Five Ways to Stay Creative

For the last year musicians, painters, craftsmen, and actors, have been questioning their future as artists. COVID has been a major setback for many because live performances were not possible, galleries and shops closed, and classes were cancelled. Artists had to adjust with the times by moving their art online to share work, perform, and teach.

Maybe you’re struggling to be creative while you face raising a family, fighting an illness, taking care of parents, facing financial issues, or aging. 

There is hope for us creative types to maintain our creativity no matter the circumstances, but it requires us to leave behind what is ordinary and expected.  I'm going to share with you five ways to stay creative.   

Redefine Creativity 

The artistic pursuit is an openness and a constant search for the good, the true, and the beautiful, and an artist’s task is to communicate their discoveries with others through an artistic medium.  Artists are not magically different from other people other than the fact that they notice-they question-things that others may overlook. For example, an artist may draw our attention back to when we were children to rediscover that special “secret place” we would frequent for solitude and dreams. It is the artist’s task to direct another’s attention to something more. 

Practice Using a Different Medium

There are endless ways that we can share and express beauty with others through art, or even beyond. Try a new recipe with various colors, smells and intricacies and serve it to your family.  You can bring a friend on a nature walk and encourage attentiveness to the breathtaking colors all around. You can create an environment of home and express homeliness, peace, beauty, intrigue, or adventure. 

Maybe you need to take a deeper look at your work and see where you are already using your creativity. Ask yourself what small ways can you express meaning to someone else, bring someone’s mind to consider different ideas or notice important connections? 

Feed Your Soul

We are culturally aware of taking care of our bodies. I cannot tell you how many ads come flooding through my social media pages on a daily basis on different exercises and eating routines. 

But what about your soul? 

Every living thing in the world depends on something external in order to thrive, therefore your living soul also needs external care. In order to have the spiritual energy to walk with sensitivity towards beauty, I need to carve out time and be in sanctuary where I sit with the Author of beauty in silence and prayer. 

I love this book Sanctuary by Terry Hershey who talks about the necessity for sanctuary, how to create sanctuary and how to incorporate sanctuary in your everyday life. Creating a routine of sanctuary feeds your soul and sets you on your creative journey. 

Engage in Existing Art

It is a human tendency to think of ourselves as the center of the universe, so we may be tempted to think that if we’re not actively creating, we are letting the world down. If we stepped away from ourselves for a hot second, we would see that the world is full of amazing art already. If you are cut-off from producing your own work, perhaps you are being invited to experience art as a viewer. 

Feed your creativity with inspiring work from others. Read a book, study paintings on the web, listen to music, watch plays and relish in the skill, tenderness, and beauty experienced through these existing works of art. Share what you found with someone else. Introduce your favorite poem to a niece or grandson. As you are on your artistic quest, you can benefit from the journey of artists past. Engaging in art in this way is a creative activity. 

Remember Your Worth

Mainstream media likes to portray our worth in how successful we have become at something. We might think that if we are not “making it” as artists in the eyes of the world, then we aren’t really artists. Or perhaps we experience FOMO and believe that we missed out if we didn’t give our artistic passions 100%. 

Now I’m not saying you shouldn’t pursue your artistic talents and passions. Far from it. The point is that we should walk away from thinking that our worth as an artist comes from the things we create.  

I do not become less when I stop achieving, nor do I become more if I achieve more. The worth of our creativity does not stop if we stop producing. We are still worthy, creative beings. The next time you find yourself in a creative rut and are tempted towards discouragement, anxiety or despair, I encourage you to step back, breathe, and remember that you have worth.

How did these steps resonate with you? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below and be sure to include any tips you would recommend to me! We are all in this together. Stay creative, friends.