thanks for your kind words Jean. I think pushing through fear is necessary for all artist. If we can get to a point where we are mostly creating art for ourselves and not to impress someone else I think that is a real accomplisshment. Mini Hugs,
    Ruth

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  5. I just found you by random click and your post hit me. I thank you for that. I do want to be creative and the list is so helpful. I'll try!!!
    Thanks again and best wishes from a new blogger, Pim

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  6. I'm glad you liked the list Pim! I think all the things the list mentioned are so important. To take risks, to dare to be different. That's what art is all about!

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