Today I read this website where I was looking for some fresh ideas and inspiration. I was blown away by the simplicity of these tips on living a creative life. Art is such a diverse world, there are many ways to express ourselves and our emotions, and for some of us it's a way to make our feelings be understood, to carry a message across. For others it's a need to create, the necessity to get it out, there's a need to create our thoughts into something tangible so we can empty our mind to explore something else, a new direction maybe.

I believe we all lead a creative life, it's something that we are made to be, some more naturally than others, and these tips are a good guide to tear some walls down and let creativity pour all over.

These are the ones that really struck me right in the middle of the eyes:

3. Get into the Flow. Do the first thing, then the next thing, then the next thing, without strategizing. Obstacles increase the possibility of discovery, so if something throws you off course, meet the challenge and move on.

Sounds familiar? remember last week I was struggling with wanting to do too many things at once?! Were they reading my mind??..

another one:

4. Have an Idea. Think before and after you do a creative task, but not while you’re doing it. While you’re working, go where the work leads. Then look at what you’ve done and see if there is an idea there that you can use to start the next thing.

I remember how sometimes the work is leading me, I started with an idea that evolves, and guess what... looks like I'm not crazy!! :)

8. Use Every Tool. If a computer is your primary tool for what you do, try adding work done with tools you can hold in your hands. A trip to the art supply store may be just what you need to get your mind unstuck. On the other hand, if you’re not using computers for your art, you might consider that possibility. Old tools are deeply satisfying and should not be completely abandoned, but change is good.

Different techniques are good, they keep you experimenting and enriching your work. My PS will be so glad to know I intend to keep working with her...

10. Become Skillful. Art is anything done sublimely well, and every kind of creative work benefits from high levels of skill in its execution. However, all the skills you use need not be your own. Know when you must develop a skill yourself, and when you can work with others whom you have instructed and chosen because their skill exceeds your own.

I love the phrase "Art is anything done sublimely well", I think we can all appreciate something done well, we CAN tell when the artist knows what he's doing. To be skillful is so important, but I think we should not compare ourselves with the skill of others, it's a constant personal journey.

11. Take Yourself Lightly. Live your life the way you make your art, with pleasure and full engagement, but without forcing things. People who are not self-important are the ones whose work is most likely to develop and change and remain interesting over time.

12. Go into the Ether. Art-making is a mixture of the practical and the ethereal. The sensuality of concentrating on tools and materials sets the mind free to roam in an unworldly place. Then the necessity of decision-making brings it back. Thinking around the edges of what you are doing, moving back and forth from the ether to the materials in front of you, is exciting and engrossing.

"Think around the edges" Art is a delicate balance between the abstract and the material worlds, it's a creation of the mind for everyone to see. So be it a painting, a poem, a book, a quilt. It's so simple!

I think I will now go and take myself way less seriously than before, if that is yet possible, and go into the ether with my arms wide open, nothing to loose there, and lots to find. Go take a look to read the 13 tips, you're going to love them and feel so refreshed.

have a great beginning of the week!

Oh and one more thing, I'm planning something to commemorate my 40 coffee-less days, I'm planning a surprise I'm excited about! I hope you will be too! you'll see!! ;)