“Artists are people who have developed their seeing muscles in much the same way as weight-lifters develop their lifting muscles - by constant, disciplined use.” - Corita Kent, Learning by Heart
Any athlete will tell you how important habits and daily practices are in building their strength, skills, and ultimately reaching their goals. This is the same for incorporating more Creativity in your life.
My colleagues and I on the NAEA (National Art Educators Association) Professional Learning through Research committee, presented this last week “Creative Connection; Promoting Educator Well-Being through Visual Journals” to a packed room of art educators. Where I not only got them all to draw a conscious contour with me, but I also shared with them how to build habits for creative thinking through a visual journaling practice.
Art education scholar and professor Sara Scott Shields explains the visual journal as “a companion to exploration and research, the visual journal embodies the practice of embracing text and image to create new, more complex understandings” (2016). Similarly, my own teaching and visual processes have been greatly influenced by visual journaling as this meta-cognitive process for creative connections and making.
However, a visual journaling practice doesn’t necessarily need to look like a sketchbook. It can be a daily dance break, taking a photo everyday of something that brings you joy, or trying a new recipe weekly - you get to define how Creativity shows up for you.
But like committing to a workout routine at the gym, making a commitment to your creative practice is, well, work.
This is where I learn from thinker and author James Clear. In his book, Atomic Habits, An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones, he shares four key components for making any habit stick are to make them;
Obvious
Attractive
Easy
Satisfying
It is through daily (or however that looks for you) creative engagements that we strengthen our creative processes. Whether I’m designing learning experiences, reading new research material, or mindlessly scribbling a few words at the end of the day, approaching my visual journal as a priority helps me commit to the ebb and flow of creating, connecting myself as an artist and art educator.
creative exercise: habit reflections
First, reflect on what your daily Creativity shows up as. This will most likely change and grow with you btw.
Next, write out James Clear’s Four Principles of Habits; Obvious, Attractive, Easy, and Satisfying. Connect how you can turn your Creative Goals into habits in your life. For me, it looks like this;
Obvious - Always have my journal close by.
Attractive - Use my favorite drawing materials, like a fancy Blackwing Pencil or new pen.
Easy - Keep materials simple, a Sharpie and Field Notes pocket book are easy ways to make a quick drawing happen.
Satisfying - Drawing makes me feel grounded and happier.
What habits do you want to build to help encourage more Creativity in your life?
happy creating, professor slu
References
Kent, C., & Steward, J. (2008). Learning by heart: Teachings to free the creative spirit. Allworth Press.
Marshall, J. (2015). Creativity for Understanding: Art-Based Research in the Classroom. In F. M. C. Bastos & E. Zimmerman (Eds.), Connecting Creativity Research and practice in art education: Foundations, pedagogies, and contemporary issues (pp. 221–228). essay, National Art Education Association.
Scott Shields, S. (2016). How I Learned to Swim: The Visual Journal as a Companion to Creative Inquiry. International Journal of Education & the Arts, 17(8), n8.