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.
Phaye Poliakoff-Chen
My creative practice is based on both interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary concepts. While interdisciplinarity allows disciplines to inform each other, transdisciplinary thinking allows for change and expansion. Transdisciplinarity pushes boundaries, defies genre, and most importantly to me, defies rigidity. My primary creative work is in fiction writing. I also direct a community arts program at Earl’s Place, a transitional living facility for homeless men in downtown Baltimore. Two years ago, I started taking drum lessons because I wanted to try songwriting. I had always approached songs through their lyrics, but now I’ve become attuned to the elements of the groove. I often tell my students to ignore the notion of “writer’s block,” which surprises them. I’m sympathetic to their struggles, but I encourage them to just put words on paper – a phrase I repeat like a mantra – and allow the stories to develop without force. That doesn’t mean you imprison yourself in your study. Take breaks. Here’s where interdisciplinarity and transdisciplinarity come in handy. I might start the day with writing, but I’ll punctuate my work with art projects and drum fills. Each foray into another discipline brings new insights to the one I just left. Read more>>
Jasmine & Lorenzo
Sometimes creativity can feel like surfing. Like you are in the middle of the ocean, straddling your board, waiting for that “perfect wave”. Most days you’ll be sitting there, waiting for everything to line-up just right, but inspiration never strikes. The wave never comes. Instead of feeling powerless, we can make the choice to create anyway. It doesn’t have to be perfect. It doesn’t have to be our “best work”. It can just be. This is the way we’ve been able to continue creating. Without judgement, without pressure. As long as we get out of our own way, HAVE FUN, and remember why we chose to be creators in the first place, creativity will always find its way through us and into the world. Read more>>
EASAE
– staying active & healthy – nurturing healthy relationships – giving myself freedom to flow – giving myself grace to mess up – learning other artists journeys – expressing myself through fashion – surrounding myself with laughter – staying spontaneous – constantly reminding myself to live fully – creating more stories to write about Read more>>
Mitaali Nanda Vohra
I truly believe creativity is born through stillness alongside the courage to err, make mistakes and learn as we go. Being a jewelry designer, entrepreneur and creative director at a jewelry house means having to express myself creatively all the time. Be it helping clients make their selections, working on new collections and constantly innovating – I keep my creativity alive through an ongoing conversation of beautiful gems that are designed to become wearable art. I also am open to experimenting and creatively express myself through modeling my own pieces. Read more>>
Carlos Daniel Perez-Boza
Staying creative is not easy. However, my studio in Hollywood does provide me the privilege of keeping myself creative. Outside of my studio practice I have a full time job as a professional art framer. I see all types of works coming in and out of our workshop at Castelli Framing. This inspires me to get myself back into my studio after a full day of work. Some days are easier than others. For instance, last week I started a new painting. When I am really excited about the direction of the artwork, I work all week on that one painting. The following week I get inspired by something I did on last week’s painting, and want to start another painting based on that inspiration. Now I have two paintings, both unfinished and each needs individual attention. How do I make this work? I had to teach myself that I need to finish one of them before completing another. I need to be able to complete all my work to avoid creating piles of unfinished inventory. Sometimes I find myself revising unfinished artwork I had begun four years prior. Because I respond to current events, sometimes the materials and resources I use might become unavailable in the future. For the last couple of years I’ve made it a habit to finish what I start. Taking charge and ownership of completing work helps me prepare for future shows because I can easily look back at my inventory to select artwork for viewing. Read more>>
Eric St.Martin
