Nurturing Your Creativity
Creativity is much more than finding inspiration. It is an essential part of us. It plays a vital role in how we express ourselves, solve problems and connect with the world. It fuels innovation, creates new ideas, keeps our perspective flexible, and as artists, it is key in creating work that feels like us. When we actively care for our creative spark, it will serve us in every area of our lives, whether that’s through our art, our work, or even how we find solutions to everyday problems.
How to Nurture Your Creativity
1. Change the Way You Normally Do Things
Create new routines, change your schedule, experience new places, drive a different route, start a daily journal, and take part in opportunities that pique your curiosity and encourage your imagination to play.
2. Expose Yourself to Diverse Sources of Inspiration
Visit an art gallery, read a new book, try a new recipe, watch someone else create, listen to music outside of your usual playlist, spend time in nature or go for a walk in a different park, sit in a different place to enjoy your morning cup of tea or engage in a conversation with someone new.
3. Let Go of Perfectionism and Embrace Experimentation
Explore odd combinations, get messy with your work and allow yourself to make mistakes. Give yourself permission to throw away your first attempt or mess up a blank page. Work on loose leaf pages or offcuts that are easily discarded instead of investing in an expensive sketchbook you’ll be hesitant to use. Or try using a smaller sketchbook so the size of the pages doesn't overwhelm you. Try a new colour or art medium.
Creativity Challenge
Building a daily art practice doesn’t have to be daunting—it can be playful, inspiring, and deeply rewarding. This month, I invite you to join me in a simple challenge: commit to creating a small drawing or artwork each day for 30 days. You can come up with your own ideas or use the prompts I've provided in the link below. It doesn’t matter if you spend 5 minutes or an hour—the act of showing up to create each day is what counts. By the end of the month, you’ll have a collection that reflect your creativity, your progress, and the joy of making.
Karen Abend's Sketchbook Revival events are created with the soul purpose of nurturing creativity. (I will let you know the dates of the next course as soon as they're available because I think it's such a worthwhile event.) Here are some ideas from 2024 that may inspire your creativity:
Creating a Colourfully Cohesive Sketchbook by Salli Swindell - Grab some coloured pencils and some paper. Randomly choose a pencil and draw a triangle. Continue randomly choosing pencils and adding triangles to the page. Resist the urge to purposefully pick which colours should go next to each other. (This is harder than it sounds!) Once you've got a few rows done, choose 5 triangles that connect to each other by row or in a hexagon. Think about choosing colours that you don't usually gravitate towards. You now have created a new colour palette! Create 5 larger triangles with those pencils and use your imagination to name each of those colours. Have fun with hand lettering those names next to the corresponding triangle. Now to use that palette! Draw any sort of structure that pops into your head. It can be any style. Now add 'fillers' such as birds, branches, trees, flowers, clouds, patterns. Let your mind go wild.
You can see how this idea can be adapted or expanded to be used and reused, even on a daily basis. I found that I loved drawing the triangles so much I filled a page with randomly sized triangles of all different colours, all butted up together, although I do add my triangles anywhere I want because I can't handle some colours being next to each other. I'm learning to embrace my limitations!
Lazy Lines Drawing by Carla Sonheim - Hold a lead pencil awkwardly, and without lifting the pencil off the page, allow yourself to draw randomly on the paper. Allow the pencil to travel across the page wherever it wants to go - up and down, side to side, straight or jagged, round or angular. Once you've got a good coverage on your page you can use an eraser to distress the marks, smudge the lead with your finger or change to coloured pencils if you want. There are no rules. Once you've created a type of framework see if you can find a shape or image in the lines. You might see something stand out, like a face or the form of an animal. Use the pencil lines to guide which features you want to bring out. Once your drawing is taking form you can purposefully add lines or shapes to bring your drawing to life.
Daisy Chain by Galia Alena - Find a large square of paper and whatever art supplies you have. Use a plate to lightly trace a circle on to your paper as a guide for your daisy chain. Choose a pencil, felt tipped pen or crayon and draw 3 simple daisy forms. Choose another medium and draw 3 more daisies around the circle. Start to connect the daisies together in whatever way you like and then start to decorate the daisies. Think of adding other elements such as leaves, branches or other flowers and embellish with patterns, solid colours, lines, shapes or other details. Think of a saying or some words you'd like to add and write it in the middle of your daisy circle. Use capitals, lower case, decorated letters, simple lines - whatever you'd like. You could even glue on collage pieces. Keep adding to your page until you feel it's finished.
Change the theme to create lots of different inspiration options.
If you'd like to see what the Sketchbook Revival events are all about you can sign up on Karen Abend's website to get immediate access to some of the sessions from 2025:
Crafting Modern Florals by Hanna Wendelbo
This book isn't just filled with inspirational images, it's full of essential information and techniques for surface designers. Hanna discusses pattern creation, colour, repeats, inspiration, creativity, drawing, working with watercolour, ink and gouache, troubleshooting unsuccessful patterns and working with design professionally. There are a lot of creative exercises too. I've had my copy for a couple of years and it's a book that I revisit often - perfect for when I'm travelling as it's not too brain draining and it's easy-to-read. I always learn something new.
World of Books
As you may have guessed by now, I love books. I’m lucky to have a full set of bookshelves lining the back wall in our front room. Just the thought of being able to go and find something to read and inspire me whenever I want is exciting. I acquired the habit from my father who took me with him to the local library every week growing up, and often bought me books. He always knew what would delight me. It was through books that I knew he understood me and valued my interests even though they were so different from his own. The books he would buy me were always the perfect thing. What lovely memories I have!
But as brick-and-mortar bookstores have become harder to find, I am sourcing most of my books online. One of my favourite sites is World of Books. They sell good quality used books for a fraction of the cost of new. But what I really enjoy is their range. Hard to find books, old books or obscure books that were only published in small quantities or were never available where I live. They satisfy my niche!
I highly recommend having a look at their website to source your next inspirational book, but be warned – it can be highly addictive!
Startist Society
Friends Laura Lee Griffin and Nikki May met through Bonnie Christine's Immersion about 5 years ago. They host this wonderful podcast about all things art business. It's down to earth, easy to listen to, and very relevant to budding artists. Recent episodes cover topics like nurturing an engaged email list, surviving social media as an artist, choosing a website platform, and facing creative overwhelm. It’s listening to two friends chat about their art practices.
