We can talk about the materials you need when venturing into your chosen creative outlet - be it painting, illustration, sculpting or glass blowing - but don’t forget these 5 must-haves which will change the game no matter which direction you move in.
Desire
You have to want it! You have to want to create. The desire to dedicate your precious time to working on something for yourself. Not for others, not for validation, not for money… for you. This desire will open your imagination and the ideas will flow.
The same desire to undertake something completely new, learn the craft, understand the medium. This is all scary at first but well worth the effort.
‘Nothing good comes easy’ and ‘All good things take time’ are 2 sayings we can embrace. For myself, this simply means everything I do has a purpose - to learn and to grow.
Imagination
When creating something for yourself, your best friend is your imagination. Look around and be inspired, but infuse that inspiration with your own ideas. Your imagination is limitless. Anything and everything is possible in your imagination. Nothing has ever existed without it first being imagined.
Belief
Yes you can. Anybody can. Everybody can. There is no can’t! One of the first steps to doing is believing. Allow yourself this simple luxury and let the creativity flow.
Commitment
Once you start your creative process, it is easy to be distracted or to procrastinate when things aren’t going the way you planned. Embrace these obstacles and keep going. Remember the saying, ‘Motivation is what gets you started. Commitment is what keeps you going’
Trust
Trust the process, trust the journey, trust your decisions. There really is no wrong except for what we decide is wrong. Trust in your own creative abilities and simply do. If you create something you are not happy with, you have a choice to either be upset and discouraged by it, or accept it as a learning step, work out what it is that you don’t like and grow!
The only thing left to add to this list is perseverance. Like anything new we try, practice makes perfect. The more you create, the more you’ll discover what you enjoy, and the better you’ll get at it. Have fun with the whole process. Creativity is something we all have, we just need to tap in.
Enjoy
