Five Ways to Get Inspired
Have the winter doldrums set in or are you just in a creative rut? Try these techniques for finding inspiration:
Take a class. Check out your local community college, art center, craft store, or adult learning center. Many have one-day workshops where you can learn a new technique or work with a new material, or multi-week classes where you can explore a new medium more fully.
Try a new product. Ever work with Crystalina fibers, Abaca tissue, or garnet gel? Pick one and try it out.
Take a walk. It's not only good for your body, it's good for your creativity. Many people say they get their best ideas while walking or running. While you're out there, pay close attention to the details around you: the line of sand collected at the edge of the sidewalk, the blackened seed pods sticking up through the snow, the pattern of the crisscrossing tree branches, the color of the sky.
Mess up your stash. Even experienced artists get into color or pattern habits. To shake things up, take a sampling of fabrics at random from your stash and toss them on the floor, your bed, or your work table. You may see appealing pattern or color combinations you never would have chosen otherwise.
Get organized. If your creative space is cluttered, make a date to get organized. While you sort through found objects, fabrics, fibers, trims, and buttons, you'll find things you forgot you had and get new inspiration.
For many more tips on making and organizing your creative space, be sure to pre-order our Studios issue.now. Available on newsstands April 1.
Art by Leilani Pierson.
