I have challenged myself to come up with the 7 most important habits of my practice, the ones that keep the creativity flowing! What would you put in your list?
Here are my top 7:
My studio space is hallowed ground! It is the place where creativity is nurtured and fed, it has to feel like 'home'.
Creative time is sacrosanct! It is all too easy for things to interrupt the creative flow, so creative time is immersive time, it is special time.
Spreadsheets are saviours! Artists make connections and when the creative ideas flow and link, it can be mind boggling so being able to put 'ducks in a row' in a spreadsheet or table gets it all out of my head and enables me to look at it all in a more structured way!
Mindlessness is Magnificent! Being able to relinquish analytical thoughts, the 'inner critic', and be playful is a hugely influential and important part of the process.
Serendipity is my friend! Being playful without a desired outcome means that any 'happy accidents' aren't accidents, they are just 'what is'! And 'what is' is sometimes the most unexpected and creative output.
Research is Riveting! The partner to being playful for me is research - not usually carried out at the same time though! Who knew I would ever enjoy research so much! To me it is like being an explorer discovering distant lands, uncovering facts which change my whole way of thinking, offering new ideas and perspectives, very exciting.
The Body is a Temple! Looking after my body and optimising health paves the way for energy to ‘spend’ on creativity. Being aware enough to know what the body needs and what it doesn’t need is probably as simple as good sleep, the right exercise, spending time in sunlight and a healthy diet. Easy to say but not necessarily easy to execute!
