Find Your Artistic Voice: The Essential Guide to Working Your Creative Magic

be conscious of how you are transferring those influences into your own work. Always ask, “How am I transforming this influence into something of my own? How am I innovating?”

My more limited palette is one of the ways my work is consistent.

The truth is, when we first start something, it can feel wholly uncomfortable. It can even feel risky! What if we fail? When we have an idea for what we want to create (perhaps related to whatever gave us the spark and the urge to make something in the first place), the end result we envision is often so far from what we have the skills to do. So w

Creative thinking happens in most people, but what differentiates most productive artists from the rest of the population is that they are compelled to do something with their ideas, and they are also usually able to work through fears about not being ready or not having the right set of tools.

But the problem is that once we get into working, we might not stop. Make sure that your routine includes at least one or two solid fifteen- to ninety-minute breaks for taking walks, eating healthy snacks and meals, chilling out in front of a movie, spending time with friends and family, or hanging out with your art buddies. Those breaks will reene

One of the outlets that acts of creativity give us is the opportunity to discover, and then to express, what’s inside us.

You can even schedule time for developing your art business or taking classes.

Then, at the beginning of each week, write down how you’ll use each of the chunks of “art time” in your schedule.

For Tharp, the blank space, and the mystery and the challenge that come with more spontaneous acts of creativity, are exciting.

But the truth is that everyone’s story matters, including yours. The fact that you might not think your story matters is actually just part of your story!