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What Do You Do to Jump-Start Your Creativity?
Like my last BC post, for the sake of thinking this out I'm going to do a little cyber-jotting here before actually digging in.
So, hmmm... What DO I do to jump-start my creativity? I'll leave the "stretch" part alone because I'm not feeling that part of the question. In any case, I don't know that I necessarily DO anything to jump-start my creativity. I'm creative all the time, for the most part--it's a part of who I am. I must be creative or I will die. [Chuckle, please.] However, there are some things that definitely facilitate my creative spurts more than others, and they seem to fall into two categories--things that directly affect my creativity and things that indirectly affect my creativity. I'll try to elaborate on all of them without turning this into a book. Also, for me, it's important to note that being creative can also be separate from doing creative--the doing part is a post for another day.
Directly Jump-Starts My Creativity:
- Clean the house and/or my studio
- Read/study
- Visit an art museum (Kandinsky and Rothko)
- Listen to Bach's Concerto for Two Violins in D Minor
- Listen to other specific music (Maxwell's Embrya; anything by George Michael)
Indirectly Jump-Starts My Creativity:
- Physical Environment
- Time of year--fall
- Take a shower
- Drive--actively
- Drive--inactively
The Direct Stuff
Cleaning: As many of my blog readers already know, I'm a
wee-bit on the OC (obsessive-compulsive) side. As such, cleaning is a very Zen
activity for me. It's a process that helps me purge the jibber-jabber in my
head and allows creativity to come in. Likewise, I can't stand a mess. Messes, for me, are creative blocks. So, it's almost something I *have* to do.
In fact, a lot of times when I'm blocked creatively or am trying to think through
a fabrication or design issue, I will clean my studio or my office from top to bottom--only to
mess them up all over again, of course.
Read/Study: I'm a book-person. I especially love reading and studying my jewelry
books (sometimes over and over)--I have a ton of them in my library, many about the history of jewelry. Often, it
doesn't take much to get the ideas flowing as the result of reading about a process,
procedure or design technique. And then there are my art and art history books--oh my
gawd.
Visiting Art Museums: I always get creative spurts immediately after
visiting art museums. In particular, especially after seeing anything by
Wassily Kandinsky. I LOVE Kandinsky, and ever since I was old enough to visit
art museums, his work has always hit me in a really weird-but-creative way. When I saw Improvisation #31 (Sea Battle) for the first time, I felt like somebody punched me in the stomach--in a good way, if that's possible...I think I actually stopped breathing for a moment because it hit me so hard. The colors and the motion in the painting are so intense--and seeing it just sparks the part of my brain where my creativity resides. I get this really weird, surreal feeling from connecting with it. [Photo borrowed from the National Gallery of Art's website--oh, and the colors on your computer screen do the painting absolutely NO justice.]
The Indirect Stuff
Physical Environment: My creativity is always affected by my physical environment. Can't explain it; however, I do know that if the energy isn't right, I risk experiencing "creative block." When the energy in my surroundings is "right," the creativity flows. --Must have windows and a lot of light...and must be clean and orderly--no junk, no clutter, no carpet.
Time of Year: Since I was little, Fall has been my
favorite time of year because it brings with it a certain fresh, deep, creative
energy for me. --From the changing of the leaves on the trees and the briskness
of the weather, to the smells of fall, and to the fabrics and patterns of fall (lush, beautiful
tweeds and deep, rich, dark leathers--paisleys, plaids, etc.). Add to that Halloween. Back to school. New books. New
perspectives. A new agenda. Fresh, new, unblemished school supplies. OH, and
I must not forget--the 1000-page-thick fall issues of Vogue, Elle, Harper's
Bazaar, and W!
Taking a Shower: Don't ask. It's as simple as,
the minute I'm doing something where I can't have a pad and paper with me, the
creative switch goes on. Period. I can't count the number of times where, just
after turning the water on and stepping in, WHOOSH!--the creative faucet in my
head gets turned on too. Funny and often annoying thing is that, often, many of the ideas aren't even related, which makes trying to re-capture
them later a bit of a pain. So, when I can remember, I keep my mini digital
tape recorder with me, and then I also keep a notepad and pencil in my makeup
drawer!
Driving (inactively): For the most part, same as "Taking
a Shower." And sorry, I'm not one of those who writes and drives--I have
been known to pull over--so, again, the digital tape recorder comes in handy
again here.
Driving (actively): This could actually go under "Direct Stuff" too. There is nothing like driving in one's car on a sunny day, on a long, scenic road, with the sunroof open (or, top down when I used to have my Miata), blasting a good mix of music. It is SO on if one of those pieces is, of course, Bach--and yes, I will blast Bach (but please do know that I value my hearing, so I don't do that too often).
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ADDENDUM - 7:06 a.m.
How could I forget THUNDERSTORMS?! I've always loved good, loud thunderstorms. --This, from someone who at one point was very interested in storm-chasing. There is nothing like the creative energy that comes a storm. I usually turn off all of the lights, light some candles, open the windows if rain doesn't blow in, and work! Add to that, the Bach concerto...oooooooo.
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Now, one might ask, "Well, if you have of these things available to you that you *know* get you going creatively, why don't you use them all the time--or whenever you feel like you're blocked?" I can't say that I have a rational response for that and...ooooo, lookie! Time on this post is up! Here are the links to the other participants in this month's blog carnival (monthly from now on, third Friday...).
Hi ladies! Thanks for the compliments.
Angela: Now that you mention it, "washing one's hair" does actually help facilitate getting the cobwebs out! --It's even better if the shampoo smells really good. ;-)
Lora: By all means play the music!!! Put on your favorite sweats, get barefoot, burn some candles and crank up the volume!
Posted by: Tamra | Friday, May 16, 2008 at 07:15 AM
Tamra, you're such a good writer. Alway really well thought out answers. This one really helped me think aobut my own blockage dilema. The one thing I haven't done, don't ask me why - I have nooo idea, is to play some favorite music. The minute it's light out (4:56 am right now) I'm crankin' up the volume. I bet that'll get me started.
Posted by: lora Hart | Friday, May 16, 2008 at 06:57 AM
How funny ! You are well organized with your thoughts ! I totally relate to 2 things which I myself didn't think of mentioning:
shower=or more specifically "washing my hair" - I guess it takes the cob-webs out ;) and driving long on long road trips where all you can do is think and imagine anyway ... occasionally pay attention to the road too ;)
Great points !
Angela
Posted by: angela | Friday, May 16, 2008 at 06:08 AM