Back in the time of Picasso, or Michelangelo, it wasn’t considered unusual to dip your hands into more than one creative medium. When Picasso became bored with what he was doing, Back in the time of Picasso, or Michelangelo, it wasn’t considered unusual to dip your hands into more than one creative medium. When Picasso became bored with what he was doing, he would experiment with different colors and shapes, jot down lines of Poetry, play in ceramics and sculpture, and even stage design. Michelangelo naturally vacillated between paintings and sculptures, architecture and poetry too. It goes without saying they weren’t ‘bad’ at any of it. They weren’t a ‘jack of all trades’ they were both renaissance polymaths. Their knowledge expanded into a number of creative mediums. Are all Polymaths geniuses, possibly, But what I believe we can take away from this is that creativity in other mediums sparks and influences the brain to more creativity.
Explore
These artists were explorers. They gave themselves permission to not be the best at only one thing. Furthermore, they gave themselves permission to experiment and explore. They didn’t need permission from others, they simply did it! If you’re stuck, or bored with what you’re doing, moving on to something else can offer energy to stalling creativity.
“Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once he grows up.”
– Pablo Picasso
Creative Heat
I’m using heat here on purpose. Not creative juice. Not creative flow. HEAT – Creative HEAT. In order to bring creative power you must bring the heat. As you expand your horizons to additional creative endeavors your mind will zero in on learning that craft. As you continue on the new medium, the creative part of your brain is – I’m gonna say it – on fire! It’s true. You’re challenging yourself so then the creative side of the brain begins to think differently through the new medium.
As we are create we also use our hands. If this new medium is unusual to what we normally do with our hands this then increases heat, or energy in your brain. Say, you’re a writer. Many writers type out their first drafts, others believe that if you hand write it it sparks additional creativity due to the slowing down of words, and the craft of illegible handwriting. Well, or at least close to readable. At any rate, what would happen if you decided to try your hand at watercolor? If it is a completely new medium your brain will work at the simple task of holding the brush, concentrate on the amount of water you apply on the tip of the brush, the feel of brush in the watercolors, and then the push, or pull on paper. All incredibly tactile and satisfying for a person’s brain. Hence- BRAIN ON FIRE! You could use the same example with knitting, or quilting, or wood carving, or pottery, or filming, or photography, or a myriad of other creative endeavors.
Because watercolor actually moves on the paper, it is the most active of all mediums, almost a performance art.
Nita Engle
In a Rut?
You know what I’m going to say…
If you’re in a rut, or blocked, or frustrated- YEP – try a new medium. Or, if you have another medium you already know and enjoy, switch up to that one. This shifting process motivates your brain. It moves the energy to something else and clears out the overflowing, clogged brain gutters in order to offer a clear pathway for new creativity. It could be that as you are creating in this new medium, something will come to mind regarding your first work in progress. Victory! Another option, sign up for our free Indie Artist Hub and have a discussion around a new medium you want to explore.
The Artist in YOU
Finding other creative mediums offers you the freedom to put the thing you’re stuck on aside without feelings of guilt. The thought that I should be working on _____________. (Fill in the blank.) that specific feeling will not come to you as often. Why is that? You, the Renaissance Folk in modern times, are working in more than one medium. Your brain is expanding. It is on fire. You’re creating, no matter what it is- you’re creating. Not only that, as an artist you put your heart into everything you create. And that energy brings about inspiration.
“The world always seems brighter when you’ve just made something that wasn’t there before.”
-Neil Gaiman
