In order to honor our gifts and calling, we must choose to believe our creative journey is rightfully our job and therefore treat it as such. Just as we have work hours for employment out of our homes, we have to maintain work hours and space for our creative job inside our home or studio. It is important to invest in our creative practice with our time. In this post, I will explore three areas in which to successfully set boundaries as an artist.
Creative Space
Does your creative space reflect all of the work that you have put into overcoming fear, showing up and creating your best work? Are your walls adorned with affirmations (in all mediums and messages), work that inspires you, and encourages you to move toward that next collection?
When you think of your creative space, what comes to mind? Do you think of a small corner of your basement with a table that is dedicated only to you or do you have a studio where you have the freedom to create at any time of day? It really doesn’t matter what the space looks like, just as long as you have a dedicated space to create your art.
It is important to let those you live with know what your space is for and the boundaries around it. Such as, who is allowed in your space? Is it a shared space? If you share a community space with someone else, do you have designated areas ?
It is also important that you create the mood you want to inspire you as you create. What is important to have in your space? Do you have adequate light for what you create?
As a creative, do you struggle with confidence?
Even though I share a lot of freebies and tutorials, I held back for years sharing my creations because I feared failure. As creatives, you and I can be held back due to negative thinking. It might look like comparing your ability to others or not having the confidence to pursue your creative talent or putting your creations out into the world.
Is that you? Have you ever found it difficult to cope with imposter syndrome, your inner critic, fear of failure, perfectionistic tendencies, and being hesitant to share your work? If your answer is yes, I have a Free resource for you. It’s just a click away!
Vision Board
A vision board is a great tool to use in your creative space reflecting where you desire to go as a creative. It can change as you take on new projects or as needed. It is a collection of mini stories that make up the story of your creative dream. Each component is a motivation, a nudge, and a representation of you tangibly holding your dream out in front of you. It is likened to an affirmation; positive, short present tense statements (snapshots) of what you are believing and becoming. It is the “now” introducing itself to the “future”.
Remember that your vision board is there to inspire and motivate you in your creative space. It is also a great reminder of what you want to accomplish especially on days where you feel defeated and frustrated with your process.
Roben-Marie, the tech savvy artist in her blog post, Why Your Ceative Business Needs a Mood Board and How to Make One, shares the importance of how a mood board acts as a guide to keep you focused, reflects you and your brand identity and what you want to convey to your audience.
Creative Time
Just as you carve out time for priorities in your life, you need to dedicate time to your creative practice.
Each of those tasks should be a minimum of 10 minutes to a maximum of 1 hour. What amount of time can you afford to give to your creative process? You probably have more time than you think. Just think for a minute of all the time you would free up if you didn’t scroll Facebook or watch HGTV.
This is actually called time blocking. Allow yourself only that set amount of time then move on once you are done. I sometimes use a timer on my phone to help me stay on track. Time blocking helps you to stay motivated and focused. When you start implementing this, you will see your successes and feel great about your progress. This doesn’t work for every type of creative practice but it does get you in a rhythm and learn what works best for you.
I have included a time blocker to help you with accomplishing tasks associated with deadlines and goals you have set.
Take this opportunity to learn how to recognize your inner critic with this FREE step by step guide called, “How to Make Over Your Inner Critic: Recognize Fear & Step Into Confidence”
Verbal Boundaries For Your Creative Practice
You need to be aware if your decisions are made for others or are they in line with who you are and who you are created to be. This is precisely what verbal boundaries for your creative practice include; voicing your needs because your time, space and dedication to you art is part of who you are. This may be hard for you, especially if this is something you have neglected.
I would recommend reading the post, “Discovering Your Why ” to understand why you do what you do. You need to ask yourself if your desires to create in your space and with your time are respected. If they are not, it is up to you to make your needs known, verbal.
Verbal Boundaries in Action
Here are some examples of how you could share the importance of your work space, time and practice. It is important to use “I” statements and acknowledge your needs in the areas of creative space, creative time and some details of what you are working on.
- I need a couple hours to myself in my studio without any interruptions for two hours to work on my portfolio.
- Once a week, I will be going to a coffee shop for the day to work on my novel.
- I will be making half of our garage into a workspace just for my ceramics. I will be using this space three hours a day.
It is helpful to get a response or agreement from the person/people you are asking for it from.
Remember friends, no one is going to hand you a permission slip saying that you have the right to occupy the space, time and needs you have as a creative. I hope these three areas will help you to get clear and determined to live the creative life you were meant to live.
Don’t let any more time go by, get a start right now on recognizing your inner critic with this FREE step by step guide called, “How to Make Over Your Inner Critic: Recognize Fear & Step Into Confidence”
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Blessings,
Darlene
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