It’s tough because I want to say that in order to keep that creative aspect of yourself alive you should consistently be working on something creative, whether that is writing, making films, editing videos, doing photography, reading, etc., but that is only partially true, at least for me. For example, when I finally kick myself in the ass long enough to start writing a short screenplay I’ll have an idea for the story that I want to tell. After that, I will start breaking down and creating a back story for the characters. During that process, of course, I feel creative because I’m creating a character from nothing. The same goes for actually writing the script. There comes a time, however, when the writing feels stagnant and plateaus. Now I’m writing and it seems like the character is not evolving or the story is going nowhere or it’s too chaotic. At this point it is good to walk away and remember there is a world out there and life to live of your own. This is the other portion of keeping that creativity alive. It’s when I travel somewhere or try a new food or talk with a nephew that is attempting to explain an event in his life but doesn’t have the vocabulary to coherently describe the event or his feelings about it. These are moments when my creativity grows and I am not actively trying to spark anything. Just admiring and actively participating in every day life, as corny as that sounds, is where inspiration and creativity are drawn from. That, as well as the continuous writing or whatever activities one may choose as a creative outlet. Read more>>
Marjie Sanderson
Above all, I have always been an artist and creative person. Everything I do extends from that. Creativity and making new things from scratch have always been a part of who I am. In the past, I have sold my original paintings, worked on public murals, written and recorded songs, and taught visual and graphic art in many settings, as I still do today. This creative nature is essential to my current business, Tennessee Candle Company. My business was born out of the necessity and desire to create original hand-made products that come from our farm to sell at our winery tasting room and vineyard. We started building in 2012 and opened in 2014. I wanted people to be able to purchase a product personally made right here at our farm. I have always loved candles and bath products. The curiosity, exploration, research, and trial-and-error took me two years before I made my first product, because much of that time we were also designing and building our winery. I researched the “how to” create them, and “what” I wanted my products to look like. I do the same planning even now that my business is coming up on its 10-year anniversary. I think about designs for hours, and days, on-and-off, and even in the middle of the night sometimes. My love of color, fragrances, themes, and the ability to make people feel delight when they see my creations, keeps my joy and creativity alive. It is such a creative process to make something from scratch, especially candles and soaps, and I truly enjoy it. I love working with my hands, and I LOVE bringing happiness to others through my products, knowing that I made them by hand. I also like not “being the product”, like many actors, singers, musicians find themselves as. I don’t really create the products so that people give me praise personally, but really so that they can find joy in the actual creation. I very much like creating behind the scenes and then letting my products be in the spotlight instead of me. Read more>>
Zhen Liu
As a motion designer and 2D animator, staying inspired is crucial. I constantly immerse myself in art exhibitions, films, and nature walks, inspiration can strike from anywhere. I also maintain a digital mood board that I update regularly with visuals that resonate with me. This helps me tap into different aesthetics and keeps my ideas fresh. Also, collaborating with other creatives is another big one, I can always get a lot of inspiration and experimental spirit from my colleagues, which helps me open up many new creative avenues. Read more>>
Kristen LaRose-Gaasrud
Keeping my creativity alive is deeply rooted in my practices of painting, poetry, photography, and music. These creative outlets are essential to how I feel like myself and maintain a sense of inner balance and inspiration. Painting allows me to express my creativity visually. The act of mixing colors, experimenting with textures, and creating compositions provides a hands-on way to explore new ideas and emotions. It’s a meditative process that helps me connect with my inner self. Poetry helps me delve into the emotional and narrative aspects of my thoughts and experiences. Writing poems allows me to play with language, rhythm, and metaphors, capturing feelings or moments in words. It’s a way for me to process my emotions and articulate the nuances of my inner world. Photography is another essential practice. Through the lens, I capture moments, moods, and perspectives that resonate with me. Photography teaches me to see the world differently, noticing details and framing scenes in ways that are both impactful and aesthetically pleasing. It allows me to document and appreciate the beauty in everyday life. Music is also a significant part of my creative process, especially when I am alone. I enjoy listening to artists like The Lumineers, Noah Kahan, Gracie Abrams, Norah Jones, some Taylor Swift, and Zach Bryan. My music helps me to reflect and find inspiration. Read more>>
Marta & Silvia Nobili Marques Arquitectura
