What does this mean?

I read a book by Elizabeth Gilbert ~ Big Magic (she is the author of Eat, Pray Love fame) where she talks about showing up. "Don’t be daunted. Just do your job. Continue to show up for your piece of it, whatever that might be. If your job is to dance, do your dance". That got me thinking what does “showing up” to do with being a creative.

We need to create the habit to create

We make and break habits all the time. The goal is to have positive habits to be part of our daily routines. As “creatives” we can have a burning desire to create. Sometimes the fire is burning full and hot, while other times it is a cool, glowing ember just waiting to be fed fuel and oxygen to eventually grow to a roaring heat. Fires need that fuel to continue to burn, and when they’re left alone and quiet for too long, they eventually die.

Has that happened to you? It has for me many times.

To keep that fire burning you need to consistently create. It doesn’t really matter what you create, you just need to keep making. Not only do we need to create as photographers, creatives or artists, but we also need to create the habit to create. Easier said than done.

There are many times my soul sings with the need to create something and other times it is bogged down with day-to-day life, no time or desire to create. Being a creative can be hard work at times, yet it can be joyful and a privilege.

What is Creativity?

Creativity involves transforming your ideas, imagination, and dreams into reality. Anyone can be creative. We all use creativity in different ways ~ some are artists, photographers, and so on, yet we can be creative in problem solving, looking for solutions the old saying “think outside the square”.

Human beings are born creative and then taught to be uncreative as they grow older. Think about it: When you are a kid, there is an emphasis on art classes and “reaching for the stars,” and when you get older, you’re told to get real, take the straight and narrow path and so on. Is being creative important to you?

Your happy place

Over the years I have realised I love creating images, using my imagination and conceptual thinking, it is the same for a photographer “the need to get out with the camera” when these moments happen it is like we go to another zone or happy place. Creating images is a habit I have worked on and it takes me to “my happy place”. What is your happy place as a creative or photographer or artist?

How to create a habit?

Over time I have developed some strategies that work for me to kick start the “creative brain cells”. At times I will use a different thought process, depending on my mindset, however, the main objective is to get “thinking creatively” and to create again, this is where I have learned to be creative in different ways. I have worked on “creating a habit” that works for me.

Your radar

Have you ever had your “radar” telling you ~ it’s been a while since you did something creative, you have been negelecting me? Why and what are you going to do about it? That little voice inside is speaking to you, when that happens I go to my “bag of tricks” and use different strategies that help me find my happy place. Do you listen or ignore it?

Here are some of my go to’s when the radar is telling me do something:

Creating an image ~ I will look for the photos in my stock library or other resources and get lost in playing in Photoshop. Sometimes it is an image for social media or competition or just for fun. An idea strikes or I have seen something that sparks an idea, and I will play and create. Sometimes I can be on a roll and create several in a week or one in a week, or none for several weeks. It can be a roller coaster, but that is ok.

Create an image with a purpose ~ sometimes I will create an image using a new technique in Photoshop I have seen somewhere or I just experiment with different tools. Having a purpose can also be a good “kick start”.

Not feeling it ~ There are times I don’t have any desire or the imagination is missing in action to create an image. But I have learnt I can be productive in other ways, here are a few strategies I use to “create a habit”.

• Go through my photos/stock library and look for things to cut out ready for when I want to create a composite. You will be surprised what you find going back through the archives, photos I took that normally would not see the light of day.

• Create Fine Art Textures ~ I love using textures for my images, I use them to add a tactile appearance or for colour grading techniques to give depth of colour. When I first started to use Fine Art Textures I purchased a few, but now I create my own to suit my colour choices and appearance. I get lost using different techniques and tools in Photoshop - using texture brushes, combining several of my own photos and other techniques. I’m still being creative but in a different way.

• Housekeeping ~ often I will look through my photos and see what I have photographed over the years, I have been surprised with what I have found. I will mark the ones with potential for cutting out, deleting and so on. I find by looking through my photos it can spark an idea, which leads me to creating an image.

• Sometimes I will look at other creatives work and try to work out how they created that (what techniques they used) or just look at different images on various platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest and so on or my collection of photography books. I’m looking for inspiration or an idea to bubble up to the surface. Sometimes it works and other times it doesn’t, so I try another strategy.

In another space

Recently my head was in another space, and I knew I needed to get the “creative brain cells fired up” I didn’t feel like creating an image from scratch or doing housekeeping or creating textures (though I did try, and it just was not working for me).

What did I do?

I looked through my creative images for inspiration and chose an image I had created some time ago. Why re invent the wheel if I wasn’t feeling it? I deleted the elements I didn't want and kept the layers I wanted (textures, colour grading techniques etc) and re-created the image using new elements ~crows, birds’ nest and played with a different look.

Why did I do this?

I know from experience the longer I don't "show up" it becomes harder to find inspiration to create an image. By "showing up" I found some inspiration again, it’s not a world beating image, but it fired up the "brain cells". By doing this it ignited the embers and lit the fire in the belly again. Basically, I showed up and did my thing and used one of the strategies I have learnt over time that works for me. Do you know what works for you or do you wait for the moment to magically appear or is it in the too hard basket?

The next time you aren’t feeling it…

Remember just SHOW UP it doesn’t matter what you do or how you do it, the first step can be the hardest, but when you “show up” you could be surprised what you create or what idea could pop into your imagination.

When “Creativity is missing in action” try one of my strategies, or try to work out what works for you and have it at the ready when you need to dive into your bag of tricks.

Above all else listen to your radar and have fun!