95 Ways To Be More Creative

Here are a few fun  and simple ways to jumpstart your creative flow.
The most import thing to remember is to have some fun!

1. meditate 20 minutes a day
2. take a long walk
3. write Morning Pages 
4. talk to other artists
5. get enough sleep
6. keep a sketchbook
7. make something everyday
8. write a manifesto
9. photograph your neighborhood
10. visit a museum
11. use your non-dominant hand for the whole day
12. use a new material
13. take on online class try Skillshare or Creative Live
14. collaborate with someone
15. begin again
16. make a collage with recycled material
17. Read ART and FEAR
18. feel the fear and do it anyway
19. get messy
20. read a poem
21. make your own collage paper
22. make a list of 100 things to do to when you are stuck
23. list everything you are grateful for
24. make a mind map
25. make a vision board
26. start using pinterest
27. mix new colors
28. walk in a new neighborhood
29. draw blind
30. draw upside-down 
31. try a new app or software
32. enjoy failure
33. read every book by Austin Kleon
34. comment on a blog or a post
35. write a guest post for a blog
36. write a letter to yourself about your creative goals
37. draw everything in your refrigerator 
38. pick a color, notice it everywhere you go
39. write a haiku poem
40. list 100 painting you love and why you love them
41. photograph lights and shadows
42. draw your hands and feet
43. draw, photograph or write about what is in your bag or pockets
44. make 100 self portraits 
45. paint with a large brush
46. paint with a twig
47. collect textures to use in your work
48. make rubbings of textures and use them in your work.
49. practice yoga write about it in a journal
50. brainstorm with a friend
51. explore blogs and websites
52. host a creative art making event
53. paint or draw outside
54. write at Starbucks
55. paint using only a brayer and a sponge
56. collect 100 inspiring quotes
57. take pictures from a new perspective 
58. make stencils and use them in a project
59. write about your strengths 
60. inspire someone
61. list all the ways you can nurture your creative self 
62. list 100 things you want to make before you die
63. list 100 reasons why creativity matters
64. take a power nap
65. do Suduko or a brain boosting game
66. stop multitasking
67. take an improv class
68. learn tai chi
69. make mistakes
70. read book a week
71. be a life long learner
72. Take the VIA Survey
73. take a singing class
74. draw or paint to music
75. stay in your pajamas all day
76. keep an idea book with you
77. write down your dreams 
78. make a series of paintings based on your dreams
79. use the Pomodoro Technique
80. let ideas incubate for 24 hours
81. find a coach or mentor
82. no TV for one week
83. go hiking or camping
84. draw or paint: earth, air, fire, water,
85. draw or paint emotions: happy, sad, angry, depressed 
86. take breaks
87. explore flea markets and antique stores for inspiration
88. invent a new game
89. paint a rock with an inspiring word or two and put it some where for someone to find
90. listen to a podcast
91. use How To Be an Explorer of the World
92. play with clay
93. try origami 
94. take up knitting
95. make Gelli prints

 What's on your list? What are you doing to stay in your creative zone?

You can download it here

Open Studios Report

I really enjoyed last weekend. Open Studios is a great opportunity to connect with people about why artists do what they do. It is a lot of work to prepare and set up, but it is rewarding!

The Boston art scene has changed so much over the years. Open Studios has always been an important fall event. I saw many familiar faces and lots of new people as well. Everyone I met was happy to come in, look around and ask questions.

One thing that never changes is that we all need to experience art, art making and the creative community. It is a rich and dynamic part of our world.

Did you attend or participate in Open Studios? What was your experience?

South End Open Studios

 I have been busy sprucing up my studio.

South End Open Studios is next weekend. Fall is in the air, it's a perfect time to check out what's happening in the south end art studios.

September 20-21, 2014
Saturday and Sunday
11AM- 6PM
59 Wareham Street- 3rd floor

There is lots to see. I hope you can come.

A Note from the Studio Wall

25 Things to Know About Me

•  I grew up in Cranston, Rhode Island
•  I was a registered nurse and worked in intensive care for 15 years
•  I am married to a delightful man and I have 2 daughters 
•  I love a one eyed Shih Tzu named Cocoa that we rescued when my oldest daughter left for college
• I am a yoga teacher and Reiki practitoner 
• Weeding my garden is therapeutic 
• Oprah owns five pieces of my art
• I have a M.Ed in Creative Arts in Learning
• I live near the Arnold Arboretum and go there everyday
• I work part-time for Eileen Fisher
• I am right handed 
• I taught myself Photoshop and Illustrator
• I love Moleskin notebooks
• I am a trained wellness coach with Wellcoaches
• I meditate everyday
• I enjoy teaching people how to be passionate about creativity.
• My top VIA Character Strength is  Love of Learning
• I read lots of books
• My favorite Romantic Comedy is Hitch
• My favorite vegetable is either kale or dark chocolate :)
• My favorite male vocalist is Gregory Porter. 
• Canon or Nikon? Canon, of course!
• Coffee or Tea?..Starbucks-daily
• I was a cheerleader in high school
• Mac or PC?…Mac.

on my bookshelf #1

I am a really big fan of all books, especially art books. Here are a few from my ever growing bookshelf. Sometimes I read on my iPad with a Kindle app. It's ok, but I do love the feeling of having a pile of great art books nearby….the feeling of the worn pages and the sound of pages turning….. I can't get that with an app-at least not yet.

Water Paint and Paper is published by Quarry books and I alway find them beautiful. Heather's watercolors and techniques are lovely.
I'd Rather be in the Studio is a great book with practical advise about the business of being an artist.
How To be an Explorer of the World is a book that encourages playful, courageous and outside the box exploration.
The Confident Creative is written by a Boston artist and gives great advise and exercises to nurture imagination.
The Drawing Mind is written by another Boston area artist and  teaches fun  drawing techniques to free us from the internal critic.
Art from Intuition is written by my former Mass Art Professor Dean Nimmer. He is a brilliant and funny teacher. He also encourages creative exploration and teaches useful  strategies to approaching your work  more intuitively. His new book Creating Abstract Art comes out in October.
Creative Lettering explores many lettering styles by an assortment of artists.
Designing Patterns is a new book and it explorers the ins and outs of surface pattern designs and it also has a CD with templates to design your own patterns.
That's it for this round. I Hope it was helpful.

What books do you read?
I'd love to know what books you find helpful to your art making journey.