Creativity is essential in architecture design. Design is all around us; we get inspiration from the work of other architect, designers, artists and creators, from fashion design and landscapers to the work of chefs, looking at magazines, travelling, meeting people and having new experiences. We are also energzed by the challenges clients bring with each project. Read more>>
In Solid Air
We’ve been very good friends for years and play together frequently. We all share a love of music and desire to share that with people. Because of our long history, we have lots of inside jokes and enjoy goofing around before practices. This positive energy opens up the environment to new ideas. We often come up with a riff or song idea, and will expand on these via long jams. From the jams, unexpected ideas will often arise. Read more>>
Abby Feder
I often get inspired for my web design projects by viewing different mediums of storytelling and creativity. That can be books, museums, television shows, movies, or concerts. Seeing how artists across disciplines represent or communicate things in different forms – really gets at the core of how we as individuals see the world. How does one capture the essence of something in a different medium? For example, every year the De Young Museum in San Francisco puts on an exhibit called “Bouquets to Art” where florists pick a piece of art from the museum’s collection and create a floral arrangement inspired by that piece. I love this show! It’s fascinating to me to see how differently each floral artist approaches it. Some clearly focus on the colors, some on recreating shapes, and some on making a similar layout. They use different types of flowers and textures to evoke the same emotions or styles in the artwork like expansiveness, seriousness, or whimsy. Similarly, when I create a website for an author, I have to figure out how to express the feel of their books visually — to take the worlds that they’ve built and invite visitors in with my design. Read more>>
Evadne Bryan Perkins
Creativity keeps me alive, so I have to find ways to nurture it. I keep my eyes, ears, touch and taste open to creative inspiration. Curiosity feeds my creativity. Most of the time I have shared my creativity with the world. I’ve learned over the years, that being creative without an audience is just as important for learning new skills, developing critical thinking and feeling deeply. There were three times in my life (so far), that I was unable to share my creativity with a live audience. During those times I learned that creativity isn’t only about output, but about feeding the brain. Some of the ways I feed my brain are with books, solo travel, daydreaming and stream of consciousness writing. Read more>>
Christie E. Hayman
To keep the creative juices flowing, I do several different things. I read things that pique my interest. I watch different tv shows and movies for inspiration or storylines/plots/characters that stand out. Sometimes I wander through craft stores and let my thoughts drift to the possibilities of projects I might enjoy. I’ll sit outside and take in the beauty of my surroundings: the stately trees with the their leaves dancing in the breeze, wildlife foraging for a snack, bees collecting pollen on brightly colored flower petals, or birds in flight. Other times I just let my mind wander and often I find myself getting story ideas or toying with the possibility of one. Sometimes I just need to walk away from a project for a while and work on something else so that when I am interested in picking it up again, I bring fresh ideas and fresh eyes to it. One example would be that I didn’t have enough story components in my mind to start writing another feature, so I set it aside and decided to focus on something else I’ve had in my mind to do, and that was to adapt one of my already written features into a novel. That is what I have been working on most recently and, in fact, just completed. Read more>>
Brittany Devon
Being human, we are creative beings. My creativity is what has kept me alive in many ways. I spent over half of my life as an actor trying to be what other people wanted me to be, say the words they wanted me to say. Founding my own production company allowed me the creative liberty to become the person I wanted to be on screen. It has helped me reclaim my voice. I have many outlets I use my creativity in: stand up comedy, modeling, content creation, developing tv shows and short films, my podcast, Adult Orphan, and then writing my memoir. My whole life has become a testament to the choice I have as a creative soul and entrepreneurial spirit. A main way I keep this alive is making sure I connect to my essence and life force within. I do this through body movement, daily meditation, journaling, and prioritizing my non-negotiables every week which include therapy and body work. Read more>>
Jeremy Castle
I feel like songwriting is an art. It starts with an idea and you have to build around that idea. You have to come up with a hook first. You need to start with something catchy the grabs the listener right off the bat and hopefully keeps their attention once it does. Read more>>
