Recently I followed two online courses on Creative Bug to help spark my creativity. Because of long-covid I am not able to do big projects, so I was looking for small and fun ideas. I stumbled upon Get Unstuck: 30 Days of Overcoming Your Creative Block by Danielle Krysa and that was exactly what I needed.
Danielle talks a lot about silencing your inner critic. And mine definitely needed silencing! It was constantly telling me my work was not good enough, that I should be a better artist, because I went to art school. But that was over 20 years ago and I’ve been teaching in the mean time. Now I feel like have have to start over. I did paint some portraits over the years, but I did not develop much as an artist. So, yes, I am starting over again. And I am not listening to that little voice in de back of my mind telling me I’m not good enough. Instead I am having fun making collages and blind drawings.
But I do need a reminder sometimes. Inspired by e bond* to create a collage with a quote, I made a poster for my studio. It reminds me that failure is part of creativity and learning. It’s exactly what I have been teaching my students for 20 odd years and now I need to hear this myself. So, whenever I hear my inner critic telling me I am a failure, I can look at that poster and know I am failing like a genius!
* Words Inform Images: 31 Prompts Using Writing as Inspiration for Art is also a great course for anyone who is stuck or looking for new creative ideas.
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