I’ve been taking steps to ‘be more creative’ I bought the 12 Rules of Creativity by Michael Atavar a few months ago and have been reading through it and trying the little tasks that are mentioned in there. The first one that inspired me has been to make marks:

 ”Instead of mapping out the strategy of a work in advance, do the opposite. Focus on a daily schedule, zooming in on the smallest detail. Don’t aim for perfection; instead allow errors and inconsistencies to develop. Over time, these insignificant parts will actually become the piece. It’s not the value of these individual items that count, rather the application that comes from daily practice and long-term focus. Take a photograph or make a drawing every 24 hours. Working this way, as if on automatic pilot, seeing and recording, listening and tuning in, is a good way of developing your creative potential.”

I’ve taken my own little spin on this, I’ve got an unused sketchbook that I bought years ago and was really cheap, each night I grab this sketchbook and a pencil, close my eyes and draw a continuous line in whatever shape, direction or way I like. Sometimes I focus on specific things and sometimes I like to see where the pencil takes me. It has proved so interesting, it’s amazing to open your eyes and remember what you were trying to achieve at a certain point on the line, for example, one of my ‘blind doodles’ I tried to fill the whole page, I thought I was taking the line to each corner and edge but in opening my eyes, was amazed to find that I’d only drawn in a small section of the page. Sometimes I find that what I’ve drawn can have elements of something else in it, the second doodle looked a bit like an abstract face.

It has been so interesting, I highly recommend it to anyone who is searching for something creative to do, something to keep the creative mind ticking or just for fun! As time goes on I want to introduce more materials into the mix, to see what happens. The main thing is that I attempt to do it every night, or at least everyday. This sort of routine is good because looking back I can see how my doodles have changed, how much more creative I’m being, how much braver I got with each one. I don’t think I’d be able to notice that change as well if I was doing it every month, or once in a while. It only takes a minute so I recommend you give it a try.