Posted by: tanjaahlers on: February 11, 2009
Self-discipline is the ability to control one’s feelings and overcome one’s weaknesses. It is the ability to get yourself going regardless of your emotional state.
Have you ever made passionate goals and plans about what you want to achieve in your art career? And then disorder and procrastination set in? Procrastination can be overcome, and the way to do it is to build your self-discipline slowly and deliberately over time.
Say for instance you want to paint eight hours per day. Start off with one hour per day, every day for a week. That gives you a week’s worth of practicing self-discipline. Next week, move the notch up with another thirty minutes or an hour, and paint for an hour and a half or two hours per day for a week. If you keep it up for three weeks, you will have formed a new habit of exercising self-discipline.
Keep on increasing your painting time bit by bit every week, and after a few months you will have achieved your goal of painting eight hours per
Posted by: tanjaahlers on: February 10, 2009
To innovate means to introduce new methods, ideas or products. An innovative person is original in his/her thinking, a discoverer and experimenter.
An innovative creative person is one that experiments with new ways of combining concepts and applying and combining materials. Being innovative will result in growth and new interesting, original works.
As an artist you must not compare yourself with others while innovating but with yourself. Experimenting with new methods and ideas is in the first place measured against what is new for yourself, and only after that should you compare yourself with other artists, if at all.
Do you need to experiment more with new ideas and methods, possible new applications of art materials and concepts?
Posted by: tanjaahlers on: February 8, 2009
To change means to adapt, adjust, improve, modify, refine, transform, accommodate, diversify or rearrange.
It is in the human nature to resist change, but if you want to grow as an artist you need to learn to embrace change, otherwise you won’t be able to develop and improve your art talent and you will stagnate.
As an artist, you need to be able to adapt to changing conditions like market demand and changes in the economy. For instance, you might need to diversify your output to accommodate these changes. You must be able to change your work habits and perspective when your personal circumstances change.
The improvement and refinement of your talent is crucial to your growth as an artist. If you are comfortable with change you will find it easier to develop your artistic abilities.
Are you comfortable with change – in life in general, and in your art career?
Posted by: tanjaahlers on: February 5, 2009
The combinationof knowledge and creativity goes hand in hand with richness in people’s lives. Knowledge and creativity are inseperable and interrelated. Knowledge is developed by creativity and creativity is enhanced by knowledge.
“The art and science of asking questions is the source of all knowledge.”
Adolf Berle
Truly successful creatives are always willing to learn more. They have a lifelong enthusiasm for learning and studying. They are on a never-ending quest for knowledge. They continuously ask “What if?” and if they don’t know the answer, they won’t leave a stone unturned untill they find out.
The more you expose yourself to knowledge and new ideas, the more information you have at your disposal with which to invent new, original connections.
When you find your well of creativity has temporarily dried up, expose yourself to new information: attend a class on an unknown topic, do research on the internet or read books, surround yourself with inspiring things like flowers, paintings, quotes and music. Keep a pen and paper handy everywhere you go and write down any small piece of information or fraction of an idea, no matter how stupid or irrelevant it may seem at the time. Eventually you will start making connections between bits and pieces of knowledge and ideas.
Ask yourself the following questions:
Posted by: tanjaahlers on: February 4, 2009
Invention can be defined as the intuitive process to discover and formulate something which has not existed before. Inventiveness is the quality of having or showing creative ability or the capacity for original thought.
The invention of an artist is the creation of a new work of art which have not existed before. Invention happens when a totally new and original creation is produced eg. the design and painting of an abstract painting reflecting the artist’s emotions. When an artist copies an original painting, no invention takes place because the artist did not discover or formulate any new concept which has not existed before. Invention is an intuitive, right-brain process where leaps of insight are often made without evidence to support it, based on gut feeling, in contrast with the left-brain where decisions and opinions are based strictly on supporting evidence.
By developing and applying the different qualities of the creative mind, the artist can steadily increase his/her inventiveness. What can you do today to stimulate your inventiveness? And what could be your long-term strategy to optimise your capacity for invention?
Posted by: tanjaahlers on: February 3, 2009
Express means “to push outside”. To express yourself means to articulate your emotions and opinions in vocal, visual or musical terms. Even if you make a copy of someone else’s creation, you still unwittingly express yourself by your choice of subject.
Expressionism is the style in which an artist attempts to meaningfully express concepts from the inner world of emotion rather than external reality. The more concepts you can express, the more expressive you are.
Creativity enhances expressiveness so the more time you spend educating yourself about creativity and pursuing creative activities, the better your ability to express yourself will become.
Think about the following statement: When you express yourself, you influence reality. Do you agree or disagree?
Posted by: tanjaahlers on: February 2, 2009
In order to have a high tolerance for uncertainty you have to be able to accept and endure things you dislike or disagree with in a neutral and open way. A low tolerance for uncertainty might be expressed in denial or creating your own certainty (which might not accurately reflect reality). Both of the last two coping meganisms are likely to result in confusion, lack of confidence, doubt and anxiety, to name just a few, none of which are not conducive to creativity.
