With the rapid improvements in AI, it’s more important than ever to keep your creativity alive as it’s one of the best defenses against the rising trend of automation. Even if you don’t buy into all the hype around AI, keeping your creativity alive has always been a challenge and as so we’ve connected with some of the most creative folks in our community to discuss tactics and strategies for keeping your creativity alive.
Fruityslive
Keeping creativity alive for me is easy. I always want to do bigger things and create new projects to meet new people. One of my big creative outputs is my dating show on twitch called “love on the line”, it put me back into A-lot of thinking outside the box and what could we (my amazing team) do to make it more interesting to keep chat on the edge. As well through that I am so lucky I get to work with so many awesome creators who come on and tell us ideas to possibly implement which is always inspiring and cool to see what they think we can do! Read more>>
Allison Neiss
I keep my creativity alive by constantly seeking out sources of inspiration, whether it’s from other potters, galleries, or everyday experiences. For example, while on a cruise ship, I once saw a stunning piece of artwork that sparked an idea for a new design. Similarly, during a stay at a hotel, I came across a canvas that incorporated pottery in such a unique way that it completely shifted my perspective. These moments remind me to stay curious and open to new ideas, no matter where I am. I love taking what I see and reimagining it through my own work, giving it a personal twist. It’s this ongoing process of discovery and adaptation that keeps my creativity fresh and exciting. Read more>>
English Foxxx
The love I have for creating keeps it alive. There have been plenty of times I wanted to give up or just quit all together. It’s been a tough road for sure but normally when that happens I’ll end up meeting someone who is also a creative and they will inspire me or I will end up conversing with myself about the many reasons I shouldn’t quit.. I feel like my ideas are too amazing to do such a thing. Read more>>
Robert Langevin
What draws me to photography is the ability to create art with each image, whether it’s a headshot that captures someone’s confidence or a real estate photo that transforms a space into a story. Seeing my clients’ excitement when they view their photos motivates me to keep innovating and elevating my craft. It’s the fusion of art, passion, and purpose that keeps the creative spark alive. Read more>>
Joni Pass
Creativity thrives on perspective. When I feel stuck, I step away from the project at hand and take a moment to observe the world around me. Sometimes, a new container catches my eye, sparking inspiration for a floral arrangement that didn’t occur to me before. I’ve found that working on something different helps me return to the original project with fresh ideas and renewed enthusiasm. It’s not unusual for me to strip everything out of an arrangement and start over, treating the process as a blank canvas. Trial and error play a huge role in my creative journey, and collaboration with my husband adds another layer of inspiration. We bounce ideas off of each other. Sometimes we agree, and sometimes we see things differently, but that exchange often leads to something truly unique. Read more>>
Justin C. Schilling
Keeping creativity alive is crucial in the acting industry! One thing I love to do is go to a coffee shop in NYC and just sit and observe people. Whoever catches my eye, I begin to sleuth out who they are. What is their “core” or in other words: what drives them every day? How are they feeling based on their mannerisms and expression? What’s their social class based on how they carry themselves and dress? How is their posture when they move or sit? Do they walk chest puffed or slunk around? All of this is a wonderful exercise to keep your creativity sharp for building characters. Read more>>
Nicole Franco
I like to keep my creativity alive through a variety of ways. I find that movement, time in nature and time spent with my children all help to keep me inspired. Read more>>
Stayc Moore
If you were to look back at the body of my writing over several decades and multiple bands, you would notice I have some motifs. I draw heavily from my own personal struggles, fears, insecurities, anger, etc. But when that well is dry, I draw from works of fiction, movies, stories (including life stories of people close to me), and other things that stick with me. A couple of motifs that have popped out for me are “ghosts” and “poison”. I don’t consciously land on these themes, but when they come up I do not shy away from them. I think it adds a kind of richness for the listener. Personally, it adds importance to acknowledge the common threads and reflect on why they keep coming up. I guess the short answer to this would be: I keep my creativity alive by focusing on my own introspections, as well as leaning on my awareness of other inspiring artists and the plights of those close to me. Read more>>
Amber Lopez
The seeds of my creativity were planted when I was 14, standing at a flea market where my mom bought me a journal. At the time, I was searching for ways to channel my emotions, not knowing this simple notebook would become my sanctuary. As I began filling those pages, writing transformed into my artistic therapy – its a practice that continues to sustain my emotions today. My love for reading naturally fed into this journey, inspiring me to create my own narratives through words.
