Keeping The Creative Spark Alive

November is just starting here, and the last traces of our Halloween snow are melting away under a cold rain. The leaves are all down, the wind is blowing harder, and in the morning, there is a thick, sparkling layer of frost over everything.

Fall has always been one of my favorite times of year. There is something fresh in the chilly air that seems to blow some sort of life back through me. Often, the hot humid days of summer seem to drain me of any “get up and go.” It’s like the heat can leach away some, if not all, of my motivation, but the autumn chill returns it. My creativity follows the same cycle; low by the end of summer, with the sudden rush of it returning with the first cool mornings of autumn. Spring too, seems to bring about a new awakening of creativity for me as well, soft tendrils of growth after a season of rest.

There are rhythms to our creativity. It’s very important to know your own personal rhythms, and how to work with those down (and up!) times, so you can still create and not feel completely adrift and dependent on the whims of some elusive muse.

What are your own personal creativity rhythms?

When are you most creative? What season? Weekends or week days? What about on a daily level? Are you most creative in the morning? Maybe late at night? Do you not know? Don’t feel ashamed if you don’t; I didn’t either for a long time, not until I started to pay attention to it and track it.

Work with your creative rhythms.

Once I did, I began to notice those seasonal patterns. I also noticed that I am most creative first thing in the morning. My morning routine used to be (after getting my family out the door) to do yoga, answer any business emails, write any posts I needed to write, and any other business stuff I had to take care of, then, I’d have lunch and reserve my afternoons for actual art making. But when afternoon rolled around, I’d feel low energy, sleepy, irritated, etc. Lots of afternoons, it would be a real struggle to force myself to sit down at my drawing desk and actually do something. A lot of afternoons, I didn’t manage it at all.

And then one day, I got the kids off to school, and I went to do yoga, but something called me to my art room instead. Exercise is super important to me, too, but that morning, I just really really wanted to paint. And so, I did. I sat down at my desk and created for about two hours. When I started to get stiff from sitting too long, I got up, switched to my yoga clothes, did my yoga, and then went back and painted for another hour. Then, I had my lunch and did all my business stuff in the afternoon.  One thing flowed into another, I never felt super tired. I never felt like I was on the edge of burnout. I didn’t get crabby. The day had a sense of ease and peace to it that I hadn’t felt in a long time. In short, I had a breakthrough. I had learned one of my creativity rhythms and was working with it, instead of against it.

 Now, I’m not saying every day is perfect, it never is. There are still frustrations and issues and some days, nothing seems to go right, no matter what do. But I know I have a better chance of actually creating some art, if I do it first thing in the morning.

Give yourself permission.

Another thing that has really helped my creativity is to give myself permission to do what I want. Did I say I was going to work in acrylics today, but I woke up craving watercolors? I give myself permission to do watercolors. Was I planning to work on illustrating peoples faces, but instead I want to draw a super realistic owl? Okay, go for it. Do I just feel like playing with materials, swatching and mixing colors and seeing how different materials layer? That’s fine too. Of course, if you have a commission or project coming up that has a deadline, this might be harder to do. In that case, I might set a timer for the project on a deadline for an hour, and when that’s up, then I can have some free art time with whatever I feel like.

Have a daily art habit.

Everything changed for me when I pushed myself to draw every day in my sketchbook this summer. It was really what pulled me out of the worst art block I’ve ever had in my life. It doesn’t even matter what kind of art I do or for how long. It just matters that I sit down and create. The longer I go without creating, the harder it is to push myself to sit down and do it. And I really need to do it; not only does it keep my creativity flowing smoothly, but it is also essential to my mental health. Art is my therapy. It’s like another form of meditation. When I get in “the flow” everything in my mind gets quiet. There are no thoughts, just the sinking into the act of creation. I can’t even listen to audio books or movies when I am drawing or painting, because I’ll look up 45 minutes later and realize I haven’t heard a word and have no idea what’s going on, that’s how deep into the flow state I get.

