How Do I Get Started?

“I want to do something creative, but (insert random excuse here).” 

Do you ever have this conversation with yourself?  I think we all struggle with this from time to time.  I know I do.  What can be done about it?  JUST START!
 

Steps to Starting:

·        Say to yourself, “Just start already!”

·        Immediately go to your creative space.  You know, wherever you store your artsy stuff.  Have some of it in multiple places?  Fine.  Pick one of them and go there.  Is it a total mess?  Who cares.  You are not there to clean.  You are there to start. 

·        Pull out a piece of paper, any type, any color, any weight, any size.  It doesn’t matter.  If the thought of making a decision is too much, then just grab the first thing you can get your hands on.  I have been known to grab something out of the recycle bin or even a scrap off the floor.  Any lil’ bit you can make marks on will do.

·        Now grab a pencil, a pen, a marker, a crayon, or whatever else you have in front of you.

·        Without thinking, make a mark.  What kind of mark you ask?  It doesn’t matter.  Just make a mark, any mark.  It could be a dot or a line. 

·        You did it.  You started.  So hug yourself for getting this far.

·        Without thinking about it too much, make more marks.  Like what?  Well, you could draw a line around the mark or turn it into something else (like a doodle, a word, or a pattern that fills up the whole page). 

·        Now take a mental picture of what you’ve just made.  If it helps you, hold your hands like you are taking a picture (create a sort of rectangle shape with your index fingers and thumbs).   

·        Take multiple mental pictures.  Zoom in.  Crop the image.

·        What do you see?  Think about colors, patterns, and textures.

·        Think about how you might alter the mental image in some way.  You can make it smaller or bigger.  You can crop it or add to it.  You can change the color, the line style, etc.      

 

Now look at what you’ve done…from just starting with a simple dot or line, you have created something full of color, pattern, and texture, something that can inspire you to keep going.  So do that.  Without thinking, just keep going. 

 

That is exactly what I did here.  I started with the words "Just Start" on a 9x12 watercolor paper.  Then I added some squiggles around it and then the creative juices kicked in and I just kept going…