There's an old joke that goes - a tourist on the street asks a NYC native, "How do I get to Carnegie Hall?" and the reply comes, "Practice. Practice. Practice."
I thought of that joke when thinking about my own creative practice recently. My creative brain shrinks from any kind of repetitve, monotonous work.
The artist in me does not thrive on repeated tasks, which lead me to boredom or just feeling stuck. I thrive on newness and challenge. Isn't the fun and rewarding part of art picking up a new medium, new content and then figuring it out? It may take time to work through an idea, but that time commitment is where I find a sense of accomplishment builds up.
In the meantime, the reality is that an artist is not producing masterpieces on the first go. So how do you continue to practice and not get bored? Here's some ideas I use - having gleaned them from many sources and from my own intuition - on how to keep a creative practice mentality while keeping it fresh.
1. Work on multiple projects - I keep a rotation going among open projects. One day I make collage, another day I focus on book making or gelli plate printing, another I am using air-dry clays to make faces and figures. The mixed media aspect is that I have many mediums and methods to draw from so I move among projects to keep it feeling fresh. Another person may change sizes of paintings, or paint outside, then paint indoors. The sky's the limit!
2. Back burner projects - I feel it's okay to set something down. Step away. Breathe. Sometimes putting a project on the back burner allows my mind to keep process on it, while I am doing other things. When I was a journalist, I had an editor who'd say the article has to be ready to emerge. It has to percolate enough in the back of your mind first!
3. Group challenges - The 100 day project or Inktober or Mindful May - whatever is going on with groups of artists or creatives are great ways to keep your creative practice going. The outside accountability of posting a work each day for 100 days or for even a month is so helpful to keep one practicing, producing, etc. I have completed one 100 day project and stopped short on a couple others. All bring their own learnings!
4. Self challenges - Setting one's own challenge can be useful, too. Establishing some guidelines and an intention to move forward is a good way to keep up the creative practice. Limiting variables - a limted palette, medium or time frame - is actually a way to foster creativity.
5. Books and classes - There are many books and classes that bring new techniques into one's practice. I find picking up a book or attending a class can provide inspiration when I get back to my studio. I don't mention YouTube because I feel everyone already does watch videos, and they can be a bit of a rabbit hole rather than always an inspiration. IMHO.
There's many more ideas I could share, but I will stop there.
Good luck on your creative journey,
Colleen