A high tolerance for uncertainty will enable a creative person to experiment more and take more risks. The result might well be more mistakes, but also considerably more successes and knowledge. Creatives who can tolerate high levels of uncertainty will be more creative and productive simply because their thoughts are focused on their creativity and not on anxiety, confusion and doubt.
Better communication and mindfulness can increase your tolerance for uncertainty. Better communication with others and yourself will decrease anxiety, confusion and doubt, and increase confidence, all of which are beneficial for sustained creativity.
Mindfulness is the act of observing your own thoughts, accepting them and refraining from judging them. Mindfulness will help you to become aware of thoughts and feelings that bother you. You are then in the informed position to take whatever action is necessary to resolve those thoughts and feelings.
Does your level of tolerance for uncertainty limit your creativity? Do you need to be more mindfull? Is there any action you can take to decrease your anxiety? What actions can you take to increase your tolerance for uncertainty?
Posted by: tanjaahlers on: February 1, 2009
“In the confrontation between water and the rock the water always wins. Not through strength but through persistence”.
Anon
To be persistent means to continue to do something in spite of opposition, difficulty or obstacles. If you want to be persistant you need to develop a dogged determination to keep going no matter what setbacks come across your path.
You could experience difficulty in an area like the application of art materials, opposition in the form of lack of support from family and friends or struggling to find the time to pursue your creative activities. You’ll need to develop persistence to solve problems and overcome obstacles like these. The best way to develop persistence is to keep trying until you succeed. Having said that, it will sometimes be wise and necessary to abandon efforts to get support from unsupporting people if it takes too much of your creative energy. You might decide that trying to reach a certain goal is a dead-ended case and can justify why you should abandon it. However, abandoning a goal should be the exception rather than the rule.
The payoffs of persistence, amongst others, are productivity, increase in self-confidence, developing of life skills, and steady growth in your chosen area of creativity.
In which areas of your creative life do you need to learn to be more persistent?
Posted by: tanjaahlers on: January 31, 2009
This post on self-direction is a long post. I did a mind map (see previous post on Quality 2 for more information on mind maps) and came up with 6 main aspects related to self-direction. All these aspects are interrelated so I might occasionally repeat myself. Please bear with me.
1. Work habits
A self-directed creative establishes work habits that support his/her planning, purpose and intention regarding his/her creative pursuits. He/she will stick to these work habits with remarkable tenacity, yet be flexible enough to make changes if required by circumstance. These habits can include continuous education in creativity and use of materials, self-competition to keep up internal motivation, regular maintenance of creative aspects relating to the work and regular working hours.
2. Self-management
Most creative persons have a lot of freedom, flexibility and independance in expressing their creativity. Most creatives have to fulfill many different roles eg. marketing, planning, performing, administration, teaching, etc. Self-management, including time management, in these areas are crucial and will ensure that areas like marketing, planning, etc. don’t overtake your art and creativity as first priority. There will be instances where these matters will be top priority, but with the necessay planning and self-management, these times should be short-lived.
3. Independence
As said before, many creatives have a lot of freedom in expressing their creativity, so much so that all this freedom can be daunting and paralysing. One approach to this situation is to set your own boundaries in areas like subject matter and materials. To ensure that your self-imposed boundaries don’t have the effect of stifling your development, they need to be reviewed and possible adjusted from time to time.
4. Self-discipline
Self-discipline need to be exercised in sticking to work habits, continuous self-management and review of boundaries and planning, and upkeep of self-confidence levels. By exercising self-discipline in these areas, growth and productivity are virtually ensured.
5. Self-confidence
Increase your confidence by focusing on your strengths. One need to be aware of your weaknesses, but focusing on them will undermine your self-confidence and sap your energy. Adopt an “I can do this!” mindset, and then take action and do it. You will probably be pleasantly surprised by what you can achieve with this kind of self-talk as most people tend to underestimate themselves.
If you have confidence in yourself, you will take more creative risks. You will probably make more mistakes, but you will have a lot more successes too. Apparently research has shown that you achieve more by developing your strengths than by trying to correct your weaknesses.
6. Creative energy
You need to maintain a sufficient level of creative energy to enable you to function at optimum levels of activity. You can’t create if you are tired. You need to determine what fuels your creativity and take the time to engage in these recharging activities. Things that recharge my creative energy are reading fiction, watching musicals, socializing with positive friends on a one-to-one basis, journalling, yoga and taking a nap.
You will need to experiment with all of the above aspects until you find out what works for you to maintain your optimum levels of creativity. And remember to be diligent yet flexible in applying all these aspects. Being flexible and adjusting the six listed aspects from time to time as your circumstances change, will ensure that you operate at maximum productivity levels and experience satisfaction from your creative pursuits.
