Create More Time to be Creative

Guest blog post for Gallery24seven.com:

Is a never ending To Do List getting in the way of your creative productivity? Often we think we don’t have time to be creative. But I’m willing to wager that many of the things on your To Do List don’t really need to be done today, by you, or, at all!

Following are 3 easy steps to transform your To Do List. It just might transform your life!

Step 1: Reframe your Shoulds into Coulds

There are always unavoidables on our To Do List, like making the car payment or buying the cat food. But often things on our list don’t really need to get done. They’re more like good ideas and nice intentions. Or worse, they’re someone else’s idea for how we should spend our time.

Start by reviewing your To Do List and cross off anything that was not your idea. Your sister might think it would be great for you to start online dating. But if the thought doesn’t excite you, let it go.

Next, separate the Shoulds, like paying bills, from the Coulds, such as cleaning the bathroom. Once you’re done, you’ll have two lists. The first are your Big Rocks, the things you really should do to be a responsible adult and manage your life. The second is a Could Do List, the things you feel you should do… eventually.

The beauty of a Could Do List is that it reminds us that we’re at choice. How delicious would it feel to wake up tomorrow morning and ask yourself, “What could I do today?” Or say to yourself, “I could do this… or could do that…”

A Could Do List leaves room for inspired creativity and  invites in possibility. So the next time your best friend invites you to join her on an all-expenses-paid trip to Cozumel, or just for a cup of coffee around the corner, you can say, “Yes!” Your Could Do List will allow for the freedom of spontaneous choices, instead of just guilt-ridden obligations.

Read 2 more easy time creation tips at the Gallery24seven.com blog here.

Win Support for Living YOUR Creative Life

Guest blog post for Gallery24seven.com:

Over the years, as my art business has grown and my writing has taken off, fellow and aspiring Creatives have often invited me for coffee so they could “pick my brain” to learn the secrets of my success. I have enjoyed these heart-to-heart connections SO much that I have integrated coaching into my business!

After more than a decade of practicing the art of honoring my creativity, years of building my successful art and writing business, and committing to cultivating my Live Creatively philosophy and lifestyle, I am excited to offer my Creative Life Coaching services!

Read the the rest of the guest blog post, here.





Creativity Prompt: Mini Vision Boards

Originally posted Tuesday, May 28, 2013 as part of Just Because - A Bonus Blog

Feeling creatively blocked or uninspired? I know if I go a few days without getting into my studio I get stage freight at the idea of putting paint to canvas. To get the creative juices flowing again I’ve started to make mini vision / inspiration boards.

Get Artsy, mini vision / inspiration board, 2013



What You Will Need:

• 2-3 old magazines. A variety is best.
• Scissors (or you can use your hands).
• One 8-1/2 x 11” sheet of paper. I like to work with colored construction paper.
• Glue or other adhesive. I use Tombow MONO Adhesive, permanent bond.
• A timer. I use the alarm on my cell phone.
• 1 hour of uninterrupted time.

How it works:

Set your timer for 20 minutes.

Grab a magazine and turn it upside down. Yep, you read that right – upside down. The objective here is to get a different perspective.

Start quickly flipping through the pages. Don’t think, just feel. Tear out anything and everything that appeals to you and evokes a positive emotion. It might be a color, a pattern, a word, or the (upside down) composition. Don’t judge. Just tear!

Continue to flip through your upside down magazines and set tear-outs aside until your alarm goes off.  Once your alarm does go off, set magazines aside and reset your timer for 20 more minutes.
Spread your tear-outs of images and words in front of you, turning them right side up. Notice if there are any themes. This is when you can start to edit, keeping only those images and words that most appeal to you.

Start trimming the images and words with scissors. Or, you might feel called to tear the pages with your hands, leaving the raw edges.

When your timer goes off it’s time to start gluing, so re-set your timer for the last 20 minute increment.

Grab your 8-1/2 x 11” sheet of paper. White will do, but I find it fun to use a piece of colored construction paper. You’ll also need your glue or other adhesive.

Arrange and glue your torn out and trimmed images and words onto your paper.

Once you’re done, you will have created a mini vision / inspiration board that is unique and beautiful – just like YOU!

 

Forgive, mini vision / inspiration board, 2013

 

Like this creative prompt? Download the PDF instructions here.

Paint Away Your Pain

"Creativity is the life raft that can save us when we don’t think we can survive riding any more waves of emotion."

~Marcella Nordbeck-Richardson

What do you do when you’re experiencing low vibration emotions such as sadness, anger, or fear? Do you turn to your favorite distractions like television or Facebook? Or do you run to a familiar vice like food, cigarettes, or alcohol?  

Although comforting, our distractions and vices only temporarily mask our pain. But art has the power to heal. Creativity is the life raft that can save us when we don’t think we can survive riding any more waves of emotion. So the next time you’re moving through a less-than-ideal situation, and suffering the emotional consequences, I invite you to turn to the canvas, the page, or another creative outlet. 
 

"Together Through What Separates" - Acrylic - 36x36" - $1647

I first learned of the healing power of art in 2002 during the 4-weeks I received art therapy as part of my recovery from life threatening depression. Every day for a month I got to play with paint, clay, and whatever else caught my creative fancy. And then one day I had a light bulb moment. I realized that creating – just for the simple joy of it – was what was missing from my life.  

I was reminded of art’s healing power 10 years later. I went searching for my estranged father, only to learn he was no longer living. A few months later I was still weighed down by heavy emotions of grief for the father I never really knew and the 3 brothers who didn’t want to talk about it him. 

Thankfully during this time I was studying A Course in Miracles with author and life-coach Tama Kieves. One night in Tama's living room I shared with her that I was so overcome by my emotional grief around my father, his absence, and his death, that I was no longer able to paint. My creativity felt completely blocked by my tormented emotions. Tama's advice? To paint away my pain.

I resisted, saying something like, “But I’m a spiritual painter! I want my paintings to be uplifting and inspiring.” But Tama responded by encouraging me to paint anyway. She reminded me of all the sad loves songs that express the universal feeling of heartbreak, but are soothing to others who are feeling similar pain and discomfort.  

I took Tama’s advice. In the days, and weeks, that followed I sat at my canvas, painting, while tears literally ran down my cheeks. But I kept painting. Eventually I stopped crying. And a couple of months later I  put the finishing touches on, “Together Through What Separates.” It remains one of my personal favorites.  

The 4 spirals are symbolic of me and my 3 brothers who I will always love and for whom I feel a deep emotional connection do despite the years, and miles, between us. And although I was feeling intense emotional pain when I created it, when I look at the painting today I feel forgiveness for what was and acceptance for what was not. And I feel even more certain of art’s power to heal.

 

*****

"Together Through What Separates" is 1 of 3 paintings currently available for sale in the Art at the Armory art show in Brighton, Colorado. Show runs through Friday, April 18, 2014. Visit Events page for details.
 

Left to Right: "Together Through What Separates," "Imaginative," and "Rise"
Each: Acrylic, 36x36", $1647