Five Tips for Cultivating Play as an Artist
I am a big believer in play. You’re never too old to play! It’s a trait we should carry with us throughout life. Play keeps us curious, inspired, and pushing the envelope all while having fun! Play is an integral part of art development because it allows the brain to work without any pressure. Play is a place where mistakes are welcome, and there’s an open invitation to ask yourself, “what if?”. And at the end of the day, playing with your creativity is just plain fun! It brings us back to the reason we connected with art in the first place - the joy of creating.
There is only one rule when it comes to play…
No Judgment!
With that rule as your north star, there is no way you can go wrong!
Benefits of Play
Play changes the way you think. When there are no rules, there is so much more room for your creative brain to go to new and unexpected places.
It allows you to follow your curiosities. You may be feeling limited to your tried and true art style, but when you’re playing you have the opportunity to try new things! Want to try out that oil pastel you’ve always wanted to play with? Go for it! Loving all of the plaster art videos on social media? Try it out for yourself!
Play works out your creative muscles. Like Maya Angelou says “You can't use up creativity, the more you use, the more you have.” Think of play like a gym membership for your creativity!
It invites you to step outside of what you already know. Play is a fantastic learning opportunity if you are open to it.
Play allows you to create without judgment, which can lead to even better work in the long run.
There’s a study I read about recently where a college ceramics professor split his class into two groups. One group would be graded on one final bowl and they were given the entire semester to work on it. The second group would be graded based on the number of bowls that they created over the course of the semester. Guess whose work ended up being better? The students who spent the semester playing and creating multiple pieces! The students who were being graded on one bowl ended up putting so much pressure on themselves to get the one bowl perfect that their skills didn’t improve (hellooooo, judgment!). Play is not only a fun exercise, but it releases you from judgment, helps you learn new things, and changes the way you view creativity!
Five Tips for Cultivating Play
1) Schedule time for play.
This may sound counterintuitive, but I know how hard it can be to find time in a busy schedule for play. As a mom, artist, and business owner, I totally understand that creative playtime can easily fall to the bottom of your to-do list. So, I schedule play on my calendar! I believe we should all prioritize play, and scheduling it allows me to make sure I’ll have some time to myself free of any distractions. By scheduling play, you’re creating a container just for you. And knowing that you’ll have this uninterrupted time for yourself can be so freeing!
2) Start with no end goal in mind.
The whole point of play is that you’re free of judgment and planning. Start your artist playtime without a goal. You don’t have to finish what you start. You’re simply creating for the joy and curiosity of creating.
3) Use materials that are new to you.
One of my favorite ways to play is to use materials that are new to you. Whether that’s a new art medium, or something completely out of the ordinary. Your only limit is your imagination. I started playing with painting on fruit and it sparked one of my first art licensing collaborations. I came up with the idea to paint on glass in a play session and it started a whole series of some of my most popular sellers! More recently, I’ve been really interested in trying out new mediums and tools and I am loving it!
4) Structure your playtime
Sometimes it’s nice to have a little structure to get you started with play! If you’re feeling stuck and want some guidance on where to get started with your creative playtime, I’d love for you to join me in this fun and playful finger painting class!
When was the last time you finger-painted? I’m guessing it was when you were a kid! Finger painting is so freeing and such a fun way to explore creativity in a new way. Join me in my finger painting class where I walk you through the process of finger painting a butterfly step-by-step. Kick-off your adventures in play with a little structure to guide you through the process!
5) Listen to music you've never heard before.
I love to paint while listening to music, and while I have some go-to playlists, I like to switch it up sometimes. Studies have shown that music can increase our creativity. Listening to familiar music can keep us stuck in the same routine, but listening to music you’ve never heard before can engage a new part of your brain that will help spark new ideas and take your creative playtime to new heights!
Using Play as a Tool for Growth
While paid work is not the goal of play, so many of my collaborations have come from work I’ve created while playing and exploring. Play is not only an important way to stretch your creativity, but it can produce some of your best and most interesting work. It’s so important to have periods of creation where you get your creative brain working without the pressure to create your best work. Mistakes are welcome in artist playtime and the purpose of the work is to have fun!
It was during play that I created one of my early popular projects "Let's Get Tropical" where I painted on fruit. This led to a feature on an art blog which then led to one of my first art licensing deals! However, if you go into play with the intention of monetizing what you create, you’ll inevitably start to overthink things and start to put that pressure back on yourself. Remember that the goal is not to create your best work (though that may happen!), it’s simply to have fun, let go, and create without judgment.
One of my biggest goals as an artist is to always be growing and evolving. As the years pass, I find that it's easier and easier to create artwork that I'm comfortable with and know will sell well. But if I want to continue to grow, I know I need to push myself out of my comfort zone. The most fun way I’ve found to push myself out of my comfort zone? You guessed it…Play! Embracing play as a tool for your growth doesn’t have to be revolutionary. You can start by trying a new technique or painting a subject matter that’s new to you. Small changes can lead to big growth. So find some time to play this week. You never know where it might lead you!
xo, Jessi
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