What did you do in 2023 that helped grow your creativity? Let me know in the comments!
2023 was a very strange year. It was a year full of high highs and low lows for me and mine. One of the things I’m very grateful for is a renewed excitement for creating, here are some of the things that I found helped my creativity grow.
I started reading intentionally. In the past, I’ve read by listening to audiobooks (yes it counts), but this year I started reading physical books along with listening to them as well. It’s not that I wasn’t reading before, I would but it wasn’t a habitual thing. It was on and off. I was much more likely to scroll on my phone before bed then pick up a book. I found that reading was helping me sleep better, so I started making that part of my nightly routine and I’ve really enjoyed that.
I got a “real” job or a muggle job as some people say… this actually helped me a lot. It took the pressure off to make an income off of my art. Don’t get me wrong, I’d love to make money with my art. It was a lot of pressure for me in 2022, so in 2023 I got a job at a coffee shop extremely part time. It helped free me to reevaluate what I was creating and why.
I stopped making myself complete books/movies/tv shows/series that I wasn’t enjoying. I got more selective about the things I consumed. Now don’t get me wrong, I give them a fair shot. But if I’m really not enjoying something that should be enjoyable in my free time, then I started moving on to something else.
I kept journaling.
I spent time intentionally outside.
I shared my creative struggles and successes with friends who I trusted to tell me the truth in love and be gentle with me.
I started building legos. This one took me by surprise. Long story short, my husband is a lego fanatic. He was incharge of date night one week, and he purchased a lego set for us to do together based off of the Great Wave by Hokusai. Although legos haven’t really been my thing, he was so excited to share this with me I gave it a try. I was surprised that I really enjoyed it. Something about it is relaxing.
I gave myself art challenges. If you know me, you know I love a good workbook, homework assignment, and things of that nature. I started giving myself art challenges, and I found myself getting really excited about the artwork I created. It felt good to push myself creatively again.
This is a painting for an exciting new project I'll be working on in 2024! I can't wait to share more about it soon.