What do you love to do when you’re not at work? I love to hang out with vines, sticks and seedpods.
A few years ago I got to the end of the year completely burnt out. I wasn’t enjoying aspects of my business, and I was working too much and not doing enough things that made me happy.
On reflection I realised that there wasn’t enough creativity in my life. So I booked myself into a residential art college over the summer and discovered the art form of sculptural weaving. It was love at first sight. When I did it, I knew it was what I needed in my life.
I harvest plant material and salvage garden ‘waste’ to weave beautiful sculptures and vessels. My work represents the connection and relationship we have with our environment; the unique beauty that surrounds us which often we don’t notice.
A few years on, I now consider myself an artist (a lifelong dream achieved!) and regularly exhibit and was recently a finalist as Emerging Artist of the Year.
I know that building more creativity into my life has made me more productive and creative in my business. (And it’s my happy place where I get to play and surround myself with beauty).
So how can you be more creative?
Everyone is creative. It’s not a single gift possessed by the lucky few. It’s a variety of distinct thought processes we can all learn to use more effectively.
These processes can be to do things like to think like a child would, daydream productively, and adopting an outsider’s perspective.
Having a relaxed state of mind is important for creative insights. That’s why so many insights happen in the shower! It can be the most relaxing part of the day, and it’s not until we are being massaged by warm water we’re finally able to hear the quiet voices that lead to new creative thoughts and ideas.
Creativity is different for everyone. I love to weave organic material into sculptures, for you it might be cooking, organising a dinner party or collecting stamps. The trick is to do these things more often.
So maybe put down the iPad, step away from the computer and don’t switch on the TV – garden, open a recipe book or pick up a paint brush and see what creativity can bring into your life and business.
To see my sculptural weaving go to my art website: TheArtofWeaving.com.au
