Let nature be your muse: 9 ideas to boost your creativity!
Yuck! Those creative funks. They’re the worst: writer’s block, uninspired environments, lost muses – we’ve all experienced our share of creative mists. But how do we get out of those paralyzing pauses? Let nature be your muse. For many, directly experiencing nature has a way of releasing our inhibitions, so when we connect with nature (in any capacity) we open ourselves to uninhibited, earthly inspirations meant to help us fulfill our creative calling.
Below are nine nature-inspired ideas to try the next time you’re feeling artistically stuck. Even if you don’t consider yourself a nature lover, these creative suggestions for a change of scenery may be just what you need to get your creativity flowing.
1. Funk-buster pebbles: Collect 15 small pebbles (all should fit easily in the palm of your hand) and arrange them in different patterns throughout the day. Try to express your mood or some other information with your designs, or freely whatever comes to mind.
two. Sheet of “tweets”. Collect soft, fallen leaves, grab a marker and scribble, write haiku, a love note, or words of wisdom on them (140 characters or less), and “flick through” for people to find them.
3. Go for a walk with the moon. At least once during the next full moon, go out and see for yourself how the moonlight sculpts the land, plants, and your imagination. (Be on the lookout for wildlife or other hazards.) Don’t turn on your flashlight, let the bright moonlight guide your eyes. Take note of how familiar items look different in this new light.
Four. Free writing, naturally. Pick a natural object or environment (rock, leaf, driftwood, your favorite lunch spot in the park) and write down every word or phrase that comes to mind. List the words that describe you, or how it makes you feel, or what textures and patterns you see. Anything. No rules, just let your mind take you.
5. Nail your heels. Take off your sandals, or shoes and socks, and take a walk on the beach. Or feel the fluffy, wet freshness of a morning lawn, or the sand sliding between your toes in your child’s litter box! How about squeezing yourself into some natural clay or mud at your favorite hiking hideout or dirt spa? The goal is to feel the elements between your toes and hands and revel in the therapeutic energy of earthy and organic textures and fragrances.
6. Art for the sake of art. Join a group of “found art” artists creating art to leave anonymously for others to find! I left my art on trails / trails and in parks via the Flickr.com group: Found Art Tuesday. Sometimes an upcoming public event will inspire a piece, sometimes a random piece that I have created finally finds a perfect home in a public place. It’s fun, it’s giving, and it’s incredibly inspiring, not to mention a little therapeutic!
7. Try your luck with land art. Go to a favorite wilderness area and unleash your inner Andy Goldsworthy. Study the landscape for available natural materials (sand, shells, rocks, leaves, sticks, seed pods, flowers, water flow …) and try conscious expression right there. One rule of thumb: use only the natural materials you have on hand, responsibly, without shovels, glue, string, paper clips, tape, nails, etc.
8. Inspiration sticks (or use smooth river rocks): Collect a personal set of smooth sticks (8 “to 10” long) from the garden and write creative prompts on them for quick ideas and activities to get your creative juices flowing. For example, you might have sticks that have the above seven ideas listed as prompts: found art, earth art, digging, free writing, full moon, leaf tweet, funk-busters. Or you can write one color per bar or environment message. Have blank sticks ready for those creative flashes to add to your jar! Store in a recycled spaghetti sauce jar or can for easy access.
9. Creative meditation. Meditate somewhere different, take it outside, in your backyard, on a big rock, on the beach. Find a safe and comfortable place to practice a meditation that energizes your creativity chakra, also known as the sacral chakra, located in the lower abdomen, approximately 2 “below your novelI mean your naval.
Good luck and have fun! Go. Create. Inspire others.