The Art of Messy & Inspired Creative Action: From Freeze to Flow
The Art of Messy & Inspired Creative Action: From Freeze to Flow
I often feel scared.
Scared of visibility. Scared of being seen. Scared of being celebrated & in community.
In the (not so far away) past, those things made me a target for collective abuse. What feels even more terrifying these days, though, is letting my art die with me, never reaching or touching or affirming the folks in my community who needed it.
Kind of like when Anaïs Nin wrote,
“And the day came when the risk to remain tight in a bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom.”
Focusing on taking MESSY & INSPIRED CREATIVE ACTION this year has been a lifesaver. I've been creatively prolific, publishing over a dozen zines this month alone, & reaching out to independent bookstores about selling my zines at their storefronts.
Some things that have helped me thaw from creative freeze to creative FLOW have included:
💖 Starting small! When something feels overwhelming & intimidating, I break it down into smaller, more concrete, steps & start from there.
💖 Prioritizing rest. It's hard to do anything when you're exhausted & burnt out - &/also I want to acknowledge letting ourselves rest can be SOOOO hard too (totally worth it, though!)
💖 Staying present. Grounding & focusing on the moment & doing my best to let go of my attachment to outcomes. Instead of focusing on what my project will look like when it's finished, I practice staying in the moment & in creative flow (what an incredible & holy experience that I'm so grateful I can access!)
💖 More creation, less consumption. Making more things, playing, spending time with myself & my thoughts, letting myself get bored & daydream or my thoughts wander, creating (whether that's painting a pastel rainbow colorblocked urn for my beloved Zadie, putting my outfit of the day together, bedazzling my cats' scratching post with pink rhinestones, etc.!) instead of scrolling, distracting myself from my feelings, or dissociating.
💖 Mindful content consumption! This looks different for everyone but generally speaking, being aware of what I'm taking in, when & why I do so, & how it affects me vs. doing so mindlessly.
One more thing: I made a PDF of 44 Dopamine Decorating Ideas. Download it & let me know what you think!
