How do you keep your creativity alive?

Keeping your creativity alive has always been a challenge, but in the era of work from home, where the lines between work life and home life have blurred and where burnout and social disconnection are rising, creativity is at risk. We’ve asked some of the most creative folks we know for advice on how to keep one’s creativity alive.

Desi & Darren Gaither

Not gonna lie some days its hard. The beauty of owning our business though is we can experiment, and that’s exactly what we do. We take classes and will go online and look at patterns and new quilt lines. Read More>>

Ashley Cohen Conner

I keep my creativity alive by tapping into other folks in my community. Specifically, the dance and DJ community. There are always new ideas and new approaches out there – and I love connecting with likeminded individuals that can bounce ideas off of each other. Sitting alone and trying to think of everything from scratch is not always effective for me. Read More>>

Veronica Barrera

I will start by saying that creative jobs don’t always pay the most money, but it’s probably the most fulfilling in my life. I read this book by Elizabeth Gilbert called “Big Magic” and she talks about having a day job to pay the bills and so you can keep your creative juices flowing. Read More>>

Ana Pape

Creativity ebbs and flows just like most things in life. When I’m in a slump, I like to scroll through Instagram or Pinterest or try a new bake from someone whose photos I really admire which usually sparks a fresh idea or a new way to approach something. Sometimes, it helps to step outside and go for a walk. Read More>>

AECHKYU

I keep my creativity alive by continuing to be a part of the world and allowing myself to feel and dream. For me, I have an ideal world in my head of what I’d want my life to look like and how I’d like to experience the world. By nature, that desire turns my actions into something that creates that– usually internally at first. Read More>>

Gayle B

Creativity is funny because it can be quite fickle. Any graphic designer or artist would tell you that it’s so extremely important to figure out the specific thing that inspires you the most or it becomes so hard to keep up with the demand for creativity. Read More>>

Bell Caspi

Honestly, I just try to keep reinventing myself, I’m always coming up with new ideas, passion projects, or little business ventures and entrepreneurial paths that keep me excited. I think it’s about constantly evolving — finding new ways to grow as an artist and pushing my skills to a higher level. I don’t ever want to get too comfortable creatively. Read More>>

Marlo Graham

For me, keeping my creativity alive is all about staying in motion—challenging myself to do at least one creative thing every single day. Read More>>

Christina Thomas

How do I keep my creativity alive? That is a very good question. I’m never afraid to try something new and share it. Read More>>

Bridget Cooper

I keep my creativity alive from travel and daily rituals Travel has always been a huge source of inspiration for me not just in the visual sense, but in the way a place makes you feel. Recently, I returned to one of my favorite places in the U.S., Aspen, and it reminded me why I fell in love with design in the first place. Read More>>

Brandon Holley

Switching things up is the key to keeping my creativity alive. I’ve never met an artist who can sit in the same studio/ room and make the same music year after year. Luckily with technology today you don’t have to be in a studio to create anymore. Read More>>

Victoria Mendoza

I’ve found that my creativity is deeply shaped by the season of life I’m in. Right now, as a mother of three children under five, I truly feel like I’m living the very best days of my life. My husband and I often smile at each other and say, “These are the days,” a quiet reminder to soak in every moment. Read More>>

Art Decko

I try keep my creativity alive by constantly feeding my imagination, whether that’s with new experiences, visuals, or through interactions. I try to travel as often as I can, even if it’s just locally. I moved to Canada from the UK nearly 6 years ago, and find that there is always somewhere new to explore, someone interesting to talk to, or something new to learn. Read More>>

Mahima Jain

I keep my creativity alive by always making space for side projects, they’re my way of staying connected to the joy and curiosity that first drew me to design. My full-time work is often about solving problems and creating structured systems, but my side projects let me explore without rules or expectations. Read More>>

Gina Simone

“I keep my creativity alive by staying curious—drawing inspiration from travel, nature, and the people I work with. Whether it’s the colors of a sunset or the glow of skin on set, I let those moments fuel the artistry that flows into every ARTISTBOXXX product Read More>>

Andres Calette

I keep my creativity alive by always staying curious and never settling for “good enough.” For me, making cannoli isn’t just about following a recipe, it’s about blending tradition with imagination. I love experimenting with new flavors, from seasonal fruits to unexpected twists like ube, pumpkin or matcha. Read More>>

