From Creative Funk to Flow in Just 2 Minutes
Have you ever experienced a creative funk - a time when, despite your longings, you have not been able to access your creative flow? It can feel impossible to recover from. I understand this because I’ve been there.
A couple of weeks ago, over a delicious dinner with friends, I was asked how I stay ‘in flow’, whether it’s simply motivation that drives me. The answer is simple and complex - it’s a ‘both… and’ answer.
In my experience, every time I head into the studio to paint, it’s a kind of restart. The act of picking up my palette knife to mix paint is just one in a series of small yet crucial recommitments to create. Each requires intentionality, followed by grit.
Yet, there are ways to ease yourself into the risk-infested process of creativity. Having the resolve to show up isn’t enough - or perhaps it’s too much. I suggest we approach creative work like play - with curiosity, attention, wonder, and willingness. We need to focus on the process, embracing the possibilities afforded by accidents and the unexpected. We need to be both intently involved and relaxed, challenged and responsive.
That sounds like a conundrum, yet there are simple, accessible ways of achieving this state of consciousness. The video below demonstrates a super easy activity I sometimes use to ‘grease the wheels’. It requires nothing but a scrap of paper, pencil or pen and the courage to try something new. It can be completed in a few minutes or take as long as you like. There is no pass or fail possible! This activity is entirely process-oriented, rather than product-oriented.
So, please have a go and let me know what you notice.
