I am always surprised when people tell me they are “not creative at all.” I noticed this especially when talking to people at my solo show events; someone would ask me about the process of making my art, listen with interest, then respond in an almost sheepish manner, “I don’t have a creative bone in my body.”

I’m here to tell you, that’s just not true.

When people announce to me that they’re not creative, I think what they’re really saying is, “I don’t have the drawing or art making skills to make fine art like you did.” And that’s okay. Creativity is more than just making marks on paper or shaping clay into a sculpture. The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines being creative as “having or showing an ability to make new things or think of new ideas.”

And don’t we all do that on an everyday basis? From figuring out a smart new way to streamline an old work routine to spontaneously making up a fun game that calms a child’s temper tantrum, we’re all flexing our brains everyday to dream up new workarounds to everyday dilemmas.

So the next time you think of yourself as “not creative,” I challenge you to recall a recent time when you had a problem and found a solution that was unusual, innovative, or just a little crazy. I bet you can think of at least one example from the past week, if not more.

For those who want to learn a little more about everyday creativity, here are some good articles exploring the topic:

Five Creative Myths You Probably Believe
“These misconceptions cloak creativity in mystique and they foster elitism—the idea that the potential for innovation and imagination is a rare gift enjoyed by only a select few ‘creative types.'”

You’re Got to Have the “Can Try” Attitude
“What sets these people apart from everyone else is not their innate abilities, or necessarily their intelligence. What matters is that they approach their creative endeavours with the menality of ‘what if I tried this…” as opposed to “I could never do that.’”

Unlock Your Inner Creative Genius in 5 Simple Steps
“Creativity isn’t limited to left-leaning designers, artists, and architects alone. Ideas and inspiration can (and should) come from everyone, regardless of their background.”

The post Think You’re Not Creative? Think Again! appeared first on Amy Ventura.

My brilliant writer friend, Heather Mackey, published her first book, Dreamwood, last year. In addition to having one of the most beautiful covers I’ve ever seen (check it out below!), Dreamwood is smart, powerful and gorgeously written. Don’t be fooled by the “Young Adult” classification; this is a sophisticated story that will captivate adults as well as older kids. Heather has created a strange, spooky and magical world inhabited by strong characters winding their way through a unique and fascinating plot. I’m thrilled that she is already under contract for another book. Congratulations, Heather!

This interview is the second in my series, How Creativity Works.

What motivates you to sit down and begin work each day? Do you have a ritual/process to ease into creative work?

I’m really motivated to get to work (well, my creative work, that is), and partly that’s because I have a day job. I’m not going to say it sucks, rather … it provides a useful contrast that makes me eager to escape into my imagination.

By now, I’ve got a world-class “easing-in” process. I have a great chair that makes me feel like a starfleet captain. I eat a square (or more) of dark chocolate and knowing that I get to eat chocolate makes me pretty gung-ho. I have a few particular tracks of music I listen to. They’re very specific. When I find a new piece of music I can work to I get pretty excited. I just discovered “Open” by The Necks. It’s 68 minutes long. Thank you, The Necks!

But even with all my tricks, I can be a terrible procrastinator. And now that my book is out, I feel like I should be building my presence on social media. Really, the social/networking side of my brain and the creative side do not mix. I find the key thing is making a plan for my time and being really intentional.

Do you work steadily, day after day or does your creative work happen in bursts and pauses?

For me writing a novel feels like trying to levitate bricks with my mind. I’ve got to keep focused or they all fall down. It’s definitely easier for me to work steadily, even if I have crappy days, because then I get the benefit of momentum. And eventually I’ll reach a delicious state where I’m just so deep inside the book the real world seems less real in comparison.

That said, I have had the experience of pushing too hard, staying up too late when I’m clearly dry but I’m just masochistically soldiering on. Breaks are good. I used to be afraid of them because I thought they meant I was lazy. Now I realize breaks are just times when subconscious work happens.

(Dreamwood by Heather Mackey)

What do you do when you are stuck?

I’ll usually try to go for a walk or take a run. Doing something physical helps so much (though strangely housework never seems to do the trick). If I’m really stuck I try to visualize myself finding the answer—usually right before I go to sleep. I just wrote a blog post about imagining and naming a part of my subconscious who I can boss around and tell, “hey I’m stuck, go find me what I need.” The added benefit of this is that now it’s her problem!