Gabriela Garcia Olivo

I keep my creativity alive by listening to it and letting it guide me. Over time, I’ve learned to recognize and accept that creativity moves in cycles, there are seasons when ideas bloom effortlessly, when I sit down to work and everything flows naturally, almost as if I’m just channeling it. Read More>>

Austin Joseph

For me, keeping creativity alive has always been about motion, never letting myself stay too still in one place, mentally or artistically. When I went through cancer treatment, a lot of my days were filled with waiting: waiting for test results, waiting for appointments, waiting to feel like myself again. In that stillness, I felt my creativity start to dull. Read More>>

Anthony Bambocci

You know, when people ask me how I keep my creativity alive, I always laugh because it sounds like creativity is this fragile little pet you’ve got to feed three times a day or it dies. For me, it started back in Altoona, Pennsylvania, which is not exactly the creative capital of the world. Read More>>

Isabella Kovar

I like to think of my creativity as a fire, most likely crackling within a hearth in a cottage someplace nice. My fire has a heart and strong personality–similarly to Calcifer from Hayao Miyazaki’s Howl’s Moving Castle. I have times when I lose my spark, but all that’s needed for it to come back is adding some extra kindling. Read More>>

Anna Muzova

Keeping Creativity Alive — Even When Life Gets Hard A year ago, I left my office job to follow a path that felt more like me. What started as a small hobby became a creative life I now get to live every day. A few years ago, I couldn’t imagine calling myself a creator. My life looked nothing like it does now. Read More>>

Elaine Montalvo

I look for creative inspiration in everything around me. When I see a captivating painting, I study its color dynamics and imagine how I might replicate a similar relationship with color in my costume designs. I might also wonder how those colors might interact with the set design or lighting design. Read More>>

Alan Alvarez

I keep my creativity alive by staying immersed in culture, not just beauty but everything that shapes how people express themselves: music, fashion, social media, and real community conversations. I approach PR and influencer work like a creator does: by paying attention to what feels authentic, what resonates, and how storytelling evolves. Creativity for me is a balance of curiosity and structure. Read More>>

Tetiana Zhmendak

I find that, for me to stay creative and keep fresh ideas flowing, I must turn to forms of art other than music. Read More>>

Maria Aprea

Creativity is the basis of all my projects: everything starts from there, which I then combine with my professional technical skills. Creativity is at the heart of all my communication, I express myself through it and for this reason I try to nurture it and keep it as sharp as possible. Read More>>

Gaurav Dua

I try to keep my creativity alive by always staying connected to my own ideas outside of work. My job keeps me creatively engaged, but it’s those personal side projects and quiet moments of exploration that really recharge me. Sketches, notes, random thoughts, even fragments of ideas that don’t make sense yet. Read More>>

Gaudencio Contreras

Creativity is endless when you are open-minded; there’s no limit when it comes to creating when you do what you love with passion, ideas come from all over Read More>>

Regina Saavedra Desiree Patterson

Keeping creativity alive is simple when it lives within you. For us, inspiration never takes a break—it’s always on. Beauty and ideas surround us at every turn, waiting to be noticed. Sometimes it’s the texture of wallpaper in a vintage thrift store, the subtle pattern of a fabric at a luxury hotel, or the way light falls across a sunlit terrace. Read More>>

Darlene M. Palanek

I keep my creativity alive by constantly looking for inspiration in the world around me. In my furniture refinishing and restoration business, I draw ideas from current and past (like hundreds of years!) interior design styles, which means inspiration is everywhere whether I am scrolling social media, flipping through design magazines, or walking through a historic home/neighborhood. Read More>>

Brandon Rashad Clayvon

What’s kept my creativity alive is a mix of curiosity, risk-taking, and a willingness to start over when something doesn’t feel aligned. I’ve become a professional at trusting my gut, and I’ve learned that creative energy doesn’t disappear with age—it just needs room to breathe and something meaningful to pour into. Read More>>

Alina SHimova

For me, creativity isn’t something I have to “keep alive” – it’s something I have to keep from taking over my entire life (laughs). Ideas are always flowing. Sometimes it feels like they’re chasing me around. But I’ve learned that in order to stay creative in a healthy, sustainable way, I need balance. I need to live – not just make. Read More>>

Romina Venturini

For me, creativity is kept alive through curiosity. I’ve always been someone who wants to experience as much of life as I can , whether that’s hiking in the mountains, camping under the stars, or diving into something completely new. Over the years I’ve tried everything from drawing to horseback riding, volleyball, pole dancing, krav maga, running, and bouldering just to name a few things. Read More>>

