5 Benefits of a Creative Routine

 Below I have listed the 5 Benefits and Guidelines for Developing a Creative Routine.

1. Committing to a project keeps you from losing interest or getting stalled out. It could be a series of 3 small art pieces, or 1 quick drawing each day for 30 days.

2. By setting parameters for your project when you start, it keeps you by being overwhelmed by too many choices. When you set limits, your brain can kick your creativity into high gear with lots of ideas for all the things you can do within those guidelines.

3. Set aside a designated time each day for your project. You won't ever "find" the time so you must make the time to honor your creativity as a huge gift to yourself. It could be 30 minutes a day in the morning, during lunch, or in the evening when things quiet down.

4. Doing something creative is very therapeutic. It slows your heart rate, elevates your mood, and promotes a sense of well being and accomplishment.

5. The more you take part, the easier it gets as it becomes a regular habit. At the end it's incredibly satisfying to look back at where you started and see how much you've improved by committing to those little bits of time each day.

   I must confess, I’ve been trying to follow my own advice and establish a daily routine to get back to my personal art for some time now. It feels wonderful to finally get back to making art just for the pure pleasure of making when it is not attached to a work project or deadline. 

   This is a tremendous help to keeping inspired and learning new things. So I started a little mixed media handmade book project. My Project Guidelines were:

1. Subject Matter: Inspirational quotes on creativity, new collection of moth designs, and different ways of combining paper and cloth were my starting point.
2. Substrate: I made a small book with several different types of paper including rice paper, parchment, paper, and drawing papers. 
   
3. Color Palette: Blue and Black
4. Media: I used block printing, pen and ink, paper collage with my hand painted/printed papers, and hand stitching on paper and fabric. 

    I spend a couple of hours first thing each morning drawing, painting, gluing, or stitching in my book. Now I look forward to getting to my studio early before my work day begins to dabble and create in new and wonderful ways. 

 Tip: Think about a small project or collection you can start with. Keep all your supplies at the ready so they are there waiting for you. If you don't have a designated work area, just keep your things together in a little box so they are readily accessible. Above all, have fun!