Rose of Sharon Jewelry

Creativity comes from a deep place within ourselves. It wells up inside us needing to be expressed. But there are many forces within and without that act like a cork keeping our creativity inside us. Busy families, demanding bosses, insecurities, lack of support, financial fears - whatever stops you from feeding your creative spirit - forget about it for a few minutes and ponder 5 Great Ways to Free Your Creativity.

1. Do it differently - Move your paint brush to your non-dominant hand; use voice recognition software to write with; hand write instead of type; go back to beginner techniques; master a new tool. By changing your usual creative patterns and habits, you cause your brain to work differently.
2. Get out the crayons - Take a more childlike approach to your creative endeavor; play more and make a lot more mistakes. It is the mistakes that spur new ideas and expand our expectations.
3. Explore a different creative activity - Walk off from your main creative activity and do something that seems opposite. Walking away from my writing to make bath salts and soap made me feel refreshed and less judgmental about my writing career. Create alone? Try a group effort like scrapbook crops or knitting clubs.
4. Take it on the road - Get out of the house and find another place to create. Try the library, a coffee shop, a park bench, the garage, the beach. If your art/craft isn't easily transportable - take a bit of it on the road. As a jewelry artist, I find a few beads, some head pins and a round-nosed pliers will give me hours of meditative wire wrapping and it all fits in a little tote.
5. Linger in the creative process - Creativity is a multi-staged process. You don't have to finish anything to be creating. Take a notebook with you and doodle or jot down ideas while you are waiting at the DMV. Use a camera to capture a color scheme you see on a store display. Head for a hardware store and look for items you can repurpose or a strange tool to try. Wander through antique shops for ideas.

I hope you find these thoughts on creativity helpful. Being a creative person is actually a natural human state. I'm fortunate enough to observe pure creativity every time I see my 3-year-old twin grandsons scribble with their markers, stack the blocks or rearrange the train set. Tap into that little child and set your creativity free.