Setting up a Creative Ritual

People often assume I paint all the time and everyday and that the work just flows. I wish were as simple as me having a boundless well of creativity and ideas to draw from.

I often find ideas come to me over time when I’m not forcing them. When I create work for my absurd illustration and design brand, Pawlick Bones – it has to come from a place of joy- if not the art will feel flat and uninspired.

So I set up ways to create inspiration- a creative ritual if you will. Once a week or so I will go out to a nearby cafe in the morning to write content for my website and create and make sure I allow around 2 hours for this exercise. Being in a different environment, listening to music that is someone else’s choice as well as cafe conversations all serve as a jumping off point for creative work. A coffee/hot chocolate in front of me to set a happy vibe. Then I just start creating. Inspiration follows after.

The main point though is;

1. Create time in your calendar and stick to it
2. Choose to be in a different environment from your usual one
3. Give yourself something small that comforts or is a treat
4. Then create – write, draw whatever it is you need to do
5. Inspiration will come after- just don’t force it.

Try it out. The results will surprise you. You don’t have to be a “creative” to use this as a tool. Creativity is hugely important in a corporate or work context too. This is where ideas flow from that can translate to innovation, creative problem solving – you name it.

The key to establishing and sustaining a creative ritual is discipline (time in calendar), a circuit breaker (different environment), mood (small treat or something that comforts) and starting the work.