After more than a decade of cultivating this craft through journaling, I’ve learned that creativity flows best when I honor my emotional truth. In my journals, I never censor myself – each entry captures the raw essence of my feelings. I’ve discovered that authentic creativity can’t be forced. Instead, I write when inspiration calls, when curiosity stirs; when I notice those subtle patterns and connections in daily life that demand to be explored. These observations weave themselves into my work naturally. Read more>>
Mica Blackwell
I’ve always been an experimental person, so a huge part of keeping my creativity alive is testing and trying different things. That way if it doesn’t work or I don’t get the results I was looking for, I can then move on and try something else.
The starting point is brainstorming ideas on a Google doc (because I’m terrible at saving as I go along) and saving them into different categories I.e. TikTok videos, instagram posts, blog posts. That helps me start the building blocks in place while encourages me to branch out of my comfort zone creatively. Read more>>
Fisch
I feel like I’m one of those artists that can hyper fixate and create things one after the other, but I’ll suddenly have a long winded spell of art block where I don’t make anything for months. However, this last year (2024) I’ve really been able to keep my creativity alive after finding the right community. Read more>>
Emily Soller
I have been creative my entire life; it’s just always been a part of my story. It is the spark that keeps me feeling alive in a lot of ways. I find that I tap into my creativity later in the day, sometimes even late into the evening. It is typically after I have tended to my family and completed certain day-to-day tasks. I can then take my mind on a different path, so to speak, a creative one. I have always been cognizant of the fact that if I want to keep my creativity thriving, I must be the one to nurture and prioritize it. Family is #1, but my creative life is very important to me as well. Many creatives will tell you that this path is typically not an easy or straightforward one, it can be very challenging at times but is always incredibly rewarding in the end. Creativity has and always will be a part of who I am, and I am grateful for it! Read more>>
Dana Hanley
Photography is a creative endeavor. Like any job, however it can get stagnant and repetitive. January and February typically are slower months for family photographers and I love to use that time to keep my creativity alive and evolving. As a photographer, I search pinterest, and photographer instagram accounts that showcase all types of photographers work in my genre and I get inspired to create my own styled shoots. A styled shoot is where I choose a model family, or a maternity model and pick a concept that I would love to try with them. Read more>>
Catherine Trotter
I keep my creativity alive by constantly pushing myself to try new things. When I challenge myself I step out of my comfort zone and discover new ideas. This process helps me think differently and inspires me to create more. Each new experience adds to my skills and encourages me to explore various paths in my work. By embracing challenges I keep my mind engaged and ready for new opportunities. Read more>>
Taylor Pachuca-abeyta
I keep it alive by having fun. It’s not something I’m naturally good at, but my husband Bruno is the best at it. He makes space for time to just enjoy our family, whether that’s an outing or just a night of playing music together at home. The flow of creativity I think stems from living your every day, ordinary life and choosing to find beauty in it. The awe struck, in-your-face inspiring moments are few and far between, but you can choose inspiration from the mundane and I think that’s what it’s about. Read more>>
Miles Naasir Reuben
I keep my creativity alive by living life. By moving through life openly, optimistically, and authentically. That may not be everyone’s process, but it’s mine. If I have difficulty being creative, I take breaks and sit back. I have to go into my environment and my community and live in it for a while. Then, when the urge hits me, I come back. I get inspiration from my experiences and observations. Read more>>
Aj Brown
I keep my creativity alive by staying curious and open to new experiences. I draw inspiration from the world around me—whether it’s through reading, running, watching great TV shows, or diving into conversations that challenge my perspectives. My content creation as a social media influencer pushes me to think outside the box, but I also make it a point to consume content from others, not to compare, but to learn and spark new ideas. Read more>>
