Working out what you’re meant to be working on
It’s a new year! Are you fulfilling your artistic calling? Do you have the feeling that there’s some part of you needing creative or artistic expression that hasn’t yet found a medium? That you’re not being your most fully authentic self, or that you could find a fuller form of expression. Here are some ways to find your creative calling.
Your creative calling may involve leaving what you think you know
Many creative artists go to another part of the world altogether to study a tradition and make it their own. It’s not a matter of where you have come from, or grown up, or what kind of family you come from or what kind of education you have – even though those factors influence us all. If another culture really speaks to you there may be something you need to explore. Let yourself truly explore what you feel called to, however improbable it might seem. You may find that your creative calling is not what you thought it would be at all!
Train in one medium, find your creative calling in another?
The medium you feel called to work in may not even be the one you originally trained in. I know a successful painter who was originally a classical pianist, a jazz musician who came from visual art, a photographer-turned-dancer whose body of work combines the two mediums – the list goes on. Keep exploring and expanding your skills. Nothing is wasted when you develop your artist capabilities.
Exploring possibilities and connections in creative media
Continue to find practical ways to explore the possibilities. There are many rewards for these inner explorations, not only in terms of the work itself but in terms of the friendships they brings us with people who understand us and can help to draw us out to our fullest potential. It’s the difference between leading a small life and an expanding one! Here’s a quick quiz and some exercises to help you discover the directions you need to explore….
A quick creativity quiz – answer these questions as fast as possible
- Another artistic period that appeals to me is……..
- Another culture that speaks to me is…………..
- I have a strong preference for (a) western rhythms (3/4 or 4/4) (b) polyrhythms; (c) neither?
- I am the colour ……. and this colour expresses itself as ……..
- I have always wanted to but never tried……..
- I remember I used to love …… as a child.
More suggestions for creative exploration
- Movement as creative practice. Explore a movement practice as a form of expression. Dance is great for this– if you really feel that you’re no dancer, try Five Rhythms where abstract movement to music works too.
- Actively explore another medium. Buy a cheap sketchpad and some coloured pencils and let yourself explore with no agenda. Buy or borrow a keyboard and learn some basic chord structures. Buy a lump of clay and shape it any way it pleases you, without trying to ‘make’ something.
If you feel that you’re creatively blocked, creative coaching can help you to identify what’s going on, and pursue strategies to explore and amaze yourself! Contact me at for a free 30 minute consultation today.