How-Tuesday: Get (and Keep) Your Creativity Flowing

I really really needed this. Thanks!

hmmm...im really deciding what to commit to doing creatively this year (even tho im 3 days late! haha) but playing with my food could be a good one! and ofcourse, putitng these points into practice. precisioness is my #1 enemy for creativity-blocking, and im ready to kick it's butt! ♥

I would like to try this with my kids! An interesting and fun art project.

I had an advertising copywriting teacher once who recommended "shaking up your life" at least once a week. Just doing something differently, like brushing your teeth with a different hand or switching sides of the bed, will give your brain and your creativity a little jolt.

Do all that you can to put 'create something beautiful' on your TODO list.

This really takes creative cookery to the next level!

Haha, I arranged the left overs from my meal in a restaurant into a bemused face just a few days ago. I did it with the intention of making the waitress smile, and I'm glad to see that it wasn't such a silly idea!

Great advice! Whether we're feeling stuck in a rut or not, it's always a good idea to alter or expand the way we look at and interpret the world around us. It can only do us good - and as Noah has shown us, it can be a lot of fun, too!

Getting out of my comfort zone always works for me, and I learn so much by doing that. Learning is always inspiring too. Thanks for the great advice and inspiring story.

This made me smile, Thanks!

Such great creative nutrition! There's a great article in today's Guardian.co.uk suggestions for keeping the creative juices pumping.http://www.guardian.co.uk/culture/2012/jan/02/top-artists-creative-inspiration

The idea of working toward perfection just out of the gate is something that many people struggle with. In college, I had a professor who told me when typing term papers to simply write anything related to the subject even if it didn't make total sense because it was easier to 'edit crap into something that is sensible and logical rather than trying to achieve brilliance as I type.' That was great advice as technically, there is no such thing as 'wrong' when you are working on a first draft of anything. The same principle applies when working to get out of a creative dead zone. Just keep at it and don't worry!

That sounds like a really interesting book. Good advice! ~Krista

Ahhhh, I needed this. Many thanks!

This is exactly what I needed to see today.. thanks for your insight and your push. The bit about perfection really hit a chord with me. Thank you. Thank you.

Love these suggestions! Just what I needed today! Thanks! ^_^

thanks Noah ..you always have great "food for thought" :)

Love this!!! Thanks for sharing =)

Fun ideas--I like any excuse to play with my food. (Just a note for language purists: bemused means confused or puzzled; it's not a synonym for amused.)

Freedom Comes From Limitations: I say scarcity feeds your creativity (it does mine). Nevertheless I love abundance and having lots of options.

I had an architecture teacher who use to photograph his food, thinking it showed the meaning of a place very well. His photos would have been much more fun had they been smiling at us. I love the idea! I may start doing it just for fun.

Great! Thanks for sharing!

I eat this stuff up, Noah. Great post -- thanks!

#5 -- "Get things by giving them away" -- is so spot-on. When I was first toying with the idea of starting my own business, I looked for help. And it was hard to find. Lots of people viewed me as a potential rival. Luckily, through a metalsmithing class, I found a great group of women who meet once a month to do nothing BUT share -- techniques, what they're working on, etc. I've really grown because of this group, plus made a number of friends. There's no rivalry, only support and empowerment. Sharing what I do has only opened doors for me.

love your energy...thanks for sharing!

Very inspiring article for the new year!

Great post! I've definitely been feeling rather "stuck" for the last week or so!

Good article with some really practical advice! Here are my ways to inspire creativity again: 1. Talk a walk outdoors and look at the colors, sights, sounds of nature. 2. Take off the shelf some artsy books/magazines you have purchased in the past and look at what inspired you to buy them for ideas. 3. Go to your nearest beautiful/inspiring shop - preferably brick and mortar with second choice being an online shop - and look at some inspiring eye candy. 4. Have a relaxing bath with a good dose of Lavender so your mind can drift to another place. 5. Take a vacation if you can or just go visit a friend and look at their collection of artsy books/magazines, etc. 6. Take a run to Barnes and Noble and peruse the books and magazines that you love to look through. 7. If close enough, take a trip to NYC and do Soho, Boho, etc., as I can pretty much attest to some serious inspiration after my trips!

