Boost your creativity in an easy way!

Creativity is often misunderstood. When I say I'm an artist, I'm often told, “Ohhhh I'm definitely not creative!”. They often confuse creativity with being artistic. Creativity is the big umbrella from which many different forms emerge/sprout. Whether you are creative with cooking, clothing, DIY or with paint.

Creativity is a way of thinking

Young people are often creative and that is because the brains of young people are still developing. Many new connections are made and strengthened in the brain. This is accompanied by an extra dose of creativity.

Compare it to a fresh winding road through the grass, you can easily deviate from that and take a different route. If you have been taking the same road for years, it is more difficult to choose a new route.

Your brain is a dynamic organ. It is always moving and evolving. If this were not the case, you would not be able to learn new things after a certain age. Strengthening and making new connections is a good way to stay healthy.

So creativity is not only fun, but also healthy.

Boost creativity

There are several ways to apply more creativity in your life. A well-known one is through the use of alcohol or drugs. There are plenty of artists who use resources to come up with new ideas. But it is not a guarantee, many artists later look back on the work they made under the influence. It turned out not to be of better quality.

Shuffle your furniture

You can also change surroundings, a new environment gives you new impulses. If this is not an option, you can also change your habits. For example, if you have had the same furnishing for years. Reshuffle your furniture, move the sofa, give the wall a new fresh color or move the dining room table somewhere else. If you do this, you give your interior a boost and you break with your daily routine.

Mix your wall art

You can also use the posters or artwork that you have hung on the wall. After a while the view becomes 'normal' and it is no longer noticeable. Swap a poster or painting for a fresh one. Or see if you can create a new layout and hang some works.

You can of course also purchase a new work of art. On art sites such as Exto or Artfinder you will find works of art and prints that you can buy directly from the artist.

To the LauwPauw website

Creative inspiration

But you can also stimulate your creativity without shopping. All you need is a pencil, paper and a few simple objects.

Exercise 1

• Take a paper clip (or other simple object)
• Grab a pen and paper.
• Write down as many uses for this one paperclip as you can.
• The secret is that you also start thinking “outside the box”. So can you also enlarge the paperclip? Stretch? Change the material? bend?
• Now try to think of even more uses for this paperclip.

Creativity is a voyage of discovery

Creativity is not just the “EUREKA” moment. It is the road to it where creativity really comes in handy. Coming up with an idea sometimes takes some time and some puzzling. An idea does not always just come to you. The first phase often feels a bit uncomfortable because you don't know where you are going yet. The trick is to trust the process. As Picasso said, “Inspiration exists, but it has to find you working.”

Exercise 2

• Match two objects. It's easy when these objects are very different. For example, a whimsical object and an object with tight shapes.
• Now think of at least three different ways in which these objects can be combined with each other.
• You can think about the size, replace a part, adjust something….
• It helps if you don't try to come up with “a really good idea” right away, but if you start writing down the obvious ideas first. Then the obvious ideas are just out of the way. Then there can be room for something new.
• If you write down all the ideas, you will also more quickly see combinations between the “obvious” ideas and a “better” idea. Sometimes it is a domino effect, and you slowly find the solution.

A drawing says something about how you look at the world

If all goes well, the two exercises have awakened your creativity. If you do this regularly, it will become easier and easier. A final assignment is to put your newly conceived object on paper.

Exercise 3

You can do this in several ways. You can draw with pencil, but you can also print, cut, paste, draw parts of images.

A drawing does not have to be an exact copy of reality. For a perfect truthful image, you can also just take a photo. A drawing shows something of how you look at something. What you find interesting.

A few tips to get your idea on paper:

• hold your pencil loosely at the beginning and start with loose sketch lines.
• Find the right shape while drawing, it doesn't have to be on paper in one straight line.
• Look closely at the object you want to draw, most “drawing mistakes” arise in your head. You often think that something looks a certain way, when in reality it is often slightly different.
• Draw without looking at your paper, but keep your gaze fixed on the object you are drawing. Check in between to see if things are going well.

More drawing tips and explanations can be found on the LauwPauw website

Tell me, are you going to work with one of the exercises?

Author - Laura van de Wiel van LauwPauw
Artist Laura makes beautiful pieces herself and helps you discover art and creativity. A striking statement is: " Our creativity gives us wings to achieve something that we could not have come up with ourselves. " Check her online place and get lost in all the beauty...

Do you also like to inspire others? Do you want to write or visualize about finding happiness in small, simple or logical things? click here