As Promised! Tips for Getting Started at Home – Tip One
If you are someone who feels like you need a creative outlet in your life but don’t know how to get started or what to do with the things you create, then you have come to the right place 😊 having been someone who stepped away from creativity for a while and has now stepped back in, firstly I would love to give you a high five for saying yes to you!
Reconnecting with your creativity will give you so many benefits, not only for your own mental wellbeing but if you run your own business or have a sizeable career, reconnecting to your creative right brain will enhance your ability to innovate and problem solve, which are essential tools to have in your mental tool box to help stay ahead in our increasingly challenging business environment!
Let’s get started in helping you create 😊
Tip One - Hobby or Something More?
This is such an important question to ask yourself because it will underpin the way you go about your art practice. It will dictate the overall energy that you will bring to your art which by default will influence the result you gain from this pastime.
One of the things I have observed when people take a hobby approach to their art, more often than not they end up getting frustrated because energetically their art is not given the same significance it would if it was a side business that you intend to generate income from.
The reason why I say this is a hobby is a hobby. It always has the potential to get side-lined for more important things. Overtime this has the potential to make you feel frustrated. If you have a family, you could find yourself in the unfortunate position where they might start to resent your hobby as they will see it as something that take you away from them, clutters up the house and costs money you could be spending elsewhere.
It could even lead to you having a bit of a Mexican stand off with your family, they resenting your art and you resenting them for not understanding your need for a creative outlet.
This mixture if circumstances could eventually lead to you giving up because your hobby just falls into the too hard basket!
So, firstly, before you get started, it’s a really good idea to take some time to do some reflection around why you are doing this and what you want to get out of it. Even if you don’t intend for it to be your main income, decide why you want to get creative.
You may want to:
Turn your artistic abilities into a business, or even a side business that runs along your day job. One thing the Barefoot Investor by Scott Page recommends (an excellent read for anyone wanting to understand how to manage their finances and even grow their wealth) is if you have the ability, swing on the pendulum then do all you can to do so.
By this he means if you have the ability to create a side hustle/part time income then do so. Money compounds, so the more you can generate, the more you have to put into investments, superannuation and wealth creation. The more you do this, the more it will compound and so it goes one.
This is why I have always loved art! There are so many creative ways to make income from it! It’s also why I am so passionate to help you start your art journey! It has so many side benefits, not just creating income from it!
You may want to use art as a creative outlet to enhance your current business, so you can stay innovative and ahead in an ever-changing challenging business environment. Accessing our creativity fires up your right brain which helps us problems solve, as well as gives us access to our sub conscious brain, because our conscious brain is busy creating.
The strength in this is that the sub conscious brain always has the answers to the problems we need to solve but when we don’t give ourselves space to access it, we rarely take advantage of one of our most powerful tools in our mental tool box.
If you have a big career, you may wish to use art as a way for you to down tools, unwind and really take your mind away from the office and onto something totally different. This has a huge side benefit that will support your career as art is also a form of meditation. Meditation quietens the mind which helps us to not only problem solve but also keeps us balanced and internally connected. It’s a wonderful tool to help us manage work/life balance.
You may wish to use art to create an interest for you to do at home where you can join likeminded communities through workshops, as well as on Facebook, Instagram so it keeps you occupied and not over-reliant on social media and Netflix 😊
Either way, it’s really important to get clear about why you are doing it and what you want to get out of it. This way you set a clear intention for yourself which means energetically you lay strong foundations that will keep the integrity of what you are doing as well as give you strength of purpose when someone casts doubt either on your artistic ability. Doing this also sidesteps any possible family arguments.
When you understand why you are doing something, when you face objections you can either internally justify to yourself why you are doing something or it helps you to clearly communicate why you are doing something. This helps you to stay on your path and keep developing but most importantly, continuing to enjoy your art! That above all things is the most important part of all!
So, spend a bit of time journaling and reflection on what you want from this process. Doing this will help in how you plan to set up your space, what paints you wish to invest in and so on. It’s a really important step in the creation process and often over looked which can have negative consequences later on.
Stay tuned for Tip Two coming soon 😊 and if you have recently stumbled on this blog, and like what you have read, why not sign up to my newsletter or like my facebook page to get regular updates – it’s going to be fun getting to know you!
Now it's time to paint up a storm 😊 All the very best
Isha