Monday, April 22, 2013
Thursday, April 18, 2013
Thursday, November 22, 2012
Thursday, October 11, 2012
Friday, October 05, 2012
When Creativity Runs Low
I'm learning so much about myself through my work and through school. Every night when my head hits the pillow my brain feels so full. Yet lately a significant part of me has been missing.
I used to be so creative. I'd experience sudden waves of inspiration and just have to write, photograph, brainstorm/design think, or plan out the newest project. If I didn't find a creative outlet for the energy it felt like it would eat me alive. So I'd rethink how to do things and evaluate ideas to see if they could be improved ... I'd write, I'd draw, I'd craft, and I'd possess a magnetic, contagious spirit of joy and freedom. It was like a drug. It was such a huge part of me.
Then it left.
Life started to feel hard. Relationship dynamics weighed me down, work hours extended later than I planned, and schoolwork piled up.
At one point I felt so stressed out that the pressure in my back became painful.
Lesson: When I'm stressed there's no chance I'll be able to authentically create.
So when creativity feels fleeting, how do I get her to stay?
Lesson: No matter how hard life feels I'm wired in a way where I need adventure, innovation and inspiration. I must plan to put myself into situations where the creativity that lives deep inside me is released to do it's good work in the world. I can't force it or demand that it perform, but I can cultivate it and place myself in environments where it may feel nurtured and free to show it's face.
In San Francisco is was the building resources yard, the Sunday morning SF flea market, resale stores on the Peninsula, sitting at a cafe in North Beach enjoying a latte in a bowl, or hanging with friends in the Castro, design thinking out at the Filoli Estate surrounded by gardens, farmers markets in Santa Cruz or engaging in child-like play with my sweet niece at the park. So what are my creative outlets in Indianapolis? I had no idea. I felt stuck.
So I took a day off of work and went to a barn sale.
Random. I know, right?
But it made perfect sense to me. Interior design, beautiful things filled with history and story, color and texture. A great morning with friends to drink coffee, rest, relax, shop, and allow inspiration to carry me away. In a real, old, Indiana barn.
When I got home I felt like I could change the world.
So I brainstormed ideas for work, completed a paper for school, mapped out a new idea for an art project, edited photos, read a chapter in a classic book, and sent a few cards to those I love. Somehow the creativity that was in my veins at the barn sale translated into productive real-life projects. The results spoke of life and light and color and texture, and joy. A much better ending than if I had been planted in a corporate office somewhere.
Looks like I need to spend more time in a barn.
Love.
I used to be so creative. I'd experience sudden waves of inspiration and just have to write, photograph, brainstorm/design think, or plan out the newest project. If I didn't find a creative outlet for the energy it felt like it would eat me alive. So I'd rethink how to do things and evaluate ideas to see if they could be improved ... I'd write, I'd draw, I'd craft, and I'd possess a magnetic, contagious spirit of joy and freedom. It was like a drug. It was such a huge part of me.
Then it left.
Life started to feel hard. Relationship dynamics weighed me down, work hours extended later than I planned, and schoolwork piled up.
At one point I felt so stressed out that the pressure in my back became painful.
Lesson: When I'm stressed there's no chance I'll be able to authentically create.
So when creativity feels fleeting, how do I get her to stay?
Lesson: No matter how hard life feels I'm wired in a way where I need adventure, innovation and inspiration. I must plan to put myself into situations where the creativity that lives deep inside me is released to do it's good work in the world. I can't force it or demand that it perform, but I can cultivate it and place myself in environments where it may feel nurtured and free to show it's face.
In San Francisco is was the building resources yard, the Sunday morning SF flea market, resale stores on the Peninsula, sitting at a cafe in North Beach enjoying a latte in a bowl, or hanging with friends in the Castro, design thinking out at the Filoli Estate surrounded by gardens, farmers markets in Santa Cruz or engaging in child-like play with my sweet niece at the park. So what are my creative outlets in Indianapolis? I had no idea. I felt stuck.
So I took a day off of work and went to a barn sale.
Random. I know, right?
But it made perfect sense to me. Interior design, beautiful things filled with history and story, color and texture. A great morning with friends to drink coffee, rest, relax, shop, and allow inspiration to carry me away. In a real, old, Indiana barn.
When I got home I felt like I could change the world.
So I brainstormed ideas for work, completed a paper for school, mapped out a new idea for an art project, edited photos, read a chapter in a classic book, and sent a few cards to those I love. Somehow the creativity that was in my veins at the barn sale translated into productive real-life projects. The results spoke of life and light and color and texture, and joy. A much better ending than if I had been planted in a corporate office somewhere.
Looks like I need to spend more time in a barn.
Love.
Put on by Restyled Furniture. All photos are taken from the Restyled Facebook page.
Next barn sale will be in June.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)