The hardest part for me is to actually sit down and start creating. Some days, it feels impossible. But I discovered a secret tool that has been incredibly helpful for me. My secret?

Use a timer.

So, what do you do when you really really don’t want to sit down and create at all but know you really should? Set a timer. I can’t tell you how much a timer has helped my creativity (and with my business as well, but that’s another story!). Get yourself a kitchen timer. You can get them for $2 at Walmart. I bet they even have them at the dollar store. Don’t use your phone. Trust me, it’s too much of a temptation to have it close by. You’ll pick it up to see how much time is left and the next thing you know, you’ll be scrolling on Instagram with no idea how you got there! 😊 Get a sketchbook and pencil, or whatever project you can work on for just ten minutes and then walk away if you decide not to keep going (acrylics might not be the best idea for this!), set the timer for ten minutes, and work until it rings. Feeling really low? Set it for five minutes. Nine times out of ten, by the time the timer rings, I feel better mentally and want to keep going. But what if it’s that one time out of ten?

Know the importance of rest.

You also need to know when enough is enough. Maybe we didn’t sleep well the night before. Maybe we’re under the weather. Maybe we’ve been having a rough time at work. Maybe we had a fight with someone we love. There are some days where you just need to throw in the towel and start over fresh in the morning. And that’s okay too. If you push and push and push yourself, you’re going to find yourself at the edge of the giant cliff of the dreaded BURNOUT. Or maybe it’s too late. Maybe you look around and realize you already fell over the edge and your creativity is badly sprained. We don’t want to get there in the first place. There is no point in pushing yourself so hard that suddenly you loath all your art supplies and the very thought of picking up a paintbrush makes you feel like you want to cry. Trust me, I’ve been there and I never ever want to go back. Listen to what your heart and soul, or inner self, or whatever you want to call it, is saying to you. That small voice is important. It’s your only warning system for the machine that is your body. Don’t push it until it breaks.

Some of my favorite creativity resources.

I have four books on creativity that I return to again and again. I’ve read them so many times they are tattered and worn. I highly recommend all four:

Creativity and Gratitude: Exercises and Inspiration for a Year of Art, Hope and Healing by Amy Oestrecher. I got this book last year and have read through it and done exercises from it here and there, but it’s really a 52-week guide. I plan to start it from the beginning and do my best to work through it starting in January of 2025.

Creative Strength Training: Prompts, Exercises and Personal Stories for Encouraging Artistic Genuis by Jane Dunnewold. I’ve had this book since 2016 and it is SO good. I have read it so many times. This one never leaves my nightstand. It has been so helpful to my artistic growth. I recommend it to everyone!

The Artist's Journey: Bold Strokes To Spark Creativity by Nancy Hillis This is another one of my favorites (it might even be my most favorite) that I have read again and again. Nancy is an abstract artist, but this book has really taught me to loosen up and be inspired by mark making, and the quality and texture of line. It also as taught me to look at what is in my heart, how to actually draw and paint the things I love. I recommend it to everyone, not just abstract artists!

Conscious Creativity: Look, Connect, Create  by Philippa Stanton. This book goes beyond just creativity as an artist and helps you to actually live as a creative being, ingraining creativity into your very heart and soul. It may seem a little more out there than the first two books, but it really changes how you look at the world around you, bringing a fresh uniqueness to your senses and the way you perceive the world around you. It shows you how to make those creative leaps that help you make unique art.

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Well, that’s it for my very first (real) blog post here on my website! I hope it’s the first of many. I’d like to build a thick pile of resource filled blog posts here, a place where we can chat about art and life and share what we’ve discovered. I’m hoping this becomes place where we can talk about the things that might not fit in well with the YouTube algorithm. Feel free to leave any comments or suggestions down below. Any anything that helps you be creative as well!

I hope everyone enjoyed reading this, and a huge thank you for each one of you who are here. You all mean the world to me! This little community we are building means the world to me! And I am grateful for each one of you in it!

Have a great November, everyone! I’ll meet you back here the second week of December for another little chat!

Lots of Love,

Amy- Winter Woods Studio

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