Creativity in everyday life — What I like about camping

What I like about camping

Waking up in the morning to the sound of birds chirping and the wind in the trees is one of the best sensations or is it feelings ever. There is something about nature’s sounds that triggers a relaxation or happy button in people.

Sally Augustine PhD, agrees with me in the article, Take a Walk! (https://www.psychologytoday.com/ca/blog/people-places-and-things/201705/take-walk). She says;

Walking in natureor where we can see it has the added benefit of restoring our mental energy. Our cognitive energy banks are depleted when we spend time concentrating — on our work or on learning something new, for example. Seeing nature helps us get back to tip top intellectual performance. Research has also shown that spending as few as five minutes walking in nature results in large improvements in self-esteemand mood. Longer periods in nature generate additional benefits, although the per-minute return decreases after the high values of those initial five minutes.

How can this benefit your creative life? Nature can not only renew your energy and relax you, the experience leads to you balancing your life with moments that add to your creativity. We shouldn’t always be working. We should spend time enjoying what is around us. We need to balance our passion or creativity with other moments in life. We need a creativity and life balance. Benjamin Hardy ( https://medium.com/@benjaminhardy/10-questions-to-know-if-youve-really-found-your-passion-and-purpose-3cb0a415e03e)says;

When you have a harmonious passion, your life continually gets better. You become better. Your health becomes better. Your relationships become better. Your finances become better. Your environment becomes better.

If camping is not your ‘joy’, how about a walk in nature? Or gardening? Or going for a canoe paddle? Find a nature moment to suit your tastes. Find a way to reconnect with nature.

I am sure that you get the picture now. Now the rest is up to you….. Ready, set, go!

Remember to break it down into small steps….

Start today towards your goal to be an artist.

Doris’ website:www.dorischarest.ca

I have creativity courses and art courses online at :https://www.udemy.com/user/dorischarest/

All photography and artwork by Doris Charest

Thanks for reading, and please do recommend, like, share, comment, etc. Thanks.

Till next time …

Creativity in everyday life — Ideas don’t happen in a vacuum

Ideas don’t happen in a vacuum

Read about art, look at other people’s artwork and walk in nature. Don’t be stuck to your studio.

Prime your subconscious to receive great ideas. Read about the topic you want to paint, if that is what you want. Read about artists that create what you want to create- or close to what you want to create. Try a new search engine when you are researching, to see if it makes a difference. Here is a good article by Chuck Price on other search engines: https://www.searchenginejournal.com/alternative-search-engines/271409/

Write down your ideas without thinking. All the wild ones included….brainstorming. This is where your sketchbook comes in. You can practice your ideas this way.

Step back afterwards and find the gems. Use those ideas in your practice.

Observe people, observe what is around you, observe patterns or designs around you or just feel the air around you and the sounds. This may sound a bit extreme but it isn’t. Start with just two minutes of looking. What do you see that you didn’t notice before? The color is different at the time of day or are the shadows longer or this is the time the ladybugs come out? There is always one thing that I had not noticed before. This is a fun exercise. Don’t be afraid to try it.

Ask yourself, what if? What if I made this or that a different color? What if this had a different texture? What if I used x product to create this effect? What brush could make this effect better or faster?

What is the best ‘eye catching’ idea. Write down as many different ideas as you can then pick the best one. Not all our ideas are perfect or great. Some are just OK but with a few tweaks, get better but some are downright bad. Sometimes mixing up two ideas makes one great idea. Consider this when you look at your work.

We do not create perfect work every day and every time. That is what we have to remember. Some pieces are just practice pieces for the great ones. Here is a good article by Jeanne Oliver on Artist Network about prompts you can use to get ideas flowing.These prompts are really fun and unique. https://www.artistsnetwork.com/art-techniques/composition/42-art-prompts-to-help-you-discover-new-creative-ideas/ 

Once you have an idea, don’t overly perfect it. Just do it. Put it out there and then collect ideas to make it better.

Most of all, allow time to let the ideas you do choose to develop. Don’t rush into creating what you have. Slowly, work out the details in your sketchbook or in your head then start. Jumping in too quickly can lead to false starts, just like in sports. You will need to start again.

This is advice that I give myself whenever I start with new ideas. I hope it helps you too.

Doris’ website: www.dorischarest.ca

I have creativity courses and art courses online at: https://www.udemy.com/user/dorischarest/

For more information on mixed media by Doris Charest:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCltBfqSMAK0OOWeXaKGud6Q?view_as=subscriber

https://www.facebook.com/dorischarest

https://www.pinterest.ca/dalinec/

https://www.instagram.com/dorischarest/

https://www.udemy.com/user/edit-profile/

https://www.skillshare.com/user/dorischarest

All photography and artwork by Doris Charest

Thanks for reading, and please do recommend, like, share, comment, etc. Thanks.

