And maybe it can feel weird or hard or anti-social to sequester yourself away from everyone else to do your 20 Minute Technique. So you don’t.

Especially if you were at work all day and the evening is the only time you see everyone–and they’re watching TV.

And honestly, TV can be an easy respite at the end of a long, hard day. And jeepers, you could use a laugh or two.

So don’t get me wrong, I’m not against TV. I’m just against too much TV.

And because it’s so easy, watching too much TV can be a habit that’s hard to break. I know it is for me sometimes.

Therefore, I thought it might be useful to talk about ways to be creative in front of the TV rather than just talk about how it would be better not to watch it.

Because the point is to be creating more–however we can get that to work.

Below are 5 creative activities that don’t take up space, aren’t that messy, and can be done while watching TV or hanging out with loved ones who do.

**I’d also like you to consider trying one of these suggestions for your TV watching time even if you normally define yourself as a particular “something else” artistically–a painter or felter or a mosaic-maker–or anything else that might require lots of room or water or mess and therefore doesn’t work so well on couches or in nice looking living rooms.

Like the stock market, it’s good to be a little diversified–it might fuel your “primary” creative endeavors in surprising ways.

5 Creative Things to Do in Front of the TV

1. Bead. Beading is small and portable and you can do it anywhere. It’s also a little contagious so the people around you might start to join in, and then you’re connecting with the people you love on a whole new level. In addition, the options are endless and skill level doesn’t matter–you can enjoy yourself right away with beading.
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   Read my 5 Great Reasons to Start Beading Today if you’re not convinced yet. I’ve also got lots of great info on where to buy tools and findings along with practical bead buying tips so you get the most bang for your buck.
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2. Needle Arts. This could be knitting or embroidery or hand sewing. If you’re thinking as you read this, “I’m not patient enough for that.” you might be surprised. It can be incredibly soothing–you just need to figure out which one suits you best. (It’s also helpful to not expect to be an expert in 5-10 minutes. Good things come to those who enjoy the process, or something like that.)
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   Knittinghelp.com has fabulous videos for beginner knitters.
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3. Blind drawing. If you’d like to work on your drawing skills, this is a great activity for the 20 Minute Technique and for hanging out in front of the TV. All you need is a sketch pad, a pencil and something in front of you to stare at.
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   Set the timer and, without looking at your drawing, draw what you see in front of you as if your pencil is touching it–feeling all the planes and surfaces. Try not to pick your pencil up or look down at what you’re doing.If you finish quickly, just start over or turn your attention to something else in the room and draw that.
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   Don’t try to make your drawing “good” by “fixing” it–this is a observational exercise and a chance to improve your line quality by getting your judging brain out of the way.
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   (You’ll also find that listening to your show is mostly enough. The commercials will annoy you more though, so be ready to hit the mute button.))
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4. Card Making. Everyone loves getting a card and a handmade one is a wonderful surprise. The small format makes it doable on the couch with a tray or sitting in front of the coffee table (I always end up on the floor). You can do the rubber stamp thing or use it as a way to scrapbook and preserve memories. If you need a few ideas to get jump-started, pick up a Take Ten magazine which is dedicated to making cards.
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5. Polymer Clay. Small and portable, soft polymer clays are easy for beginners and it’s soothing to work the clay in your hands. You can make beads, cover pens, or construct small boxes and frames. There are so many books out there on how to get started, find something that excites you.
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   It’s another category like beading that provides satisfaction at every skill level–so can start enjoying yourself right away.

What have I left out? Do you have any suggestions for creating in front of the TV? Do you create in front of the TV? Please share in the comments, I’d love to hear.

I’ve had kind of a hard week and felt like I needed a treat, so I used a few 20 Minute Sessions to do several Automatic Drawings.

Automatic drawings are so liberating because they’re big and physical and immediate.

Your head takes a back seat to your arms and eyes as you become absorbed in the formal aspects of creating–line and color and value and composition.

There’s no good or bad in automatic drawing. You just feel your way through as you make marks and listen to them.

And because there’s no point in judging an automatic drawing, this kind of exercise is also really safe to do if you’re feeling vulnerable or downcast because it can’t be wrong.

Interesting Surprise

Being in a melancholy mood as I started another automatic drawing yesterday made me realize that I usually tend to do the automatic drawings fast–as if spontaneity requires speediness and energy.

Because I was lacking both, I didn’t want to move fast or be energetic. So instead, I let myself make marks slowly, delicately, gently.

It created a whole new experience of a favorite, familiar exercise. And I released myself from an assumption I didn’t know I had. It felt good.

I HIGHLY RECOMMEND that you read this blog post and give it a try. Especially if you’re feeling stuck or rusty or afraid to get started.

Appreciations

The weekly 20 Minute Club Minutes now also include a section for self-appreciations because they’re a wonderful, necessary partner to the 20 Minute Technique. (Especially when you’re having a tough time or feeling bad about yourself.)

