Over the last few weeks, we’ve looked at the reasons why creativity is so important, and how many benefits it can offer.
So, you’re ready to get your creative side flowing. But where do you begin?
Opportunities to get creative are everywhere. Once you get started, you’ll find that it’s easy to find spaces and places where you get to experiment and try different art styles.
As a first step, you could try creating a little art corner in your home. Head to the nearest craft or toyshop, grab some paper, some pastels, a glue stick and a few accessories, (such as feathers, sequins, stickers etc) and get making. You don’t have to have a goal in mind, although it can help you get started. You could create a new nametag for your front door, or simply try drawing a still life. Remember – the goal is not to create something ‘good’.
Once your art corner is up and running, put it to good use. Next time you’re celebrating a special occasion with a friend or relative, try making them a card instead of buying one. Not only will it be fun for you to get creative, but it will also be a really special keepsake for your friend. If you’re feeling really creative, try making the gift too!
In recent years, there’s been a huge boom in the world of live art experiences, so if you’re not sure about doing your own art work at home, try looking into life painting, facilitated art events or arts workshops. There’s a huge variety of events out there, covering everything from loom weaving to Jackson Pollock painting. Get on Google and see what’s on offer in your local area.
If visual art and making things isn’t really your style, you could also try getting creative in the kitchen. Try cooking a new meal or a new cuisine that you’ve never tried before. Cooking is a great creative outlet and a chance to make something that you can share. Baking is a particularly good creativity challenge as it offers plenty of opportunity for decorating and experimenting with new flavours and styles.
More of a musician? Or would like to be one? Grab an instrument and get learning. These days it’s easy to find online tutorials and videos that are totally free and easy to follow, so you can do it from the comfort of your own home and without too much expense. As an extra tip, if you’ve always fancied learning a string instrument like the guitar or banjo, consider getting started with the ukulele. It’s much simpler to learn and the skills are quickly transferable so you’ll see quick progress and feel less frustrated at the beginning.
It’s also a good idea to challenge yourself. So, if you’re already a great cook, consider trying something outside of your comfort zone. Trying something new, perhaps something that intimidates you a little, is a creative act in itself.
You could go to karaoke and belt out some tunes, try creating a self portrait, keep a journal for a week, learn a new language or even do something as small as trying a brand new hairstyle for a day. These are all acts of creativity.
Perhaps you could think about writing as a creative pursuit. One easy way to get started with some creativity around writing is to cut out some words from a magazine and try to arrange them into a new story. Challenge yourself to use every word, even if it doesn’t quite make sense. Or consider ‘free writing’ – the process of taking a pen and paper and starting to write anything that comes in to your head, without stopping for 5 minutes. If you get stuck, just write, ‘I’m stuck’ over and over again until you can think of something else. It’s a really simple but effective tool.
Whatever you try, the most important thing is that you don’t judge yourself and you let go of the idea of having to be ‘good’ at something. Being creative is a wellbeing practice just like any other!