My goofiest remedy is telling myself that in an alternate universe I’ve already figured it out, so I don’t need to worry. Amazingly this has helped.

I guess what all these tactics have in common is that they try to release or deflect the stress of being stuck. Being stuck is like having insomnia. Whatever you do don’t look at the clock and freak out about how late it is.

Do you consider your work, the process of creating, to be “fun”? Should it be?

I think Dorothy Parker said, “I hate writing, I love having written.” Sometimes, though, you just feel ecstatic. But no matter the ups and downs it is still fun on some level. Even when I’m really struggling I still love my story. Unrelenting misery would be a sign to get out.

What is the most satisfying point in your process of creativity for you?

The most exciting moment is when I have something I think can be a story and I’ve written some random pieces—a moment, a scene, some dialogue—that I feel point their way to something interesting. Then the hard work begins.

I recently read the novel Euphoria by Lily King—a totally amazing book. The central character is modeled on anthropologist Margaret Mead, and there’s a point when the character describes the favorite part of her work as that brief moment of euphoria, about two months in, when “everything feels reachable, comprehensible, before the full scope of the work ahead sets in.” (I’m actually quoting from an interview with Lily King). I think that’s a great way of describing it.

Check out more of Heather’s writing and keep up with news of her next book at heathermackey.com.

The post How Creativity Works: ‘Dreamwood’ Author Heather Mackey On Fighting Procrastination And Staying Motivated appeared first on Amy Ventura.

Feeling uninspired? Have you lost your work momentum? No fears…it happens to everyone! Here are my best strategies for jumping back into the flow and reconnecting with work after an absence.

Leave Off In A Good Spot

My favorite strategy for painless re-entry after an absence is to deliberately leave myself an easy place to start up again. If you can stop work in the middle of a task, it’s much easier to pick right up and find your groove when you return. Having a piece of artwork that I’ve already begun means I can grab my tools and just jump in exactly where I left off during my next work session.

Ease In

I have a lot of complicated, involved pieces of art I need to start for my solo show, but to jump into them immediately would be a recipe for disaster for me. Talk about overwhelming! If I haven’t managed to leave off in a good spot, per the tip above, I find it best to ease in with simple projects that can quickly get done. For me, those might be a series of blog posts, quick sketchbook drawings or even a small chore like adding framing hardware to the backs of completed works.

Have A Plan

I often have a gigantic jumble of thoughts banging around my head, and if I don’t get them down into some sort of to-do list or plan, I’ll go crazy. When I’m away from my studio, I find it helpful to keep a running list of upcoming projects broken down into small steps. If I feel overwhelmed when I return to work, I need only consult my to-do list to find a tiny task I can jump on and start.

Keep A List Of Small, Quick Projects

Sometimes, I cannot make it to my work studio – sick daughter, flat tire and other life mishaps can get in the way. Keeping a list of small, easily-accomplished projects that can be done quickly during this time (such as filing paperwork, revising shop listings, or updating my mailing list) can help keep my work momentum going. I have to admit, I need to take my own advice on this one – I had a million of these tasks running around my head during my daughter’s school vacation this summer, and I wasn’t quite organized enough to jump on any of them. Next time, however, I’ll be ready. I am now keeping a list of “small tasks” with work projects that I can do in two hours or less for next time I find myself in a similar situation.

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Curious to see what 1,000 degrees of heat can do to a piece of wood? Check out my artwork gallery!

And if you’d like more excellent strategies to encourage your everyday creativity and productivity or just want a sneak peek into my art making process, sign up for my newsletter. Made with love and always 100% spam-free!

(A sneak peek into my tiny studio right now! The work for my show is piling up….)

The post Get Your Work Mojo Back! How To Return to a Project After an Absence appeared first on Amy Ventura.

I have this tendency when I’m walking down a crowded street in Chicago, overloaded by the cacophony of angry car horns and screeching el train brakes, to mentally escape. While I wish I were more “be in the moment and meditate to the noise,” the reality is that I more often tend toward “zone out and retreat to somewhere else in my mind.” Usually, somewhere filled with a weird, fantastical nature scene that is just far enough away from reality to cushion my brain from the craziness around me.

I love dreamscape imagery for that reason. And I especially love images of landscapes that almost look real, but aren’t. Images that reference nature, but morph it into a strange and dreamy version of itself.