Cool! Great article!

Great ideas! I love your 'skull a day' concept and I'm trying to think of something similar that I can keep a diary of. I also run a design/consulting business along side my etsy shop and so I try to bounce them off each other to keep my creativity up. When I get 'the block' I go out for a walk in the beautiful surrounding countryside or do something completely different - sometimes ideas come from the least expected activities!

:D Great post!

love the meal emotions idea! right up my alley... cheers!

Great advice! :)

Great motivation...thanks for getting us in gear for 2012!

Excellent piece, thanks for sharing :)

this time of the year is the worst, the weather is so grim in the UK at the moment...roll on Spring is all I can say, my creativity always picks up then!

Love it! haha

I'm feeling a little stuck right now as what to create next but I'm learning to just let it happen don't think so hard about it just start to create and see what happens and it usually turns out better than I could have ever expected! This article came at the right time. Thank you!

Refreshing advice for getting started in the new year, thanks Noah!

SWEET!!! As a former professional chef, I'm always one to play with my leftovers.. I'm in complete love with the idea of carrying around a little satchel of words to challenge myself and my surrounding peeps with. Also, such a perfect post to begin the year with.. inspiration comes from all sorts of places.. it's just that sometimes you have to go out and look under rocks.

Exactly what I needed to read today~ Thank you.

Thanks for sharing - I try to get out to galleries as much as possible - always is up-lifting to be around real art x

It seems like the ideas were pouring out of somewhere a month ago. I guess they are all out and I am stuck as well. Went to a bookstore, looked through many random books and magazines,watched people doing the same and my brain started spinning. Slowly, but it spanned. Thanks for your great ideas!

Great ideas! Thanks so much for the timely information!

Great tips that I'm definitely going to think about and try to do! So many resolutions to stick to!

ooooh, I too needed this! Thank you :)

Brilliant piece - fun, inspiring - one of the best blog posts in a while!

this is adorable, practical and doable. thanks for sharing such fun.

Great - needed this and going to Tweeyt it : )

It's disappointing how many articles on Etsy these days are blatent plugs for someone's book or blog. So my question is this: if I write a book, how much will it cost me to get it advertised to such a targetted audience?

Very cute, it makes me want to go there.

Haha funny

I too, really need this. I have hit a creative block, just like a writer, and can't do a thing. Thanks for the post :)

Each of your six points was a lightbulb moment for me. Thank you for sharing and congrats on your new book!

Thanks for the tips!

Great tips, I often find experiencing other cultures inspiring - it helps to change your perspective of how to view the world in a short space of time. Great tips.

Lovely ideas. For me, switching crafts helps sometimes. Also, sometimes I just place the material I want to work with on the table for a day. Every time I walk past it, the idea of what I want to do with it will grow a little more, until I'm sure what I want to do with it.

great tips. thanks for the tips! sharing ideas always flees me from something i glued with and move my mind to another as to view things from different perspective.

Great ideas, thank you :)

These are all wonderful tips. Allowing myself to have some 'stuff-ups' and narrowing down options {even if just temporarily - capture those notions that flit in and out but remind myself I don't have to try them all Now!} are especially meaningful to me. Thanks so much, Noah.

Thank you for these great 6 tips. I want to add one you alluded to by your skull-a-day journey. Forgive me if i'm being somehow redundant, but i think the tip is to find something to devote to and stay put because there are worlds inside of worlds. I think the very best artists work from an at least partial awareness of how crucial it is to circle round and round and round the tiniest thing....or not....like a child, the sky, some image that dogs them etc. I think the greatest artists are ultra humble!!!....they stay close to the desperation of remaining connected to the essences that drive them....i think the best artists are not afraid of ANYTHING so much as losing a focus derived from an almost constant commitment to whatever they're intimately SEEING...

"Let go of preciousness", a valuable piece of advice for many of us. I think it's especially important to allow ourselves the time to "play" at our craft. It's something I need to be reminded of anyway... Thanks for this good and fun advice.

