What do you do when it is hard to start a piece of art?

Entering a new piece of art can be tough - especially for those creatives who have some experience. You want it to be good. And that gets in the way of the open play necessary if you want to dive into something new.

There is a sense of permission that we need to give ourselves to make something that is not all that good. Or maybe even really bad. You have to risk the unknown - and sometimes it will surprise you in a really great way - and other times not so much. That is ok.

So you can see in the video below that I revel in the process of slamming and shoving - a very physical way of entering a piece - which allows me to skip entirely that pristine white canvas or paper or page or space. 

And I can slide seemlessly into pushing the clay around until I find something that is intriguing or catches my attention - and then I slow down and start to dance with the clay. 

What I said to my co-working group (I had started this process in a co-working session - look for a link below - it is a wonderful group!) is that I had started with "I don't know how to do this" and gotten all the way to Ugly. This is a place I celebrate because it is a way of entering and really being open to discovery - there is absolutely nothing to lose - nothing precious. So I have complete freedom to create. 

This is all in service of staying in the not knowing as long as possible so that I can invite the creative unconscious to play. Only later do I figure out what I have been up to and what it all means to me. 

I run a co-working group. If you would like to know more about it or sign up to join - click the link below. It is free and fun and I welcome newcomers!

Co- working for artists and creatives