I love following whim.
It sounds like a character out of a children’s book. A small light in the growing dusk as the full moon rises over the horizon line, just like she’s rising today. You step outside your door, most likely without any shoes on, and follow her into the yard.
Where is she going? Where did she come from? Was she asking for me to follow?
Whim creates curiosity wherever it goes. That’s the gift that following a whim gives us.
Get Curious
Yesterday I led a discussion on Creative Spark at the Entrepreneur Club I help run here in Denver. It was my first time doing a mini workshop because I like the time and space to go deep, but this 40-minute sessions revealed so much to me about how people perceive creativity and why it doesn’t feel accessible. There seem to be a lot of barriers to entry (they’re all made up of course) but to me, whim is the easiest way to find your creative spark.
When you’re walking down the street and you get the sudden urge to go this way, not that way, and you follow through. Then you come upon something else and ask the question what if?
When we follow a whim it takes us out of our day-to-day. To try a new style of music, take a road you’ve never been down, experience a new drink order at the local coffee shop, put a mark on paper, and then another.
We think creativity is this magical thing that only the greats are born with. In reality, it’s a practice of following whim and curiosity constantly.
Practicing What I Preach
In recent weeks my spark has been dim when it comes to my art. I haven’t found the same joy in it. The pressure for making a successful business out of it has been a lot. And then I canceled my workshop this week and last week’s print drop didn’t go as planned. It was easy to want to quit altogether. Instead, I played with my paints. I experimented with a new style of painting, of throwing color onto paper and seeing what happens. I didn’t play small and went with a larger scale paper to let things flow. I ask “what if…” a lot. And a painting emerged that I’m truly in love with.
Something else emerged though that means so much more. My creative spark came back. And through this practice of painting, a little bit of tarot pulling and journaling, I found the source of what was extinguishing my spark and I have the tools, ideas, and inspiration to protect it again.
My creative fire is strong now. I have the motivation to finish the commissions on my easel and bring in more this May when my bookings open up again.
I am finding inspiration at every turn as I witness the colors of spring coming to life and the magic of light playing through branches or lighting the sky on fire at night.
Curiosity was the cure. A childlike mind is the answer.
What if…
If you are feeling stuck, lost, or burnt out (literally, your spark has been snuffed out) I invite you to ask the question “What if…” It doesn’t need to be big, starting small is just as good. But the more you ask this question, the more you’ll discover new worlds, and you might just find that the whims you follow are what light that spark again.
Follow your whim
If you’ve been curious about the Modern Magic Creative Spark workshops, there are more coming. One a month May through October, you’ll have the chance to create. These 2-hour workshops aren’t about the art. Yes, we’ll paint together and you’ll experience the scientifically calming (and cortisol lowering) effects of gouache paint. But this time is an exploration of what it means to be an artist. You were born with the title of artist, its time you claimed it.
P.s. To keep these workshops accessible I offer a scholarship to each session thanks to folks who are willing to spend a little bit more on their ticket cost. If you need a scholarship or would like to nomiate someone else who otherwise wouldn’t be able to afford this, please reach out to me personally–[email protected]