Bitota Mpolo

My key to keeping my creativity alive is simply just staying creative and not forcing myself into a specific lane. I think so often people’s creativity dies from burnout because whether you’re an actor or a writer or if all you do is that singular craft, it’s inevitable that you’ll hit a block. Read More>>

Denys Fedchenko

In fact, I believe that creating something new is God’s prerogative. We must act in the same way. Knowledge of the universe compels us to share the experience we gain in order to constantly move forward. Culture is a manifestation of the norms that promote the development of art in society. It is essential that we be inspired by something. What is it? Read More>>

Tiago Raimundo

I keep my creativity alive through a mix of curiosity, continuous learning, and real-world experience. I stay inspired by exploring diverse sources from architecture and art to travel and everyday life. Each new experience offers fresh perspectives that I bring into my designs. I’m also passionate about incorporating natural materials and handcrafted elements into my work. Read More>>

Saint

I keep my creativity alive by staying connected to life itself. I pull from real experiences, emotions, and the energy around me. Whether it’s late-night thoughts, conversations with people, or just observing the world, I let everything feed into my art. I don’t force it—I let it flow. Music, writing, or even silence can spark an idea. Read More>>

Amanda Kay Doubleday

For over eight years, I’ve been capturing love stories all around Austin and the Hill Country. My favorite part? Bringing out all the real stuff, the laughter, the happy tears, the wild dance moves, and those quiet little moments in between. I shoot in a variety of styles, from warm and golden to classic and true to color, and that’s what keeps my creativity alive. Read More>>

Ziesook You

I’m constantly thinking about how my current work connects to what comes next — how one piece naturally leads into another. That sense of continuity keeps my practice alive and evolving. Nature also plays a quiet but powerful role. Read More>>

Bite!

We keep our creativity alive by keeping our writing process fun and interesting. We consume other inspiring creative works, either individually or by watching other local bands, and collaborating to make our own style of music with each other as bandmates. Read More>>

Anran Geng

I keep my creativity alive by staying curious. For me, inspiration usually comes from everyday life—tiny details, like how light shifts during the day or how a color pops out in a random corner. I also like to borrow from different art forms. Read More>>

Gerardo Hernandez Blancarte

Having done art for a long time, I’ve taken inspiration from many things such as: museums, traveling, hardships, culture & dreams. Sometimes the ideas come to me fairly easy and for other pieces a lot of things need to happen for the art piece to develop. Read More>>

Cynthia Akita

I keep my creativity alive in two ways: through intentional practice and intentional pause. First, I stay creative by continuously exercising my craft. Whether I’m designing, planning a new concept, or simply studying other designs for inspiration, I’m always feeding my creative muscle. I don’t just look at things for how they appear—I ask myself how they were created and why they work. Read More>>

Lauren Lux

I keep it alive by constantly surrounding myself with inspiration! From fashion, music and art to all of the people I meet here in Los Angeles every day. I love seeing new trends, but also love turning them into my own way. Taking classes, attending hair shows and collaborating with other creatives keeps my energy and perspective fresh. Hair is my art and ongoing pursuit. Read More>>

Wes Coke

I try to keep my creativity alive by staying curious about people. Most of my work starts with the human figure, but it’s less about accuracy and more about presence — the emotion in a gesture or the quiet in-between moments. I think as long as I stay interested in what it means to just be human, there’s always something new to explore. Read More>>

Nil Senturk

My creativity comes to life by observing the details in life and reinterpreting them in my own style. Every person and object has a unique story, and I bring those stories to life by making them visible through tattoos. Read More>>

Janet Lynas Westley

Stay curious about everything in life. Even the most mundane things are interesting if you’re willing to look at every situation from a different perspective. I stay open minded about everything. By doing so I allow myself to change my mind as new information is available. I don’t become fixated on what I might think the way things are or should be. Read More>>

Josueños

To me creativity has always been like a river. Our overall flow of creativity comes from our daily flow of activities, thoughts, and interests. Things like traveling, going out in nature, even having a spontaneous adventure can all be means of adding to your stream of overall consciousness which gives your creativity more to pull from and work with. Read More>>

Zeyu Liu

I’ve learned that creativity doesn’t come from constant stimulation; it grows from observation and empathy. Much of my work begins with understanding how people live, especially older adults, as they manage their daily health routines. I keep my creativity alive by staying close to real human stories. Read More>>