When I was stuck in an artist rut with my painting, I was discussing my motivation problems with another artist who suggested taking a simple 2D object with minimal color and painting that. So I taped a (not quite 2D but simple) black and white pen to the wall and went to work. It worked! And to put a cherry on top of my new motivational sundae, this piece was the first to sell on my Etsy shop! This goes along with "Let go of preciousness".

This really made me smile. :) Great idea!

Thank you for the great article!

Wonderful article. Thank you, for sharing . I've been stuck in a rut with my designing since Christmas. And I thought I was the only one this happened to until I read this article.

I found your blog a couple weeks before the new year and was completely inspired to start my own 365 project. A Necklace a Day is up and running on the blog : )

Thank you! Ruts are no fun but there is a light at the end of the tunnel

Good advises! And very professional! Happy New Muse!

Great tips - thank you! Just what I needed on this rainy, sneezy day in Manchester!

Super Awesome! Thanks, I will love to try this out! always love some food "art" I can't help but be inspired when I scroll through all the gorgeous & creative items on Etsy!

Love this! thank you for sharing! :)

To bad we couldn't spread this further than just to artists. I think this would benefit people in difficult situations or people that have been out of work for a while or people that are just in a plain old rut. Just doing something (actual movement) will get people going the the creative juices flowing. It not only puts their body in movement but their brain has to think also. Wonderful article. I wonder if this would be a benefit to our government. OhOh., thinking out loud again.

I'm so excited about the new year. My head is buzzing with ideas, but I am really jazzed about some collaborations I am working on. It is truly a way to get the creative juices flowing again!

Awesome... thanks for the tips. I often get stuck being very perfectionistic which turns into frustration very quickly (and that just makes it worse). I’ll definitely take your advice on getting out and not worrying to much about getting everything obsessively perfect.

Great stuff. Thanks!

Great advice...I need to jump in with both feet & squash the perfectionist in me. Excited about the new year.

Thanks a ton! Great article. It's always good to get a reminder that sharing is productive. I love giving things away and sharing ideas but sometimes it's easy to feel like it might make all your efforts less worth the money to people because they know you love to give. And when everyone needs to make the bucks to survive it can have one second guessing on sharing. Very positive:)

Such great advice, especially for perfectionists! If we don't learn how to wrangle ourselves, we're doomed.

Always great -- thanks Noah!

Awesome! I'm struggling from the opposite problem, too much inspiration but too little time and focus! Working on that this year! But, I know I will get stuck and I'll remember back to this. Also, the food faces is a great way to entertain and inspire little people, I might try this next time we're in restaurant meltdown mode!

Thanks for sharing all your wonderful tips. Each one struck a chord. I love the idea of the emotions illustrated with leftovers- I just need to work on my obsession with clearing my plate! My figure will thank me!

Hej Noah ! I followed the link to www.indiebound.org, but when I clicked on "buy online" a popup came, where I had to put in my ZIP. NO WAY to get the book, if you dont have an US-ZIP-code. Seems this is for US-citizens only...ha ha ha...

Thanks for the tips. It seems allot of people get stuck this time of year me included. The only thing that ever seems to get me out of a rut is CLEANSE, CLEANSE, CLEANSE. I clean the house, go though everything I have collected for the past year and give what I can to a local charity and put the rest in a box in my closet labeled "Stuff to Make Stuff With". Once the house is spotless and I have baked my great grandmothers sugar cookies it seems the light switches back on. Thanks for the great article.

Great tips and motivation for the new year. Especially meaningful to me were your thoughts on perfectionism, as well as getting out of the workshop at least occasionally for inspirational breaks. And you are so right about sharing--it can take so many forms and is so good for the soul. Thanks for the great ideas. Happy New Year everyone!

I've been told before that anything you do for five days will soon become a habit. Do something new every five days, and you'll be building a lot of great habits!

Freedom comes from limitations....so true. I have been writing a novel for over three years now and I am still on the third chapter! I definitely need to set a deadline. Thank you!

The perfectionism struck a chord with me too!..............sometimes, I can visualize the object, begin working on it and it doesn't turn out the way I anticipated!!!!! - I usually have several projects going on at the same time so I do fall back on the tried and true and maybe come back to that one project that's keeping me from completing it!!!!!! - I've always worked best with a deadline...........I'm finding out that the creative, self-employed market, noone will set that deadline for you unless it it you!!!! - Sometimes difficult to make it happen!!!

