ASLU 006: 20 Ways To Get Creatively Inspired!
In Episode 6 of the And She Looked Up Creative Hour, we kick of a new theme for the month of April - Creative Inspiration! In this episode we each share 5 of our favourite ways we get inspired offline and online for a total of 20 great ways to kickstart your own creative juices.
We’d love to hear some of your favourite ways to get creativity flowing when you feel like the well is empty - share them in the comments!
Listen To the Episode
Here’s a direct link to Episode 6 or you can listen via the player below:
20 Ways to Kickstart Creative Inspiration
10 Ideas for Offline inspiration:
Get Out In Nature: we both think Mother Nature is a creative genius. She know how to put shapes, colours and textures together like nobody’s business and she is a genius with light. But Lisa’s suggestion of trying a photographic scavenger hunt takes a walk outside to a new level. Take those images out when you get home, scroll through them and let them sit with you and think about what you can do with them. Plus all that exercise and fresh air helps get juices going.
Collaboration: Working with others can be a wonderful way to get new ideas popping! You don’t have to formally partner up or even meet up in person. It can be as simple as having a juicy chat with a fellow creator via Zoom or Facetime with a fellow creative or business owner. Hearing and seeing somebody else’s passion come alive in their voice or the mannerisms can trigger those same feelings in yourself. It’s also really helpful to have somebody to bounce new ideas off of and get feedback from.
Reading: if you have to do any kind of writing for your work - be it fiction, non fiction, web or marketing copy or poetry - reading is a wonderful way to get a some inspiration. Step outside your usual genres and try something new - you’ll find your vocabulary improve, your descriptive ability gets much better and you won’t use the same 10 tired phrases over and over again! Reading is also a great way to transport yourself to new worlds and learn new things and get new ideas - all of which help fill your creative well.
Magazines: there is something about holding a physical magazine and browsing it with a cup of tea that really gets Melissa’s creative juices flowing. Magazines are not only full of interesting stories and ideas but they present unique design layout ideas, colour palettes and and often beautiful photography. Some of the more niche magazines are almost able to pass as coffee table books with stunning imagery and heavy papers for a very tactile experience. Take one of your own images and try creating a magazine page or layout from it!
Declutter Your Creative Space: decluttering can feel like walking into a fresh space. Tidying up your desk, opening a window, doing a quick clean of the work surfaces can all help you do a reset. Even if you’re already a neat and tidy person, try swapping out some of your artwork, change up your vision or inspiration board, move some furniture around, try some new, colourful containers to store your supplies in - even a bouquet of flowers on your desk or bookshelf can make a world of difference and feel like a breath of fresh air.
Travel: while the world is still at the moment and nobody is traveling anywhere, we’re hoping that one day in the not too distant future that changes. Travel is a wonderful way to broaden your horizons but to get even more out of it, try taking public transit next time you travel. Google maps makes it easy to take subways, streetcars and buses and you get an opportunity to see new neighbourhoods and get a completely different vibe of a city and the people who live there. Visiting markets: outdoor, flea, farmers markets are a feast for the senses with smells, colours, textures and sounds all just waiting to seep into your subconscious.
Getting Back In The Kitchen: turn on some music and try something new - with no pressure (no guests for dinner, no blog post to write etc). Experiment and put a twist on a recipe. Try an ingredient that’s new to you. The act of stirring or kneading or chopping can also be very soothing and therapeutic and get you into a meditative space.
Go To A Gallery or Museum: go on your own so you can go at your own pace and stop where you want to stop without worrying about holding other people up. Enjoy the paintings, sculpture, photography etc but also pay attention to colours, patterns and textures. Melissa also mentioned she loves fabric stores for this same reason - she loves the kalaidescope of colour, pattern and texture.
Make A Vision Board: pick a time period of 6 months or a year and create a vision board that reflects your short term goals with imagery you find in magazines or print off from online. You can also add to it with washi tape, stickers, bits of ribbon - turn it into an art project but post it somewhere in or near your workspace where you can see it every day to keep you motivated.
Art Supply Stores, Flea Markets and Antique Markets: visit these places but with an idea of finding materials you can use in your creative process. Whether it’s a new art material you’ve never worked with or n old magazine you can collage with or items for creating new photographs or visuals, or a piece of furniture you can upcycle. Specifically look for things you can repurpose in your work.
