When we were young, creative play came easily. A cardboard box became a three-bedroom house, a hospital or a spaceship as you battled the local neighbors in the yard. Children are used to looking at objects for what they can be, instead of what they ARE, at face value.
As adults, as we experience more criticism and feedback, are told to be “realistic” and “practical,” in or ambitions, imaginations and scope of the wider world, and as a result, the Adult Self becomes less open to playful and creative thinking. Think about those first moments transitioning from childhood to adulthood— the dawn of middle school where children and young adults start to mature and become “aware” of their selfhood in internal and external ways, becoming suddenly self-conscious and judgmental. The truth is, this is the moment we as humans get embarrassed more easily— about everything! Not simply at our ideas. And, in turn, we lose our creative freedom.
All animals play as a form of practicing for life’s necessities. Lions “play” with one another at hunting, to be in shape for when the kill is truly on. So too must we! This shaming of Play is not only a detriment to the very “productivity” our society holds so dearly, but we do extraordinary damage to our psyches, with invisible, but very real scars.
So whether you’re feeling distracted, out of ideas, or are coming up against a creative wall, here are some creativity exercises to help get the juices flowing.
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1. Be “Notice-y”
My father had a really sweet phrase he used with me when I was little. He called me “NOTICE-Y.” I guess he observed that I had a gift for visual foraging—spotting, getting curious about, and ultimately utilizing things I’d “notice” that most others overlooked. “That was very notice-y!” He’d say, and I’ve never forgotten it.
I’m pretty sure I got the quality from him. I remember a particular charming story about my Dad in the “notice-y”department one incredibly ordinary summer day when we were sitting on the bench outside our front porch peeling and eating oranges. My Dad was such an Innocent (in the archetypal way)—he reminded me of Feste from Twlefth Night: a wise child’s spirit in the body of an adult man. He looked down at the orange he had just peeled, observed the perfectly even slices and laughed with glee. “Look Al,” he exclaimed, “pre-sliced food! Isn’t the world amazing?” He was in earnest.
Having an active rather than idle curiosity about the world around you reveals bigger ideas. So be “notice-y!” Take note, be eye-sy, ears-y and nosey.
Project: Spot and collect the faces, animals, letterforms, and numbers that are accidentally created by wear, repair, time, decay, spillage, breakage, update, replacement, light, shadow, rain, or snow. Some of these things only reveal themselves when you look at them sideways, upside down, or in reverse.
Use a journal, a camera, a voice recorder— anything you have to do to get it all down.
2. Magic Circles
This is undoubtedly one of my absolute favorite exercises for quickly shaking up the settlements at the bottom of our personal creative “tanks.” A quick exercise that anyone can do with just a writing implement and paper.
Exercise:
Take a look at the worksheet below and either print it off or replicate the blank circles by hand on your paper.
Next, set a timer for three minutes and get sketching! Your goal is to utilize as many of the circles (with somewhat recognizable objects) as you can during that time— don’t feel obligated to stay WITHIN the circle, you can think outside the circle, and view the circle as a portal to infinite possibility. And above all: turn off the inner censor! Don’t allow your inner critic to evaluate the drawings, but make as many as you can. No artistic ability required.
It may sound simple, but you’ll find after you get through the obvious basketballs and peace signs of the world, your brain will be forced to start thinking differently and with greater creative complexity to fill in the rest of the circles. (This could also be done in a group, it’s exciting to get inspired by how others approach this exercise).
No matter what, the circles exercise is sure to leave your brain feeling a little looser at the end—and ready to tackle the next challenge before you.
3. Detective Work. (From The Artist’s Way)
“Many blocked people are actually very powerful and creative personalities who have been made to feel guilty about their own strengths and gifts. Without being acknowledged, they are often used as batteries by their families and friends, who feel free to both use their creative energies and disparage them
When these blocked artists strive to break free of their dysfunctional systems, they are often urged to be sensible when such advice is not appropriate for them. Made to feel guilty for their talents they often hide their own light under a bushel for fear of hurting others. Instead, they hurt themselves.
A little sleuth work is in order to restore the person we have abandoned—ourselves. When you complete the following phrases, you may feel strong emotion as you retrieve memories and misplaced fragments of yourself. Allow yourself to free-associate for a sentence or so with each phrase.” — Julia Cameron, from The Artist's Way
Exercise:
List the following prompts on paper or in your journal.
Set aside at least 20 minutes of quiet, uninterrupted time to answer, and listen to your inner voice as the answers emerge from your past.
Remember: growth is a turbulent movement: three steps forward, one step back. This exercise can bring up a lot of emotions to the surface of our consciousness, so remember to take time and space, and ultimately, to be very gentle with yourself.
- My favorite childhood toy was
- My favorite childhood game was
- The best movie I saw as a kid was
- I don’t do it much, but I enjoy
- If I weren’t too late I’d
- My favorite musical instrument is
- If I weren’t so stringy with my artist, I’d buy them…
- Taking time out for myself is
- I am afraid that if I start dreaming…
- I secretly enjoy…
- If I had the perfect childhood I’d have grown up to be
- If it didn’t sound so crazy, I’d write or make a…
- My parents think (or thought) artists are…
- What makes me feel weird about [artistic] recovery is…
- Learning to trust myself is probably…
- My most cheer-me-up music is…
- My favorite way to dress is…
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