How do you learn in the process of being creative?
A little over six weeks ago, I wrote about a 42 Day Creative Challenge. The invitation is to choose a creative outlet you already enjoy or to try something new that you haven’t done yet. The experiment is to commit to doing this activity regularly for about six weeks. You choose how often you wish to do the endeavor – daily, weekly, a few days a week, or at a specific time. Keep track of how often you practice this creative exercise or take notes along the way. Be open to the lessons learned.
For the challenge, I decided to draw in a sketchbook at least once a week for six weeks. You have to understand that drawing is not one of my strengths. I express creativity through my hands in other ways, such as writing and music. Although illustration is not my area of expertise, something is freeing and relaxing about drawing in a sketchbook where the receiver of the creativity is only me.
Learn in the Process
Over the past several years, I have learned to enjoy sketching, especially Disney characters. At California Adventure near Disneyland, there is the Animation Academy on Hollywood Boulevard where you can draw a Disney character each hour during the day of park operations. Each time I visit Disneyland and California Adventure, I make a point to visit the Academy where I can draw a Disney character.
The experience is both fun and freeing. The moment is playful, where I get to be a kid and draw for the fun of it. I can suspend my adult judgment and release the internal pressure to create a perfect work of art. Instead, I experience a playful act of wonder and delight. I have drawn Winnie the Pooh, Mickey Mouse, and on a recent trip this spring, Edna Mode from The Incredibles.
My Creative Outlet for the Challenge
Drawing at California Adventure inspired me to draw for the 42 Day Creative Challenge. I purchased two books on learning to draw: one on drawing Disney characters and another on drawing small figures, etc.
Ed Emberley’s Drawing Book: Make a World.
The books help me keep my inner adult in check (while creating some boundaries for my inner child to have fun drawing). I kept a small 5×7 sketchbook and some drawing pencils on my nightstand and decided to draw at night, just before falling to sleep. A least once a week for six weeks, I sketched at night.
What I have learned from the 42 Day Challenge
- Keep it simple. The experience each night did not take too long and involved only a few simple steps with the sketching. Do not complicate the process; simplicity is key.
- Have fun. I did something just for the fun of it, which felt freeing and playful. I felt like a little kid scribbling with crayons. This time it was drawing with pencils on a sketch pad. Enjoy the activity.
- Be lost in the moment. The evening activity felt timeless, and yet, the experience did not take much time. I wasn’t worried about the time. Do not set a timer or worry about how long it takes.
- Relax with the craft. The experience was relaxing. I draw at night just before falling off to sleep. Relaxing into the creativity also helps quiet my mind. Release the tension.
- You do not have to be right or perfect. The drawing is an exercise in positive self-talk. I do not worry about drawing things correctly or making sure they look just right. I get surprised when my attempt to illustrate a Disney character looks like a Disney character or whatever the intention was of the object to portray. Stay positive in the process.
- Let go of worry. Similar to relaxing with the craft, merely drawing or following a few steps in sketching a character is an experience of letting go of any tension or worry from the day. It also helps me ease up on the gas pedal of driving toward results. Slow down. Let go.
- Limit your expectations of outcomes. Be creative with limited expectations of what you are doing. The challenge is intended to be relaxing, to experience mindfulness differently, to get lost for a while in having fun. All of this is meant to be freeing. Allow yourself the freedom of expectations, especially self-expectations.
- Experience gratitude. The creative challenge was also a time of gratitude, grateful for tapping into a childlike experience of fun and wonder in the simplicity of the moment. Be open to appreciation that may show up in the creativity.
Benefits
Fun. Playful. Relaxing. Restful energy. Positive self-talk. Letting go. Release of tension. Gratitude. These are some of the benefits I experienced from the challenge. The casual free play in the sketching became a relaxing moment at night. I did not drive toward a daily practice of this activity. The benefits happened just from doing the drawings a couple of times each week, at a minimum, sometimes once a week.
What did you learn? What insights did you discover?
I welcome your comments.
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