And while it’s important and helpful to appreciate everything in your life and the overwhelming luckiness that can be forgotten, it’s just as important to more directly appreciate yourself because most of us diminish or ignore our own accomplishments and good qualities.

This hurts our creative dreams and goals and stops us from being bolder or going deeper.

So the focus here on the 20 Minute Club Minutes is what you appreciate about yourself. (I totally get that it can be hard or awkward–that’s why it’s important!)

Here’s mine for the week:

1. I appreciate that I let my creativity be my refuge.
2. I appreciate that I’m putting one foot in front of the other on some big projects that I don’t have total control over.
3. I appreciate that I’m reaching out for help (not easy for me) on things that I’m finding hard.
4. I appreciate my hands.
5. I appreciate that I can now make things that I think are kind of bad or “don’t work” and let them stay on my studio wall for a while.

Your Turn

And how about you? Did you use the 20 Minute Technique this week? How’d it go? How about some Self-Appreciation? Yes? No? Hard? Easy?

Remember, it’s all valid and worth sharing–the good, the bad, the ugly, and the wonderful. I can’t wait to hear from you!

AND, I’ve been wrestling with GMail ALL DAY today–hence the lateness of this post. Really. Who knew Google could be so difficult?

But before I get to my 20 Minute Experiences for this week, I thought I’d invite you all to my new discussion group!

The R & D Squad!

I’m looking for a select group of people to be part of my new Creative Breakthroughs R & D Squad (Research and Development) as I develop my workshops, kits, and classes that support and nourish creative expression and growth for busy artistic people everywhere.

Would you  be interested in joining?

Let me tell you what would be involved.

I will regularly email you with questions about project and product ideas in order to get feedback from you. My goal is to make them be the best they can be and really make sure I’m providing what will most help people.

Sometimes I’ll email you once a week, sometimes less and very occasionally more. I’ll also be looking for people from the R & D squad who would be interested in helping me beta test some online experiences as well.

All you have to do is send me back your response, thoughts, ideas and/or suggestions. This won’t take you very long at all, but your unique wisdom and experience will really help me execute my mission to help artistic people re-engage and stay engaged with their creativity!

Yesterday I asked The Creative Women of Facebook group for their help and the response was overwhelmingly generous and positive, so it looks like it’s going to be a great group. (Please feel free to join the Creative Women of Facebook if you’re on Facebook and if you’re already in that group, sorry that you’re reading this invitation twice!)

So it basically involves getting an email once a week or so from me. Once I saw how many folks were psyched to participate, I decided I better create a discussion group pronto (on wiggio.com) so people will be able to keep track of and follow the discussions more naturally (and get to know each other as well).

To thank you for your participation, everyone in my R & D squad will get 20% off all my products and classes for as long as you are an active member of the squad. Also, starting in August, I’ll put all squad member’s names in a hat once a month and draw a name to win a free project kit! I think it’s going to be fun.

If you’re interested, please email me soon at sarah@makegreatstuff.com as the group is filling up fast.

20 Minutes

This week, my 20 minute sessions helped me push around a corner with my stuck drawing. I’m not saying I’ve solved it all or anything, but I worked on it two more times and had a mini-revelation or two.

I can’t quite figure out if that bodes well for this particular drawing, but it bodes well for future ones.

And that was interesting for me. Because as I mentioned a couple of weeks ago, I want to dig deeper with this series of drawings rather than just move on, which is my tendency.

(And in the spirit of being brave, I’ve decided I should set an example and share my work-in-progress here in the left–even though I feel completely self-conscious about sharing it in its unfinished/unresolved state.)

During each 20 minute session these last couple of weeks, as I’ve felt my way along in the darkness of not-knowing-what-to-do-for-this-drawing, I just kept layering my images which is finally, slowly starting to work, or at least work better.

I’ve also been having trouble figuring out how to insert my text (my weather reports–click here to view the other ones) but I think I figured that out too–I’ve got them lolling on the seas in the middle–I haven’t fleshed out the letters yet, so it’s a little hard to see see here. (You can see  more clearly if you click on it.)

But this lolling text feels good–so if this drawing doesn’t get resolved, I’ll use it on my next one. Or somewhere on something.

But, most importantly this progress only happened because I slogged through several 20 minute sessions having no idea what I was doing!

Things didn’t improve because I had a sudden revelation while watching TV or something, things improved because I just continued to engage with no resolution in sight–20 minutes at a time. It’s not romantic, but it works.

And it feels good to have made progress.

Your Turn

Okay, now you. How’d it go for you this week? Good? Bad? Somewhere in between? Timer? 20 Minutes? 5? 10? Please share, I’d love to hear!