I like your idea is to good.

Oh how timely! An encouraging word for a gray day in Nashville! I am turning the corner on post holiday blues - and finding that getting those nagging chores out of the way helps my brain to start creating away! Thank you Noah for the reminder to not give up, just try something new! We are going to play with our food tonight at dinner.

Very nice! I enjoyed this article especially when I have no inspiration to create. Being stuck in a block takes more of my reserve left over to just play around and not being too stiff about perfectionism.

Great advice thank-you! This time of year tends to become very humdrum for everyone.

Very cool! I discovered your Unstuck blog and book last week when I started my own 365 blog at http://www.makingmade.com. I plan to make something every single day this year, which is very scary. I can't wait to look to you for inspiration this year!

Great article. I agree totally that experimentation and play are essential ingredients for creativity!

Wonderful article! Didn't even realize we were being creative at the time but my husband and I did this at Outback one weekend. I created a pig's snout from a leftover loaf of bread and my husband placed it over his nose. Funniest photo ever! We were expressing that we felt like pigs we ate so much! I guess we need to start doing this more often when we eat out. Thanks for the post!

I really like folks who take the time to help others think outside the box. We all get stuck, and sometimes all you need is a fresh perspective. Trying something out of the ordinary, and outside your 'habits' can really be effective. I also really liked the earlier suggestion by someone else (apologies, the name escapes me right this second) to try ink blot drawings. I think it must activate brain chemicals or something, seeing such graphic triggers. Artists respond to all sorts of things that we're not aware of, so I really appreciate all these weird tips. Cheers! Heidi

Excelent! Thank you for these tips!

Thanks for helping those of us who are stuck. Have been feeling traped. But lately something has changed. I think I am ready to have a growth spurt. Your candid piont of view has expressed what I felt . But could not realize to myself. And then there it is. Words to inspire. Thanks your awesome ! Graciously yours Karen.

What a wonderfully inspiring piece! So much of this is common sense, and that's what makes it wonderful. We get so caught up in thinking of creativity and art as something magical (which to a certain extent it is) that we forget it is also a commitment that involves our everyday world. When we are once again reminded that materials and objects we have at hand, the people we love and admire, the world outside our door is all a a part of the creative energy that makes up ourselves then we realize that inspiration is not something elusive which we sit around and wait for. Inspiration is something we are, do, and can reach out and grasp. Most often the only thing holding us back is our way of thinking and seeing. Thank you !

Just what the doctor ordered. Thanks for sharing this Noah! Happy New Year.

Great ,thank you for your sharing. :)

Great, thank you for sharing :)

Love this article! Thank you for sharing. Well,,, what shall I do next??? You are inspiring!

Wonderful article-thanks!

Great article. I am sure I will be using some of these tips! My children will love the food tip :)

This is so GREAT! I really needed to read this! Looking forward to some much needed inspiration for my new creations! lol :) <3

LOVE those top 6. Thanks so much for sharing! Sometimes it's the little things you already know that you just need hear again and actually DO. Thanks for kick in pants ; )

For school dinners in the sombre 70s we always had stew and mashed potatoes. I hate stew and the mashed potato was definitely not very natural so I made romantic seascapes out of them. Mashed potato cliffs on a stormy sea of gravy (impossible to do at home). Fun but not very nourishing! I'm a bit stuck at the moment but that's because I want to do too much in too little time. Don't do that. Thanks for the advice though ;-))))

My friend Jena Coray are offering an e-course that starts in March which is intended for creatives and is all about making a change in your life to getting unstuck. It's called the Catalyst. More here: http://ow.ly/8rwTD and here: ow.ly/8rx5i

Perfect timing! I needed this...thank you!!

really great advice! You are right, these are all wonderful ways to stimulate your own creativity! How how about a post on managing all the million ideas that i can never act on!? :)

Great advice! Very helpful to me. Reminds me of a Julie Andrews quote I read once about limitations: she said something like they leave her "free to fly." As both a musician and (more recently) a jewelry artist, that really speaks to me. Give me a set of parameters, and watch the ideas fly!

Love these suggestions, really great advice!