10 Online Sources of Inspiration
YouTube: this is a wonderful platform for art tutorials and for being exposed to new forms of art and creativity. Try watching some channels outside of your usual niche and see how others create very day. Some of our favourites are studio tours, art tutorials, speed paints, journaling, snail mail and pen-pal channels. Check the resources section below for some of Melissa’s favourite YouTube channels for some inspiration.
The Jealous Curator: what started out as a blog by Danielle Krysa back in 2009 as a way for her to showcase artwork that “made her jelaous”. She was experiencing her own creative block at the time and thought this might be a way to channel the jealousy she felt of other creatives into something positive. It has led her to publish multiple books, become a TEDx Talks speaker and yes, she still features artwork by new and established artists and creatives.
David duChemin: David is a humanitarian photographer based out of BC as well as a podcaster, blogger, author, entrepreneur and world traveler. His words have a way of inspiring, motivating and sometimes kicking you in the butt when you need it most - without making you feel badly. David’s article, Know Your Rhythm, helped Melissa break free of a year long case of burnout and both of us love his way of articulating some of the biggest thoughts that run through our heads as working creatives.
Letters of Note: This blog which shares “correspondance deserving of a wider audience”. The site is full of real letters from all over the world and from different time periods. It’s history told through the letters of ordinary people and extraordinary people. Some are sad, some profound. Others are romantic or inspiring. Lisa found the site quite inspiring while writing her own book. They have also published a book of letters you can purchase.
Podcasts: we started a podcast, in part, because of how inspiring we ourselves found them. No matter what your interest or niche, there is a podcast that will strike a chord with you. Don’t underestimate the power of hearing a voice that travels right through your ear buds and into your head. We’ve listed some of our favourites in the resource section below.
Poppy Talk: Poppy Talk is a blog and creative studio founded by Jan Halvarson and Earl Einarson that goes back 15 years. Their focus is on design, DIY, arts, and crafts with some culinary inspiration as well. Lisa calls their style perfectly imperfect and full of quirkiness and the website is full of inspiration for how you can create in your day to day life.
decor8: This is another one of the “OG” blogs started by Holly Becker and also focuses on design and lifestyle - often showcasing the work of small scale creatives, makers and artists. It’s grown to include books, a magazine, podcast and courses that help inspire as well as provide business resources for creatives. Holly offered one of the very first courses on how to become a blogger.
Virtual Field Trips: museums, galleries, natural wonders, tourist attractions, symphony orchestras - maybe you can’t get to them for inspiration but they can get to you! Spend an evening on-line checking out some of the places you’ve always wanted to visit and get your inspiration virtually!
Online creative marketplaces: Sites like Creative Market, My Fonts, Mighty Deals or even stock photography websites that sell templates of every imaginable size shape and colour for ebooks, websites, business cards, fonts, filters, graphics, stickers, pinterest pins… (the list is endless) are wonderful to browse for inspiration. It’s kind of like Pinterest for designers and creatives.
Online Learning Portals: Sites like CreativeLive, Skillshare and Lynda.com (now known as LinkedIn Learning) offer a huge wealth of on-line classes for all things creative. Learn how to photograph food, edit video in Final Cut Pro, digitize your art, create your own ebook, paint with watercolours - the list is endless. And they also offer a wide selection of business classes designed specifically for creatives. All are paid platforms but they all offer excellent free trial periods and regular specials. Lynda.com is also free for many Canadians through their local library. If you have a library card, you may be able to access their entire catalogue at no charge.
Resources Mentioned In This Episode:
Editor's Note: This list contains affiliate links — full disclosure is at the end of the article.
- Creative Block - Danielle Krysa
- Your Inner Critic is a Big Jerk - Danielle Krysa
- A Big Important Art Book - Now With Women - Danielle Krysa
- Within the Frame - David duChemin
- Visionmongers - David duChemin
- Letters of Note (the book) - (appears to be out of print - check your local library or download the audio book)
- 84 Charing Cross Road by Helene Hanff (appears to be out of print - check your local library or download the audio book)
- Lynda.com (LinkedInLearning)
YouTube Channels
Baylee Jae - general art with a lot of Copic marker work
ashiya art - watercolour and digital art
Minnie Small - general art and illustration
Katnipp - illustration as well as the business side of being a creative entrepreneur. Etsy tutorials
Laura Price - Disney animator
Tiffy Butter - creates junk journals, illustrations and stickers
Hanabira - handcrafts miniature rooms and furniture
Podcasts
The last three podcasts on the list are business focused rather than creativity focused.
This site is a participant in the Amazon Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for the site to earn fees by linking to Amazon and affiliated sites.