Prime the Pump

Prime the pump---I had to explain this saying recently, but I think it is a good analogy for getting yourself ready to create especially when you're not feeling that creative. When a water pump is dry, water from another source has to be poured into it to get it to function properly, to start pumping and allowing the water to flow. Also it is an analogy for when something is low, such as money--more money has to be put into a venture in order to get it to generate more money. Sometimes we need to use a little of something already there to get us going. So, what are some techniques that we can use to ‘prime our creative pumps’?

What exactly is priming? For creativity there are a lot of different ways. One way is to immerse yourself in others’ creative outcomes. Surround yourself in works that have already been done, by yourself or by others. Take a trip to an art gallery or museum. Go to the library or a book store and peruse all sorts of books. Go to a concert. Listen to music that you really enjoy or try out some new type of music. Dance around the house to music that you love. Read magazines or books that have lots of visually pleasing images. Get yourself in touch with any creative process.

Take a walk to view your surroundings looking at ways to incorporate what you see into new forms. Observe what is around you with a wonder and artistic eye. Take segments of common things and see if they can be made into motifs or patterns. Observe moments that can tell a story. One of my favourite techniques is to take a notebook and go to a coffee shop. With my cup of coffee and pen and paper, I observe, make sketches and write observations. I can then go home and conjure up new projects from those seeds of ideas.

I have found too that reading biographies of other creative people can be inspiring. You can also learn how they overcame certain difficulties or what their processes were. Reading Georgia O’Keeffe’s biography inspired me to create three new fabric pieces that utilized her concepts of art. The biography of architect Frank Lloyd Wright inspired me to create some pieces that focused on motifs of nature. When experiencing these activities, keep your mind open for new sparks of perceiving ordinary things in a little bit different way.

Another way of priming the pump is by being around other creative people. Sometimes the energy generated by like-thinking people can inspire you, stretch your imagination and take you into new areas of creativity that you might not generate on your own. This community of creativity has been borne out many times throughout history as we have seen many styles of art emerging from groups of artists coming together to pool their creative resources. The combination of other minds can be the ‘primer’ that is needed to get things flowing.

An important thing about priming your pump is what is going on in your head! This is a time to open up for possibilities. This is about not stressing; it is about relaxing and being in the bliss of creating. Remember, creativity is ALL practice. Examine what thoughts you are having when you are getting ready to prime the creative pump. Are they helpful or unhelpful?

Here are some examples of unhelpful thoughts: I can’t do that kind of painting; his writing is so much better than mine; everyone would laugh if I tried to do that; mine wouldn't as good as Frank’s piece; I’m wasting my time trying to be that good.

Who the heck would do anything thinking like that? And where is the space to be inspired?

Here are some helpful ways to approach your priming: what new ways can I look at this idea; how open can I be to new ideas; what if…?; practice is important after inspiration but today I’m just here for inspiration; no preconceived notions, just openness; perfection is a myth that obscures true beauty.

Don’t engage in ‘yeah, buts’. Those are the discounting phrases that combine ‘yeah’ with ‘but’: ‘yeah, that’s really nice but I can’t paint like that’ or ‘yeah, that’s a great piece of music but I could never write anything like that.’ Going into priming with a quantitative and qualitative mindset won’t leave you open to new ideas. Check yourself when you hear those phrases coming up. Go into priming with an open mind—you have no idea what you might discover when you’re open. It may be a seed that you’ll grow later, but the seed has to be gathered in the first place for it to be planted at any time.

Remember though, priming the pump is not just about ‘thinking’; it's also about ‘doing’. So, get out there and get the creativity flowing!

But That’s Too Hard!

Quite often we know we need to do some creative work, we want to do some creative work, but we don’t turn off that game show on the TV and get off the sofa to do it. What could be keeping us from doing what we really would enjoy more? That old bugga-boo ‘fear’.  There are lots of components to what we are afraid of when it comes to a creative block but one of the fears is that what we want to do will be too hard for us.

If we deem ourselves not to be capable or competent enough for what we are envisioning, then the task we want to undertake appears insurmountable. We stand at the bottom of that creative mountain unable to move. The doubt that we’ll make a mess of any attempt we undertake or that once it is done it will fall short of our vision stymies our first move. And we don’t have to know how bad that piece will be if we never make it.

One of the things that will help us scale down the momentousness of what we want to do is talk to ourselves in a helpful manner. Someone I know often looks at work that I’m doing and says, ‘Why are doing that? It looks so hard.’ I try not to look at the difficulty but the beauty of what I’m making. My focus is not on how hard it is to make something or how long it will take or how much frustration I will experience along the way. Instead, I focus on the satisfaction that will come with the finished product, the joy of the process itself, the sense of mastery  that comes from completing a difficult task (even if it took me twenty times to get it there) and being willing to make mistakes along the way.

