The Creative Unlearning

We as artists can mistakenly think that if we are having thoughts that our art and what we are creating isn’t good enough that we are unique in having that experience. That those thoughts are telling us a truth only to us and no one else. The good news is that these thoughts are not unique to you, we all have them. 

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Have you ever considered that you are in a relationship with your art? That like any relationship there is a reciprocity to it. You have to put into the relationship and be present and loving within it. We consider our relationships with our loved ones, the people in our worlds. But we don’t always consider that we are in relationship with ourselves and our actions and that includes our creativity.

We need to consider the questions, what does my art give to me and what do I give to my art?

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What if the story you tell about yourself is limiting your potential and the possibilities that could exist for you. We think that neatly pouring our huge expansive selves into one tiny story is what gives us a sense of who we are and what we stand for. But what if those stories are just illusions? What if you moved through the world without a defined story of yourself, what doors could that open up for you? What more paths that you hold a curiosity about could you walk through? 

How would it feel if you dropped the stories you hold about yourself and explored life more in the moment? Today’s episode takes a look at the power of dissolving our stories. 

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Children have a way of learning and creating that is imbued with fun, joy and lightheartedness. They have an overwhelming amount to learn in a short space of time and they do so with a level of skill few adults possess. Instead adults, adopt a method of more struggle and less grace. They remove the fun out of their activities and allot their time in ways that they view as being responsible adults but do not take even the smallest amount of time in the day to creatively play. 

What if, we chose to adopt the ways of children when it comes to creating and make art from a place of joy and light heartedness and remove the struggle and expectations we place on ourselves and allow ourselves to play, even if it is only 10 minutes of our day?

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We have an internal dialogue that impacts our actions. An inner critic or an inner guide and we are not always aware which voice is driving us. They both have distinctive characteristics. It is good to know what they are, so you become aware of what your navigation tool is? 

Your inner critic is urgent, comparing, competing and telling you all the ways that you are not doing enough. Your inner guide is bespoke to you and your inner calling. It is neutral, calm, clarified, it does not use comparison or competition to drive you, but instead nudges you towards what is best for your highest self. 

Are you being driven by your inner guide or your inner critic?

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With the start of a new year can come a set of new and shiny goals, Huge goals, transformative ones which generally require you to be a whole other person to achieve them. These types of goals  are abandoned mid way into the new year and neglected for the remainder of the year. They may excite you but motivation can run dry very quickly. 

How about, this year, you set mediocre goals? Ones that have a hint of possibility within them. Ones that can be woven into our everyday lives. That actually align with who we are as people today, not who we wish to be. 

What if setting mediocre goals is the gateway to achieving those big shiny goals?

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In conventional work there are certain terms that are used regularly such as systems and time blocking. What if as a creative you are repelled by such terms and don’t find that they resonate with you. It’s not about removing all structures from the way you engage with your creativity, rather substituting such terms with ones that are more in line with you intentions. Balancing the creative freedom with rituals that create patterns of making art that are conducive to you the artist. Creating a language and a method that collaborates positively with your creative process.

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What happens to our creativity when it is left unanswered or worse still, when it is met with judgement and criticism: it corrodes. The way our internal voice talks to us and accompanies us throughout our creative journeys has an impact on our actions when it comes to making art. We need to be able to focus on our creative desires whilst removing our attention from any critical internal chatter. The voice may never disappear but we are not required to listen to it. 

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When it comes to your creativity, are you sitting in the waiting room. It could be that you are waiting for the right time, for permission or waiting to be picked. What if your name never gets called out, eventually you have to leave the waiting room. 

How about instead, you choose yourself, you don’t wait on anyone or anything outside of yourself? You create and build trust within yourself and rely on you to decide what and how you create. You no longer outsource your creativity.

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https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/kit028

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The reason we can never create anything beyond what we truly believe about ourselves is because our subconscious mind holds these beliefs and its job is to make sure that they align with our actions. So if you wonder why when you set an intention to make art and find yourself never taking action towards it, you may very well be  harbouring some errant beliefs that are not conducive to your creativity. It is important to take some time to discover what it is we are really thinking and believing about ourselves to enable our intentions to match our actions. 

https://www.youtube.com/@illustratingrain

https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/kit028

https://www.instagram.com/illustrating_rain

https://www.facebook.com/illustrating.rain/

www.illustratingrain.com