Your number one tip - is MY number one challenge. I have to be willing to put some pathetic sketches in the new sketchbook. My latest trick has been to play more with cheap materials before I do a final project. Playing with a "this isn't serious" attitude helps me.

Thank you Noah! I love best how you said that "freedom comes from limitations". I love the self imposed daily deadline. Clever and needed. Colleen

What a great read, and I completely agree with getting out of your environment, too! There's a locally-owned restaurant my husband and I like to frequent. Each of their tables is covered with a large sheet of brown kraft paper furnished with a glass of 4 crayons. I find that some of my favorite sketches and doodles happen on that table while we chat away, waiting for our meals. My husband was pretty shy at first about creating art in public, but I've noticed how much his eye has gradually progressed as he engages in this activity. Would he draw or sketch anywhere else? No. Not even at home. This doodle on the table activity has become part of our meal experience at the restaurant.

This is such a fun idea! And the skull-a-day project is amazing too!

Wonderful article! I love the tips and will use some of them today! Thank you!

Yep, when I am in a rut, I march around the room and out the door singing "rut, rut, rut rut"! I laugh at myself and go for a walk. The creative juices my not flow but atleast I got out. I also carry a note pad to scibble things or a design on. That's it!

I've given away so much of my jewelry that I wonder if that is my business model, make it and give it away. No results, no positive feedback, no sales, no views resulted in these numerous giveaways. All I have to show for it is less jewelry.

Thanks for your article. I like the meal emotions or animals with food project. Can't wait to share it with friendz and family.

Since forever I have lived by this statement: ' We have no art.' say the Balinese, 'We just do everything the best we can.' I am grateful to have my work work me.

I keep giving my jewelry away, and still am not selling anything. boo hoo boo hoo. oh and whaaaaaaa.

I have given so much away, and oh how everyone just lovesssssss the piece whatever it may be, So if it is so fantastic why am i not selling any.??? could it be because it is not free?

Great article. Thanks for sharing the 6 tips with us. #1 and #2 really struck a chord with me - I think those will be the hardest to follow for me, but I'll try :)

Perfect timing! I was just toying around with some ideas and this has given me the extra push I needed to go ahead with them! Thanks for the great post!

I too have been giving lot's of jewelry to friends, co-workers and family and still not doing well. I only sold one item last year. Thanks for the tips... I will keep trying over and over again...

Love this! Using creativity to inspire more creativity. In times when I hit a wall with illustration and with business, I try to just jump in, start working on something, anything - a sketch usually - and see what evolves from it. More often than not, it's something I'm mildly proud of, and then it inspires me to think, "Ok, now how can I create an even better version of this, or use this style to create something else?" Thanks for sharing - Cheers!

Great ideas! Love it!!! Here's to a great New Year!

nice!

I agree with a few Etsy members. Giving away isn't working too well. When I give away ( happily) then it looks like people wait to get more free, and do not buy. Or, when they do not get free things, they point out that "the others" got something as a gift. Our creations are not mass production, and I am not really happy to give and give, and give - with almost no sales. Any logic here? Thank you for all reminders!

Waiting for the muse has been my particular hangup! Its true that being out and around other people and things is part of the creative juice!

hhmmmmm....I'm Hungry :o)

Thank you for your post! It is true, that when you love doing something, chances aee someone else will, also. If you can't give a "thing" away, give instruction away. No two things will come out the same anyway. How in the world would we have ever learned anything if some one were not willing to teach us?

Thank you. You caught me right there. Yesterday, I simply wanted to create something new. There is something my customers have been asking for at the Pike Place Market and I am researching and playing with the idea. It feels so good to get lost in that process. That creative place is the place of "eternity" for me. I have no worries, no time frame. Brings me back to when I was a kid on my swing -- time and thought don't really exist -- just joy!!

This is exactly what I needed to start off my new creative year. Shake things up, make things happen. Love it!! :) Thank you so much!

.....and again ..... great advise. Thank you

Very true! For me creating something different, not on request or order, always does the trick. The more pressured I am for deadlines the more it helps: just stop and take time to make something 'just because,' just because I am inspired to make this. It might never sell but it gives me that boost I need. Thank you for great article!

action now! ;)) thank's for the advise!

