This month I decided it was high time to develop a more consistent creativity habit. I started out with the ambitious idea to create an art journal and work in it every day. Then I realised making it TOO big is always a recipe for failure for me. So I scaled down my vision for now.
I wanted it to be do-able as well as something I looked forward to. Now I’m spending time every day partaking in acts of random creativity. Often that involves me, my sketchbook and a pencil curled up on the sofa while I enable my husband’s TV addiction.
Doodling feels less serious and I can always manage ten minutes for a doodle. However, I’ve found that once I get started, I just keep going. And I’ve been faithful in my new practice for over two weeks. A good learning on my part. The key for me apparently is keeping it simple so that resistance can’t kick in.
Recently, I spent an evening sketching random bits of castles – or at least the way my imagination pictured a castle. (I blame a Harry Potter movie binge for this.)
Starting with simple squares, I added bits and played with perspective here and 
there, just to see what would happen. Then, when I had some ‘raw material’ I liked I pieced my personal castle together.
What I ended up with tickled my imagination. So much so that I did a 6×8 watercolour the next day. Now I’m thinking about making it bigger and going ‘looser’ with the watercolours.
Fun, simple and creative explorations that might be the start of something more. Plus it made me think: “How often do I stop short of doing something because my plan feels too big and overwhelming?”
I didn’t need a fancy plan or a buildng permit to build my cloud castle. And I’m pretty sure some fairies moved in…
What’s in your sketchbook?