Creativity and New Craft Ideas

Creativity is a complex, almost indefinable process. Some say that creative people have no say in the matter; that somehow creativity strikes certain people and misses others, or that the right medium, once found, inspires the crafter. Nothing could be further from the truth. Creativity can be developed, sharpened, amplified, because it is a factor of nurture as well as nature.

Believe You Are Creative

Everyone has the potential to be. It is part of being human, it is part of your nature. Choosing a medium, or craft that inspires you is an important part of the process.

Open your mind

Be an alert observer. Seek out new ideas, materials, methods and look in places you’ve passed by before. Be open to new experiences, new sources of information. It helps to gather folders and bins with notes, hunches, impressions, colors, textures, new ways of using something, new ways of looking at the world!

Make Mental Connections.

The more varied your interests, the greater the chance of cross-fertilization; of combining two or more things that have not been combined before. Look for relationships between things that are not related. Create a matrix where you start with 2 unlikely objects, say a folding table and scissors, and list how they are the same (made of metal, hinged, useful object) and how they are different (one cuts, one is a surface). The descriptor becomes the key part of this exercise.

Break Habits.

Habits and conventional thinking are big blocks to creativity. How often do you drive the same route to a job and actually look at the houses, shops and gardens you pass along the way? You might at first, but after a while you don’t even notice the other drives on the road unless they do something out of your comfort zone. By looking at the world around you, you become more creative. The more you follow “the script”, the less you improvise. Breaking habits shake up your own mental viewpoint enough to allow new connections to happen, new points of view to form.

Find the right Environment that speaks to you

Some people like to listen to music, others prefer silence once they are in the creative flow. Experiment until you find what works for you. If you need solitude, then find a room or a time that you can be alone to play, if you need a group to brainstorm with, then arrange “play days” with other artists at someone’s house.

Provide Time To Create

Take time to explore it mentally. Don’t force it, let it come… no conscious manipulation, let a design evolve in your head. Time for seemingly random thoughts and bits of input to percolate and bump into each other. (I call it “loading the hindbrain” where you immerse yourself in ideas and materials, then let your brain process it all)
Time away from the immediate demands of work and/or home, dedicated to creative thinking. Some have solved this by staying up till the wee hours of the morning and dedicating that time for themselves. Others take half-day “vacations” and go to an open studio, class or even a public park to think ideas through.

Collaborate with other crafters.....

If you are a potter or beader, go to an impressionist retrospective. For more inspiration, search outside the arts. Go to a Building Supply store and wander the aisles looking at connections, fittings, and cabinet hardware. Visit a pet shop. Inspiration can strike anywhere!and that all leads to... Find support with a group of creative friends. Much creative work is done alone. As artists on our own we need and deserve playmates and support. Often it is isolation, not lack of good ideas, that causes our work to stall. Find a creative buddy or playgroup that encourages and supports you to be your own work of art and watch your creativity soar.

Don't give up.

Creativity is not necessarily easy. Be prepared to laugh at yourself. Learn from your mistakes and prepare for happy accidents. Keep going, but not too far…sometimes an important part of being creative is knowing when to abandon an unproductive idea.

Tune Your Senses

The more you utilize all of your senses to gather and process information, the greater the chance of those bits of ideas bumping into each other . . . and sticking together to create a new something. As we like to say… To a creative crafter everything can be something else, so nothing is truly unnecessary.

Be humble in your craft.

The words “that cannot be done” should not be in your vocabulary. Learn to look at things with a fresh eye. Don't be afraid to ask the "dumb" questions.

Cook with what's at hand.

Limits on time, money, and/or space can actually focus your creative energies. Don't have enough time? John Grisham got up two hours earlier every morning to work on his first novel, then went off to a full day's work practicing law. Need more money? How much do you really need? To write, to sketch, or to compose takes only a pencil and paper to begin. Maria Martinez made exquisite pottery with hand-dug clay, home made vegetable dyes, and a hand made fire. Let your limits inspire you to create with what is at hand. Limits will stretch your imagination.

Keep a notebook with you

Creative ideas can be fleeting, much as dreams. Record your ideas when they first light up your imagination. Even a few words or a brief sketch can capture an idea that can be worked on when you are ready.

Collaborate with other crafters.....

If you are a potter or beader, go to an impressionist retrospective. For more inspiration, search outside the arts. Go to a Building Supply store and wander the aisles looking at connections, fittings, and cabinet hardware. Visit a pet shop. Inspiration can strike anywhere!and that all leads to... Find support with a group of creative friends. Much creative work is done alone. As artists on our own we need and deserve playmates and support. Often it is isolation, not lack of good ideas, that causes our work to stall. Find a creative buddy or playgroup that encourages and supports you to be your own work of art and watch your creativity soar.