This helps so much! Its really hard to be inspired when its cold,dark and rainy, but I am so ready to get to work now!!! Thanks

Love this! I'm stuck ... at not getting my stuff up and on here! I vowed to just dive in, and after reading this - I'm gonna make the effort, get unstuck, and get tons done! Thanks!

This is such great advice! I could use a boost in the creativity department. I look forward to a more successful and creative 2012! Thanks!!!

I love the advices! And the food project as well!

Great, inspiring post. Cheers!

I too needed this article during these dreary and seemingly uninspiring months. Thanks for the creativity jolt!

What a great article! I love the food projects too, thanks!

Great article...ruts are so terrible! Thank you!

this was perfect! i'm already inspired again, ready to do some new art this weekend! :) thanks for the article

very wise advice! step #1 is right on for me

I absolutely agree! And I just made my own creative incantation and prayer beads that actually go in the same direction...it helps me get in the mood for composing.

I couldn't agree more with what you said, and that's great because I needed the shove your six steps promise. Thanks.

Thank you : )

I couldn't agree more! This was such an awesome article ! I'm feeling inspired and ready to start working on some new pieces I've been putting off for so long. I just needed a little push in the right direction and this blog was definitely the start! Thank You!

I love this..I'm printing this out to hang on my workspace.

Thank you..I too needed some "refreshing" and this hit the spot. Love having the freedom to play with my food!

I appreciate the new ideas & the small reminders!

Awesome!!! it's really thinking outside the box....

Thank you!

Hey Folks, I'm new to this Etsy stuff. Really I joined to try to find some folks who might like some free Welding gloves. Where I work they use different gloves on different hands. I have heavy leather gloves for the right hand and lighter ones for the left. These they normally throw away because most welders are right-handed and they wear the opposite ones. The gloves can be torn apart to salvage the material or maybe you are a potter and need a warm glove to remove hot pots. Any help finding a home for my boxes and boxes of gloves would be nice. Thanks, Jeff

Thanks- was feeling stuck and chalked it up to January blues. i fear the idea of leaving my comfort zone, but am feeling that's coming next.Thanks again for the inspirations

This is so great! Thank you!

So much of what you talk about is not just expanding our creativity but being with people and building relationships.

Thanks for the pep talk - I needed it!

Thank you ...I needed to know I`m not the only one that takes myself way too seriously!

"stuck?" I guess so, people say my jewelry is beautiful, etc, but very little sales, maybe the new 25% discount will help. I've "given away" not really stuck, have lots of designs in my head, just need the sales.

I gleaned many ideas from you Noah, and lots of others, I've been reading the replies for 15 min.

Wonderful reminders of what to do when time, projects and creativity stalls all collide. 2012 will be a fun year learning and experiencing something new each day. Many thanks!

Love this article ... especially the part about making a fool of one's self.

Fun !! Thanks for the interesting tips ...

Thanks for a very enjoyable article.

Thanks for the great tips.

Your post reminds me of a vacation when we took our children to Disney World. Even though they were only 9 and 11, I could see how being outside their normal environment enhanced their creativity and appreciation of things we take for granted when one of them used the camera to take a picture of his meal being enjoyed in an outdoor setting. Yesterday my husband and I took a trip to a few inspirational places—furniture store, antique store, Wichita art Museum and the inspirational drive through the picturesque scenery of God's creation, the ultimate masterpiece.

Thanks for the great ideas!

Thanks! This was right on spot..Good stuff!

I have been i a rut for a couple of yrs & have been try to give it a go on Etsy & trying to figure things out,like some of the Estabalished sellers,seems it so natural for some,they know there nitch,or there craft... some of us are still develolping ours... but I loved the inspiration it was what I needed,I keep pokeing around to try to find direction. Thanx so much :}

Dare to dream and follow your heart to make things happen regardless of any circumstances, you can create something surprisingly nice from nothing. Good read.

TXS for this FUN article!..."L"

great article I am stuck in a rut right now. I have a big show coming up in April and I really need to be creative right now.

What a great article--thanks! ~Melissa

Love the face idea! What a fun game to get the creative juices flowing. :)

Refreshing! Thank you.