Increase Your Creativity: Work in Other Mediums
Are you looking for ways to increase your creativity?
Many years ago a group of music students at the Boston
Conservatory of Music taught me this lesson. Every one of them
was working in some medium other than their music. Some of them
were acting, others painting and still others dancing, but all
agreed their music was improved as a result.
This is true for all "creatives." Improve your creative process
and output by singing if you're a painter, by dancing If you're
a sculptor, or by painting If you're a writer.
By working in a secondary medium you have a chance to be a
beginner, to loosen your creative muscles, and to bypass
performance anxiety. Since it's "just for fun," you get to play
and experiment in ways you may not allow yourself in your
primary medium, or at least you haven't for a very long time.
Think of it as a warm up exercise. The fun you have playing in a
new medium is contagious and will energize your creative work.
The cross pollination that happens between mediums also inspires
new creative possibilities. Looking at art, listening to music
or watching a performance can inspire, but actively engaging, in
a hands-on sort of way, will catapult you into a whole new realm
of creative inspiration.
I recommend working in another medium for all "creatives," but
it is an especially helpful technique when you're feeling
uninspired or just plain blocked. We all go through dry spells.
So rather than beating yourself up about being blocked, take a
class in something you've never tried or go to the art store and
buy some materials to play with.
Whatever you choose need not be extravagant or expensive.
Knitting and gardening are favorites among my clients. Other
possibilities are drawing, painting, photography, dance, acting,
pottery, cooking, sewing, quilting, singing, writing poetry, or
playing a musical instrument. You get the picture. Any and all
creative mediums work.
If you're not already working in another medium, the best place
to start is to look for something you always thought might be
fun but never gave yourself permission to try. Follow your heart
and your dreams, be willing to experiment and, most importantly,
take some action to get your creative juices moving in new and
exciting ways.
What new medium are you going to try today?