Have you seen the 1973 French cartoon, La Planète Sauvage (Fantastic Planet)? It has long been my favorite for doing just that—twisting the patterns and colors of nature we know into a strange and mysterious backdrop to create an alien planet.

I watched that movie several times before I started working on my show for Firecat, thinking about how I’d like to create just such a dreamy atmosphere for the world I’m building in my artwork. A sense that what the viewer is seeing is something she’s almost seen before. Almost.

I’ve been working on the piece above all week for my show; it’s one of the larger works I’ve done, at 18″ sq. I love that it looks like seed pods…almost. Leaves…almost. Rocks and pebbles and cracks in stone…almost. Something I’ve seen before on a walk in the woods or along the ocean.

Almost.

The post Dreamscapes, Imagination And Weird Alien Planets appeared first on Amy Ventura.

Do you have a creative block? Are you stuck on a project and can’t seem to move forward? Give my flowchart a try to see if you can move yourself along.

The post Creative Block? Unstick Yourself With Six Easy Questions appeared first on Amy Ventura.

“Inspiration is for amateurs.”  – Chuck Close

Several years ago, I started reading interviews with working, professional artists. A common theme stood out among most of their narratives: these weren’t people who woke up in a halo of inspiration shining down from the heavens each morning to guide them effortlessly into creating masterpieces. These were people who pushed through self-doubts, struggles and dry spells and DID THE WORK. That amazed me. Naïve it may be, but I had no idea until reading those interviews that an unwavering, daily commitment to producing artwork, regardless of mood, inspiration or external factors was the number one factor in whether or not an artist “made it.”

This concept—that showing up and working hard mattered at least as much as talent—transformed my thinking about how creative work gets done. Here are four things I took away from those interviews:

Your most important audience is yourself: Do the work because you love it and don’t worry about what other people think.

I used to feel so paralyzed worrying about how people would perceive my artwork (and by extension, me!) that I was editing myself even as I was creating, and I couldn’t get anything done. There is a place for criticism of your work and honest feedback, but the beginning of the creative process (the getting-down-to-work part) is not it.

A few years ago, I read a book called The Van Gogh Blues, which helped me realize that my constant internal barrage of doubts about my talent, skepticism about my ability to earn income from art, and fear of peoples’ opinions is irrelevant—if I don’t create art, I don’t feel alive, calm, whole. Whatever comes of it, I need to do it; it gives me a connection to something bigger than myself and my life and keeps my mental well-being intact. I hope that some people will like it and buy it, but even if they do not, I am compelled to keep making it.

Creative work is a long game.

I’ve realized that making a living as an artist requires the long, regular pacing of a marathon. I show up most days, even when I am tired, bored, uninspired or filled with self-doubts. I push through those feelings with regular work until I hit upon something that excites me and propels me toward my next piece.

Even if you’re not a professional creative, know that creative work of any kind (whether it’s a hobby or side business) is a long-term process. Some days will be good and some will be bad. You’ll feel inspired to knit some nights after work, and other nights you’ll just be too tired to pick up the needles. That’s okay. Take the long view and know that regular, small creative efforts all add up over time.

Just because something isn’t comfortable doesn’t mean it’s not right.

I almost threw up when I sent out an email telling people that I was showing my work publicly for the first time; I was actually shaking when I hit “send.” But I did it, because a very wise advisor had drilled it into my head over and over that change doesn’t always feel comfortable. Even good change can feel bad at first.

It may feel weird and uncomfortable to pursue an idea when your brain is criticizing you non-stop. And like me, you may feel very, very exposed if you decide to put your work out into the world for people to see. Those feelings don’t mean that you should stop; they just mean that you’re shaking things up and trying something new. Ignore the discomfort and push through. I speak from experience when I tell you that it will get easier.

Most importantly, realize that you have something to offer.

Whether you’re canning a new recipe of jam, sewing gifts for the holidays, or doing simple potato prints with your kids, know that your efforts, however small, are adding something good into the world. There is beauty in everyday creation and it is what gives our lives meaning.

Everyone may not like my artwork, but some people do and they have told me they find it moving and beautiful. There is value in what I do, and there is value in what you do too.

The post Four Ways in Which Showing Up Is More Important Than Having Talent appeared first on Amy Ventura.