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Has this happened to you? You are looking at other people’s art and feel that sting and longing in your heart to create your own? Then, with a big, quiet sigh, you think: “I wish I could create! I am just not creative.”
That belief is a devastating myth. It has been perpetuated without any actual evidence. It has created so much unnecessary suffering and deprives too many of the natural joy of engaging creatively.
Regardless of what anyone might have said to you, we are all creative. Did you just think: “What??? But I KNOW I am not creative!” But you ARE creative!
WE WERE ALL CREATIVE KIDS
Just go watch kids play. Most likely, you played the same when you were a kid! They freely express themselves in all kinds of creative ways. They dance, sing, smear paints on paper, doodle, color, play with sticks and stones, draw in the sand with their fingers or sticks, jump into puddles and watch the water splash up with awe and delight.
Have you seen how they are “lost” in what they are doing? When they dance and sing, they use their whole body for it. And when they paint and doodle, they become still. You can watch a flow of energy from their heart into their body and their expressions.
You may be protesting: “Well - but that’s not being creative. They are just playing. That’s what kids do.”
EXACTLY! Playing IS being creative.
SO WHAT HAPPENED?
So many of us equate “being creative” with producing stunning RESULTS. We compare ourselves to “artists” who we admire and we’ve put on pedestals.
That is backwards. Being creative is a life force. It is natural. We are born with it. You feel it burning and yearning in your heart when you don’t do anything creative. Or when you admire others for being creative and you wish you could do that too.
BUT - at some point in your life’s journey you internalized other people’s voices and started believing that you are not creative.
HOW TO REDISCOVER YOUR CREATIVITY
You are in charge of yourself and your creativity. Let it roar with joy!
Take out a pen and paper and start doodling all over it, sing with your voice and your arms, dance like nobody is watching, squirt paint on paper and smudge it with your hands. Play for the pure joy of it.
THAT is being creative.
Even if you are a seasoned artist, you might have forgotten what it feels like to play - to use ALL of you and create freely from inside the heart and with your whole body. It might just take your art to new heights and give you deep pleasure and satisfaction.
YOU TOO CAN FIND YOUR CREATIVITY
The story of my friend might encourage you to “go for it.”
At one point I argued with Diane, a lawyer friend, who was convinced that she was not creative…for 1.5 hours. Being well versed in arguing, she made some concessions, but it didn’t change her belief.
So we went to my studio. I showed her one of my Fast and Fabulous methods. A few minutes later she painted her stained Tshirt into an art shirt. Voila!
Followed by cutting a bed sheet into a Drama vest. It is my no-seam pattern - a rectangle with 2 holes. Diane squirted some more paint and turned the bed sheet into a stunning art piece to wear.
The permission to “just play” sidestepped Diane’s inner critic and she let loose! Try it for yourself!
Most of us simply need permission to PLAY…to experiment, to be messy, to have fun without the expectation of a fabulous art piece hindering our creative forces.
RESOURCES TO RECONNECT WITHYOUR CREATIVITY
To make it simple and fun for you, I put together some free ways of creating with that childlike awe and “what if...” attitude that sets our creative juices free.
You can make the vest that Diane did with my free pattern and video instructions in the free Joy of Creating with Fabrics course linked below.
You can find different ways to paint a T-shirt, jazz up old clothes into works of art, and make fun, artsy clothes with my freebies.
You ARE creative! This is your permission to let loose and rediscover your creativity! Enjoy the journey!
Happy Art, Clothes and Jewelry website: https://www.monikaastara. com/ You can find all these FREE creative ways here: https://monikaastarastudio. newzenler. com/freebies Contact Monika to go shopping or take a class: Monika@MonikaAs tara.com Text or Call: 512470–2553 The Dripping Springs Art League offers Clubs, classes, community and more!