All these drawings are works in progress. At least, I think they are. I’ll keep looking at them and decide over time. It feels good to make them and all kinds of thoughts/feelings/images/experiences are coalescing as I work on them–but more on that at a later date.

What’s nice about working on something that feels right is that it doesn’t really matter what anyone else thinks of it. These drawings are a path I’m on for a while, and I figure I’ll just keep making them until I’m done and see what I’ve got at the end.

In the meantime, here they are. They all measure approximately 3 1/2′ tall x 4 1/2′ wide–except, of course, the square one which is as wide as it is tall. (Click on any image to view it bigger. And thanks for looking.)

New Site! New Workshop! New-New-New!

The other thing I’m doing is scrambling around like a mad woman trying to get a new site up and running–a site just for my studio–kind of the local outpost of Make Great Stuff where I’ll be teaching classes and workshops as well as making my own artwork. I’m an excited/nervous duckling.

I had fantasized that I’d be sharing this new site with you here today, but it’s all been more work than I anticipated–nothing unusual there. My brain never ceases to be unrealistic about how much work I can get done.

(I come from a family where work is a highly prized activity–you can pretty much get out of anything, even a funeral, if you say you “have to work”. Not that I do that, try to get out of funerals, but I’m just sayin’. So I’ve inherited a great work ethic, but mostly, it’s kind of a drag. Except for my bosses. Every boss I’ve ever had loved me for it. So, now that I’m my own boss, I’ve kind of a got a conflict of interest thing going. I’m working on it.)

Anyway, in addition to the new site, I had my first workshop in my studio last Friday night. It’s called The Creative Breakthroughs Technique Workshop and it was a big success if I do say so, and I’m dying to share all the details with you about that as well.

Alas, that’s a big part of the new site, so I’m still not done dotting my i’s and crossing my t’s on that either. But I’m hoping to do a big “taaa-daaa” thing here on the blog about all of it on Monday or Tuesday next week. I’ve even got a little video going. Please stay tuned.

So picture me writing and uploading and editing and adapting and pay-paling my weekend away. And taking breaks to work on my big drawings.

(Did I say I’m trying to do a drawing a week? Next week I’m hoping to dedicate a whole blog post to the ease-of-being-creative-when-you’ve-got-a-work-in-progress-going strategy. Kind of a P.S./ Part II to my Magic Spell post the other day.

What are you doing this weekend? Are you snowed in like we are here in NY/NJ? Would you like to share links to some artwork you’re working on? Please leave a comment and share what you’re doing, whatever it is, I’d love to hear from you!

Maybe it’s obvious, but in case it isn’t, here’s a bit more information and how to do it and why it’s a great way to let loose and free your creativity.

Liberation

The Surrealists embraced automatic drawing as way to incorporate randomness and the subconscious into their drawings, and to free themselves from artistic conventions and everyday thinking.

This technique, they felt, was a way in to access meaning and information unavailable through tradition and the conscious mind.

Surrealist wackiness aside, it also lets you sink into the quality and experience of making marks and developing the relationships between them which in turn lifts you out of your logical brain’s desire to make something that’s “good” or “accurate.”

It lets you tap more easily into your intuition, emotions, and the physical experience of drawing and painting.

So if you judge your own drawing ability, this technique can be very liberating because it’s so physical, there’s no wrong way to do it, and it improves your drawing skills in the process.

Most importantly, it gets you out of your head.

How to Get Started

All you need is a few mark-making tools and big sheets of paper. In Expressive Drawing, Steven Aimone recommends working big and drawing with paint and a brush and I couldn’t agree more.

(If you think you don’t have room to work big, reconsider all the rooms in your house–how often do you really use the dining room or the guest room? Could you put a tarp down to protect the floor and clear off one wall? Think about it.)

The Power of Ritual

To facilitate the process of getting out of my logical brain, I first set an “intention” to let go of logical thinking and release into the creative process. This is immediately followed by 5-10 minutes of Shiva Nata and then I start in. I also usually play classical or Sacred Sound music while I’m making the drawings.

I find these additional steps help “set the stage” for lifting myself out of my everyday thinking, but you could do a variety of things to do that–a short meditation, breathing 10 conscious breaths, doing a round of sun salutations, or even taking a run or a vigorous walk beforehand.

Of course, it’s not necessary to do any of these things ahead of time, but I find that we’re all so busy and preoccupied with our hectic lives that it can be helpful to create a ritual or symbolic transition from your everyday busy-ness to the drawing exercise.

At the least, it signals to your body to shift gears. At most, it really helps maximize the intuitive experience.

No Rules

Once you’re ready to go, just grab your brush (have water nearby) and start making some marks. (I like how Steven Aimone recommends standing a few feet away from your paper in a kind of fencing position so you have to reach forward to make your marks–it emphasizes the physical aspect of the experience.)

After you’ve made some marks, just step back, take a look, and make more marks.  Keep your brain out of it and let your body respond, see what your hand wants to do and let it do it.