When you consider a creative venture do you first see difficulty and roadblocks to accomplishing your goal? What phrases are you using to discount these ideas? Are you saying things like ‘That’s too hard;’ ‘No way could I do a whole painting like that;’ or ‘There’s no way I could write an entire book’ ? If so, then some challenges to those automatic negative responses are in order.

If you say ‘That’s too hard,’ break down what it is you think is so difficult: is it the style, the size, the colours you want to use, the time you’d have to commit to completing something? Figuring out what part is really scaring you allows you to focus on a challenge or a solution to that. If it’s how to mix the colours, then you can spend some time just learning how to do that and then tackle the project. If it is the size,  then talk to yourself about how you can only paint one stroke at a time any way so that’s all you’d be doing. But first, when you say to yourself ‘that’s too hard’ remember to answer with ‘yes, it may be hard, but not that hard’. Or, ‘it may be hard, but I am ready for the challenge’.  Remind yourself that you are capable and competent and that each venture is another chance to improve.

I think it’s ok to acknowledge the difficulty of a task. But to follow with an encouragement is the key. Talking to your self as your own personal cheerleader (without the gymnastics and shouting) is how to get through a tough project. Using phrases like ‘this may seem hard but with practice it will be easier’ and  ‘this may be hard but I’m willing to make the effort’ will carry you a lot further than the defeatist lament (to be said with a whine) ‘this is too hard!’ If I find my self saying a lot of times while working ‘Man, this is really difficult!’  I then have to follow it with ‘but I’m going to keep making the effort.’ And with that encouragement, the piece gets done!

Another aspect of the ‘it’s too big, too difficult, too much’ syndrome is to remember to break things down into smaller chunks. Like the old joke: How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time. That is how you do any art piece: one bit at a time. We don’t start with the whole painting; we don’t start with the whole novel instead we start with a sketch, a few ideas, a line here and a line there. We start building with one piece at a time. Remembering to break it down in your head as well as with your hands into one small piece at a time helps us from getting overwhelmed with the entire project.

It’s ok to step back from time to time and see where you’re going. When you do, you’ll be surprised to find how far you’ve come. And hopefully your thought will be, ‘that wasn’t so hard after all!’

Remember Your Inner Silliness

Recently I read a quote from Eckhart Tolle that said ‘When you lose touch with your inner stillness, you lose touch with yourself.’ In my own just-skimming-the-text way, I read it as ‘When you lose touch with your inner silliness, you lose touch with yourself.’ I did a double take as it didn’t sound at all like Eckhart Tolle; but upon reflection, I like my version better. We do indeed need to stay in touch with our inner silliness. It can be an extremely important part of our creativity as well as our overall well-being!

Creative work can be fun. It can be satisfying. But it can also be quite difficult and feel like an uphill struggle. If we forget to have fun, to add a bit of silliness to our lives, then we are drudgery incarnate! And drudgery stifles creativity. Even if our creative work is something sombre and serious, we need to indulge in a bit of fun to keep ourselves balanced.  Actually, I ought to say that especially if your work is sombre and serious do you need to engage in jocularity.

When you do your creative warm-ups, try adding a touch of silliness from time to time. If you are a musician, play a silly tune; a writer, a limerick that is absurd; a painter, draw something whimsical, etc. Deliberating being silly can open up levels of creativity that you didn’t realize were there. The serious ‘I’ve got to create’ can sometimes block us from doing just that, making the wonderful.

There have been studies done to show that humour and fun can improve one’s creativity. With laughter or a sense of fun, the brain releases endorphins and these endorphins help us to relax and allow creativity to flow more easily. When brainstorming, it seems that the more ridiculous the ideas get the more ideas you have and that leads to coming up with some real gems

There is also something called ‘Laughter Yoga’ which is used to not only relieve stress, depression and for pain control, but it has been found to be a useful tool for boosting creativity. I’ve actually taken part in a laughter yoga exercise and it was really helpful for my creativity. At first it felt absurd to just be laughing while taking on different positions but after a while I just relaxed and the laughter became quite real.

I often feel very anxious before starting a new project. Using the centring techniques, breathing, etc. sometimes don’t seem to have the total desired effect. For those times, watching a few funny clips on YouTube or talking with my sister (who always makes me laugh) are other ways that I help to set myself in creative motion on those particularly tough days.

If you start your work with something fun, it’s less likely that you’ll avoid getting into your workroom or space and doing the work. And the fewer reasons you have to avoid doing your creative work, the more likely it is that you’ll get in there and create and thereby meet your goals. So every now and then, get in touch with your inner silliness because, to quote Oscar Wilde, ‘life is too important to be taken seriously.’