Create Every Day: Making Creativity a Priority
My love for art and creativity started a long time ago. When I was in school, I chose art over any other elective and it was consistently my best subject. It was a talent that I was frequently recognized for and I loved that it set me apart. I even went on to choose a career path that allowed me to continue being creative: Interior Design. At one point in my life, my sketchbook was practically attached to my hand.
Of course, as life happens and I got busy I found less and less time to create. I missed the freedom to open up a blank page and draw whatever it is I wanted. No floor plans or whatever project I had to work on in University or for a client project. Trust me, sketching floor plans can get a bit dull after so long. I love making insert designs for EO Edits, which is what I fill my days with now, but even they can be tedious. Don't get me wrong, I recognize that my business allows me to be artistic every single day and I love that it's incredibly creative, but sometimes you just want to sit with a pen in your hand and see where it takes you.
You may have seen that I challenged myself to create something everyday for the month of April as part of The Commitment Series. And I have to admit, this is probably the most excited I've been for a commitment. I missed the days when art was a part of my every day so here's a few things I learned so far on how to make creativity a priority again.
MAKE IT EASY TO CREATE
I found myself gravitating towards the planner community because I could see how it allowed you to be creative and inject a bit of art into my daily life. Whether you decorate your pages or love adding new dashboards with every season, there's ample room to be creative and make it your own. My planner quickly became a place I could express myself again. The planner allowed me to be creative without even realizing I was. I was just planning my day and writing to do lists. What's creative about that? Well with die cuts, stickers, dashboards, washi tape, colorful pens, highlighters, etc. etc. etc. of course the planner is a creative outlet! Because of it's functionality and the fact that it's a part of my daily life already, with a planner, creativity became easy again.
If you can, find an area of your life that you could easily add creativity without even thinking about it. It's like exercise. It's so much easeir if you trick yourself into doing it!
MAKE IT A PART OF YOUR ROUTINE
Creating a routine, just like you do for your morning and evening, might help to make creativity a priority in your life.
Create a physical space devoted to your artwork
Block time off to be creative - pick a time where you can be in the right mindset, feel relaxed, and have uninterrupted time. Evening works best for me. You may want to include it in your daily routine or set aside time each week. Whatever works for you and your schedule.
Seek accountability - Do you have friends or a group that you could share your art with? Create a social media account or join a website that will make you accountable.
Your creative time is sacred and important. Give yourself permission to be creative.
START WITH INSPIRATION
You know that feeling when you get inspired and you just want to stop everything you're doing and start creating? That's a powerful thing. I've said it countless times, Pinterest is my source of inspiration. I regularly save artwork, layouts, quotes, etc. that keep me feeling inspired and I look at them often. They give me that easy boost of motivation I need every now and then. Create a Pinterest board specifically made to fuel your creativity.
CREATE JUST TO CREATE
I'm just as responsible as the next person for not wanting to create for fear that what I make won't be good enough. What's "good enough?" Look at art as an experiment and break down the stigma of having to be perfect. The process of art is a beautiful thing too. Let yourself explore, create garbage, and grow as an artist. Don't expect yourself to make a masterpiece everytime. Treat it like a meditation practice. Just show up everyday for however long you can and do it because it's good for you. You'll be much more likely to show up consistently if you allow yourself this kind of freedrom.
This week, I launched a 8 new dashboards as part of The Wildheart Collection. Inspired by the artwork I ended up creating throughout the April Commitment Series, these printable pages were made to turn your planner into an art gallery. I hope you love them as much as I do!
Take a look at the whole collection here.
What do you do to make sure creativity is a priority in your life? Are you like me and needed to realize you have to give yourself permission to create? Let me know in the comments.
-Emilee