Aug

1

c-ART-egories

August 1, 2007 | Leave a Comment

[-warm-up, drawing-] Here’s a creative warm-up exercise that uses categories. Choose a category each day to draw in your journal. Divide your paper into 8 – 12 small sections. Decide on the length of time you want to devote to this. My suggestion is to start with no more than ten minutes. Quicker sketches will [...]

Jun

27

a pcq-qcp: bedside essentials

June 27, 2007 | 2 Comments

[-quick tip, practice-] A Quick Creative Practice ~simple habits can have profound impacts~ Keep a tablet and a pen or pencil on your bedside table at all times! DREAMS If you wake with a dream still in reach, jot it down immediately. If you want to fall back to sleep, don’t worry about transcribing the [...]

Jun

1

PCQuills: letting go

June 1, 2007 | Leave a Comment

[-writing, exercise-] Writing takes activity. You have to write the words down on the page. Everyone knows that. But what’s going on inside as you make that effort to put a story together? Think about the issue of control and how it does or doesn’t work for you. We tend to think of energy, activity, [...]

May

23

Problem-solving Drawings

May 23, 2007 | Leave a Comment

[-exercise, un-blocker-] by Nancy Waldman Do you feel creative but still have difficulty creating? Is something holding you back but you’re not quite sure what or why? Are you feeling blocked? Do you feel that your output is a trickle instead of a flood? Here is a exercise designed to explore these kinds of problems [...]

May

18

contour drawings

May 18, 2007 | Leave a Comment

[-r-mindfulness, exercise-] by Nancy Waldman Before beginning your creative work for the day, try this as a warm-up. It is an excellent way to access your R-mind and to lift your awareness from everyday mode into a heightened realm. This warm-up is a drawing exercise but it’s not just for visual artists. It will help [...]

Feb

11

PCQuills – a writing exercise

February 11, 2007 | Leave a Comment

[-exercise, writing-] If you’re having trouble getting started in fiction or need a helpful exercise, try this: ONE TRUE MEMORY/TWO LIES Choose one real childhood memory. Make up a lie that relates to that true incident. If you think of them as lies instead of ‘using your imagination’ it won’t throw you into a creative [...]

Feb

11

The Everyday Self-Review

February 11, 2007 | Leave a Comment

by Nancy S.M. Waldman Julia Cameron, who wrote The Artist’s Way, calls this practice “Morning Pages.” Her recommendation is three hand-written pages of journaling FIRST THING every morning. It’s a great discipline and truly works to get the gears of creativity in motion. The idea is to write whatever comes out … free associating, without [...]

Feb

10

Hocus – Focus

February 10, 2007 | 3 Comments

[-r-mind, perception, exercise-] by Nancy S. M. Waldman If, when you try to create, you find yourself full of doubts about your abilities, you are by definition, NOT in a state of R-mindfulness. The R-mindful brain is not worried about wasting time. It’s not worried about lack of talent. It’s not worried about product. In [...]