Sergey Yusin
I keep creativity alive by constantly seeking inspiration from different sources—art, fashion, nature, and even everyday life. I explore new techniques, experiment with lighting, and collaborate with other creatives like artists and athlets to bring fresh ideas to each shoot. Traveling and visiting art galleries also fuel my imagination, while staying active on social media helps me spot trends and reinterpret them in my own unique style. Most importantly, I’m always learning— trying out new gear, or simply stepping outside my comfort zone to keep my work evolving. Read more>>
Andrew Gomez
I feel the craft that im in, its easy to stay creative. Although theres 2 sides to this business. You can either do the same stuff over and over or you can continue to make new designs. I get inspiration from alot of different places, sometimes its just going into bag stores and browsing or sometimes just scrolling thru instagram. Staying creative isnt the issue tho, i feel like its a little difficult to control all my ideas. Read more>>
Blake Krapels
Creativity breathes through every part of life. The way to access that is to simply listen, observe and reflect on things we experience on a daily basis. I love watching people, listening to different perspectives and constantly putting myself in situations to learn and grow. The world has endless resources of inspiration if we allow ourselves to pause and take in ALL that is around us. Read more>>
James “jim” Salvati
I feel that I can tackle two questions with this one answer, the other question is “How do you develop your ability to take risks”. Creativity and risk for me are the same thing and come together as one. You have to avoid being complacent and take risks to develop more ways to create. I love playing in different art markets.
How do you keep your creativity alive?
When I graduated from Art Center College of Design, I knew I needed to take a different path than other artists. That path was not to live a long career with one voice or style. Read more>>
Eddia Watts
I keep my creativity alive by allowing myself to visualize and draw inspiration from almost anything. From moments of pure joy to the depths of heartbreak, I’ve always found a way to channel my emotions into projects that excite me. This ability has been with me since I was a young girl. Back then, I was captivated by everything—writing books, painting, even experimenting with photography. My curiosity for creative outlets felt boundless, and that same energy fuels me today. Read more>>
Aaron Pointer
Education is big because if you can learn to read and write, then you can learn to think deeper and translate your own thoughts and creativity. If you can learn to memorize then you can perform what you wrote and become more of an all around artist. I am grateful for my Mom and family always teaching and stressing education with reinforced Sunday School even, so I was getting extra juice that I didn’t realize until later. I have kept my creativity alive by not overly absorbing content that would dull it and discourage or influence it in a negative way. Read more>>
Gerard Calderone
Creativity can be found in many shapes and forms across the widest range of interests. In all aspects of my life, I have strived to be creative and to exercise the part of my brain that can develop a solution to a design problem at work or come up with a unique segment of a new song.
When I think of how I keep my creativity alive, I first think high-level — how I am setting myself up for success. This means deliberately scheduling time to sit down and explore the areas I feel I can be, and want to be, creative in. We’ll use the drums as an example. The holidays are always busy, but in general, I try to carve out at least two sessions a week that I can spend substantial time behind my drum kit, which range anywhere from an hour to the entire day. Read more>>
Maya Haines
I am constantly inspired. I’ve been a dancer my whole life, so making art with the body is second nature for me. Dance has also given me a deep, visceral relationship with music. I’m inspired by movement, films, beautiful landscapes, architecture, feelings, and especially by connection and love. I also have a lot of different interests and skills, and they all feed into what I notice, my perspective, and how I tell a story. For example, I know American Sign Language. I recently noticed a thread in my work across all different projects and was struck by how many of my favorite photos involve the subjects’ hands in some way. Read more>>
