Creativity and Process

I’ve been thinking about creativity and processes and patterns this week while I work. I’m trying some new techniques out and am having a lot of fun just playing. Plus I’m liking the results so that helps! Good results for me inspire more good ideas and things snowball from there. I’m getting a lot of work done, which is good because I have a three day show coming up on May 1st, 2nd, and 3rd.

I read that Pikaland was giving a workshop on “Inspiring Creativity” in the Etsy Labs last night. The room was really crowded! It was a good presentation and I learned some neat things. Some of my favorite quotes:

“If you don’t stumble on mistakes, you won’t stumble on new things.”

“As an artist, your goal is to innovate.”

She also spoke about creativity and business. Having a small business puts you in the perfect spot to change direction quickly based on what kind of results you’re getting from your marketing and sales. Using creativity, we as artists, have an advantage over other businesses! We think more outside the box. If you’re struggling with your business try taking a more “off the wall” creative approach to the problem. Sit down and brainstorm with yourself. Write down even the crazy ideas and see what you can do with them.

Another thing she suggested was to get to know the person behind the blog before you send them an email asking them to promote your work. Read the blog. Make comments. Form a relationship and you might have better odds of getting featured. I intend to put this into practice. I know it will take time, but if I get featured on a well-known blog the work will be worth it.

Pikaland has a great blog going at Good To Know. The topic right now is "What is your biggest stumbling block to creativity (or expressing yourself artistically) and what works for you in overcoming these setback(s)?" You should really check it out.

I’d love to hear about your creative processes and patterns!