My first idea to calm myself through isolation was "Creativity will save us," and I am grateful to say that it keeps opening new doors for me. It inspired me to find alternative remedies to anxiety, so I made this group of resources that are helping me through this period. I hope they can inspire you as well, during this moment, and whenever you need them.
I will guide you through all these steps from my experience, but I am sure you can add your own point of view to these to resonate with your personality. So, sit back, relax, and stay with me.
1.Linked Minds
My roommate had an illustration vision in his mind. Once explained, I could picture it in my head, visualize it, and set the pen to work.
Even though inspiration came from one person's idea, we saw it uniquely, and our expression turned out totally different as you can see:
An annoying roommate is not required, though. (Ok, not annoying, so let's settle on inspiring.) Perhaps an exciting game could bring you inspiration if you lack any ideas. Words Generator.
Several websites can give you random words that you can choose to create as a group. What I did in the past with friends was to choose three words and join them in a sketch, timing us to work on it for 15min.
2. Draw your Dreams or Visions
During this time, I got myself into Meditation, and several times I'd have some strange visions when I closed my eyes. But instead of forgetting them, like a dream, I decided to draw them - even if they looked weird. Because I knew I could get something new and special out of that.
The trick for this experiment (with all of them really) is to keep an open mind. This can expand your creativity, the same way that Meditation is expanding my mind. I consider it a useful tool for creativity and relaxation if you are experiencing any period of stress and despair.
Well, at this point, we all are, aren't we? Let's give it a try, then!
3. Life Drawing
We are very fortunate in Ireland to leave our houses (always in a safe way) for a 2-5km walk around its beautiful parks, seaside, and forests.
While some other artists I know would get out of their house and take beautiful photos, I reconnected with my past experience of drawing from Nature. I wouldn't need much time: I went from a 30min sketch to 2h maximum.
So, I'd leave for a walk to admire my surroundings and find a spot where I could draw peacefully and calm myself. Sometimes, I could even let the sound of good music drive my creativity.
To make it a habit, I tried to make one drawing every day to improve my speed and technique. Let's take advantage of this lovely weather we are having and get something beautiful out of that!
4. Trip Folder
A trip folder could be an ongoing way of looking for sources of inspiration to keep you creative, especially when poor weather or low energy keeps you indoors.
I love traveling want to visit so many places but never find the time to draw while present. So, I do what anybody else would do: take a picture to store it in my mind. Sure, some of them get uploaded like photos to Instagram. Still, others pass through my personal filter to give them another point of view. None of us look at things the same way, but all of our perspectives are beautiful.
This is a new project, but it could lead to a lovely Collection of Places and awaken something special in me.
Would you be interested in creating your own Personal Trip Diary?
5. Rock creations
We all go through periods of blocks. Even if you are not a really creative person, I am sure you have gone through moments of despair or boredom during this isolation.
Well, I began wondering how I can keep from overthinking. Something new and straightforward but powerful for me. Instantly, I thought about a hobby my granny (R.I.P.) used to make in her spare time - decorative rock painting.
I inherited her rock, shell, or mineral collecting habit every time I go for a walk, trip, journey… anytime something catches my eye. So, I looked to my house full of them and selected the bigger ones to design mandalas, which I never try to create, believe it or not.
After a week, I made my first batch for my house.
Then, during one of my walks around my Irish town, I spotted a few rocks with hopeful messages to people during this period. Even this kind of "childish" game, in which you hide a rock already painted by children and post your finding online, is a beautiful and inventive way to cheer people up. This inspired me to create my second batch:
This period can bring beauty into this world, and I am happy to be part of it… even if I end up keeping them at home. Would you be part of this special and selfless initiative?
Conclusion: Nurture your Personal Space and Mind
I hope that you find this post interesting. There so many ways that can be done for this period. This is just my approach. Whatever you do, I'd recommend doing it to find peace through cleansing your personal space and mind.
That cleansing, I'd say, is the foundation for any creative and innovative project you choose to undertake.
And above all… do always enjoy the process.
See you in the next post!