Just notice. (This is where it’s really like a meditation.)

When are you done? When you decide it’s finished. Keep it or throw it out. Then make another one. And then another.

Try using your opposite hand for a change–this is a really great way to shush your judging brain. I know for me, my non-dominant hand feels guided by something else entirely, and my brain just kind of watches it go–it’s neat.

Creativity KickStarter

What I love about automatic drawing is that it’s a WONDERFUL way to get yourself  creating again. It’s the perfect antidote to feeling completely uninspired or if you feel like you have no ideas anymore.

You don’t need any ideas to do this, and it will help the idea generating part of your brain wake up again. What a combo.

Automatic drawing also feeds all your art-making activities and desires because it brings your intuition to the fore while at the same time absorbing you completely in the creative, aesthetic experience of making marks and responding to them.

It’s a great choice for the 20 minute timer technique, and a wonderful way to start or end your day. Ready to give it a try?

Do you ever do exercises like this? Would you like to free up your drawing? Leave a comment, I’d love to hear from you.

If you’ve got heavy feelings about your drawing skills, yearn to draw more (or more freely) or if you already draw well but feel like you’re in a rut, this book is a wonderful workbook and companion for freeing up your drawing–and maybe your soul a little bit while you’re at it.

Expressive Drawing: A Practical Guide to Freeing the Artist Within by Steven Aimone is one of the best how-to/inspiration books I’ve come across in a long time. I’ve been so jazzed doing the exercises, I had to rush here to the blog and tell you all about it.

Why I Love This Book

Steven Aimone provides fun, do-able exercises that are grounded in clear, helpful explanations about technique and the history of fine art.

All the explanations are also accompanied by images of works by renowned artists as well as his workshop students that support and reinforce each chapter’s focus. These art history lessons are refreshingly straightforward and a wonderful framework for the drawing exercises.

And even though his writing is clear, accessible and inclusive, he assumes his audience is deeply interested in fine art and making drawings in that context rather than treating non-objective/expressive drawing as mainly a therapeutic outlet for expressing your feelings (although he still acknowledges and embraces that additional benefit as a wonderful part of the process).

And besides all that–the exercises are FUN, FUN, FUN!

Diving In

After inspiring you with great images and clear explanations, he introduces the exercises.

I’ve done the first 2 so far–automatic drawing and what he calls “working with flux”–adding and subtracting from an automatic drawing. I had such a blast that I plan on working through all the exercises in the book, and I’ll keep you posted as I go.

I added a couple of my own elements to doing the exercises as well–5-10 minutes of Shiva Nata beforehand and listening to Sacred Sound Healing music during. (He’s got an awesome free download of his work here.)

Since both of these additions are supposed to shift patterns and and open up possibilities, I thought they seemed like perfect companions to the exercises, and so far, so good.

Automatic Drawing

So. Much. Fun.

And since, as the author says,  “you can’t do a good automatic drawing or a bad one, just a more or less satisfying one”, it’s easy to really let go and enjoy the process.

In my 2nd drawing, which you see here (and was done with paint), I used my left (non-dominant) hand, and I was surprised by how much I enjoyed that. My marks were so different from ones I make with my right hand–like I was tapping into a different sensibility altogether.

They felt lighter and farther away from the logical/judging part of my brain.

He strongly suggests working on a 3′ x 4′ sheet of paper which really lets you use your whole arm/body and have more of a physical drawing experience than a “mental” one–really great for freeing up your drawing.

Asserting and Obliterating

The 2nd exercise added the element of removing marks–this time drawing with charcoal or conte crayon and removing with white paint.

Here’s a closeup on the left of my first effort. I used my non-dominant hand again because I enjoyed doing that so much in the first exercise.

Steven Aimone calls this drawing and erasing relationship “asserting and obliterating.” He says, “There are no mistakes, only things you put in and take out.”

He also says, “By engaging in the process of doing and undoing, you’ll create drawings automatically that speak metaphorically.” I like that.

He also says “…your drawings are a record of your touch, your movements, and your responsive interactions with the elements in your drawing. What a wonderful, liberating, and expressive way to work!” I couldn’t agree more.

Freed Up

These exercises have been both liberating and nourishing. I felt like I had given myself something so supportive and fulfilling–a treat from my soul to my soul. How often does that happen?

What’s really exciting to me though, is that the exercises in this book could really be a great way for super busy people (is that you?) to more easily do some creating after a long day of work because they’re so energizing and filling rather than depleting.

Or if you’re a morning person, it could be a great way to START your day–a way to give yourself an energizing, creative experience that’s like a cup of coffee for your spirit before you head out to work.

Can’t beat it with a stick.

Are you looking for something like this? Do you already do exercises like this or something else that works well? Please leave a comment, I’d love to hear from you.