Till next time …

Creativity in everyday life — Side shows

Creative people love to create. That is a given. They see opportunities and ideas everywhere. We label these side shows. You have your main talent that you work regularly and then there are these little ideas that pop up out of nowhere- side shows. Do you act on these ideas or do let them go out to the universe. Practicality says you let them go because there is only so much time and these side shows use up some of that time. 

Do we let them go? NO! Many times we get caught up in these side shows. The new idea calls. It is exciting, different and a distraction when you get ‘blocked’ with your main work. Many of us, I would hasard to say, most of us, are easily convinced that these side shows will not ‘take much time’.

We love the excitement of the new and an opportunity to play. That is what these ‘side shows’ are. An opportunity to play. Creatives need to play once in a while because it allows our brains time to sort out problems in our main work. 

We have a choice with side shows. Play with the idea while your brain sorts out your main problem then let it go or follow the idea through. I faced this problem lately. While my parents took turns being ill with long hospital stays over the last few years, I doodled drawings while they slept. My nervous energy needed an outlet. This led to my latest side show — a colouring book. 

I agonized for several months on wether I should do something with these drawings. I succombed to ‘don’t let the work go to waste’. I took the drawings and looked for ways to make them useful. I discovered Amazon. You can actually create a book yourself with all the resources provided by Amazon.

I downloaded my drawings to their program, added text, a title and a front page. The whole process did not take much time. This surprized me. A side show that was not sucking up all my creative time. Is that possible? NO!

I conveniently forgot the MARKETING. Once created, you do have to market the item. Groan! Now, I not only have to market my own artwork but also a colouring book. Will I never learn?

However, I have to admit that I enjoyed creating the side show. I am willing to pay the price. At least, for the moment, I am. 

Doris’ website:www.dorischarest.ca

I have creativity courses and art courses online at:https://www.udemy.com/user/dorischarest/

All photography and artwork by Doris Charest

Thanks for reading, and please do recommend, like, share, comment, etc. Thanks.

Till next time …

Creativity in everyday life

Enabling your creative side – getting started.

Creativity is not limited to just writing, singing, playing an instrument, painting or acting in a play.  Creativity can be everywhere and in your daily actions.  For many years, I didn’t have the time to paint (my creative moment) and I felt the tug of that creative ‘making’ of things that were out of my own imagination.  Slowly, I realized that you can be creative in little simple ways that make you feel like you are making a difference and exploring your creative side.

Sunflowers in the wind.  8 x 10 in.   by Doris Charest

In this series, I will discuss different ways that you can be creative on a limited amount of time.  I will guide you through recreating other parts of your life and your home so that little touches are added that use your creative side and, on the side, get you started with your own art practice and become your creativity coach.  Coach may be too strong a word.  I prefer friend.   Each blog will give you steps you can take to create your own ‘art space’ and adding touches in your life that will change your approach and lead you to a more creative life. Everyday life is busy but adding touches of creativity into each day will make you happier (at least that is what happened to me) and lead you to a more creative path in your life. 

While you may have a job, children that need your time, a house to take care of, a lawn to mow and sick family to visit, you can still tap into your creative self.  Instead of spending hours creating, you use the time that you do have.  This may be anywhere from a minute or two to as many hours that you have.  When managing a lot of different activities in a day, you may only have minutes.  Starting small is fine.  This step involves making a list.  This is the list you will refer to when you start feeling you forgot what you were aiming for.

First, you decide which part of your life you will want to expand and add some creative touches.  For example, if you want to add extra creative touches when you are cooking.  Decide what you will do?  Do you want to increase the flavors? Do you want the food to look better? Present the food in a better light?  Do you want to increase the quantity? Write down what you want to do. List 3 areas you want to work on.  This is a good start.  Do not list anything that takes hours or days to accomplish.  Stick to items that can be done in a short amount of time.   Start by:

1.Area of creative expansion (what you want to change) -for example; you want to start drawing again

2. List ways you can do this — for example; you can go to life drawing class, spend 15 min. a day drawing what is in front of you, join a course on drawing (this is a commitment since you have to pay for it and will probably go), or draw your children when they take their naps.
3. Start time — give yourself a deadline. Today is best. 
4. Done — for example; List how many drawings you will do. When you are done, check them off. 

Writing goals down leads to a commitment.  This is a basic start for what you want to do.  Remember to be flexible.  Sometimes, you write something down but as your mind sorts ideas, even better ideas come to you.  If you really want to step up the game, show your list or give your list to a friend then ask him/her to keep you accountable.

Remember: Do not start big. Start changing small things.  All big projects start with the details.  A multitude of small details lead to the big project. All this will lead you to being an artist with your own vision.  The next installment is about starting small in everyday life with cooking.  Cooking is a big part of our everyday activities and a good place to start.   

Doris’ website: www.dorischarest.ca

I have creativity courses and art courses online at: https://www.udemy.com/user/dorischarest/

All photography and artwork by Doris Charest

Thanks for reading, and please do recommend, like, share, comment, etc. Thanks.

Till next time …