I believe the concept of a ‘creative type’ of person is a myth, and that anyone can improve their capacity for creativity. I have been asked many times how I continue to come up with new ideas to separate my readers from their beer money. So today I am going to try to explain my own creative process; how I overcome creative block, find inspiration and create something which has never existed before. I use these techniques whether I am sewing, painting or writing this blog.

1. Make a start

Wherefore art thou inspiration? The creative process is usually just that – a process. Rarely is there an epiphany. The common misconception is that the idea must come first. But the solution to procrastination and creative block is simply to make a start. Inspiration will not knock on your door. You must handcuff the inspiration and drag it to your desk. Trust the process and make a start.

2. Don’t worry be crappy

The biggest mistake you can make is being afraid to make one. In fact, many great discoveries have emerged from mistakes or mediocre beginnings. Mistakes are just part of the creative process. It’s a messy process, but something eventually emerges from the crap.

The challenge is to recognize which mistakes are worth working on and which mistakes to discard. Sometimes you just need to take Lassie behind the barn. Not everything I touch turns to awesome. In fact, most of my ideas are crappy:

- Unisex tube tops
- Caffeinated eyedrops
- Crochet tampons

How am I not famous yet?

3. Buy a one-way ticket out of Dullsville

Inspiration often comes from the most unlikely places, you just need to expose yourself to a greater diversity of information. Surround yourself with new places and people. Open your mind. Talk to strangers, the stranger the better.

I spent most of my 20′s traveling the globe, collecting random experiences which would later link together and emerge as new ideas. Inspiration is simply the joining of seemingly unconnected dots.

My ideas rarely come from thin air so I devote time to research. I have digital folders of ideas I have collected as well as a physical scrapbook full of bar napkins with sketches on them, Don Draper-style. Which leads me to my next technique:

4. Pour a drink

Excuse me Sommelier, which wine would you pair with this foreboding creative block?

When I hit a stumbling block I find it useful to distract myself. I put some pants on and go out for a walk. Or take a long shower. Or meditate. Or pour a drink and download pretty fonts for a while. When we relax, we stop paying attention. Thinking can be the enemy of creativity. This is the reason why Google installed ping-pong tables in their offices.

Our society rewards focus and concentration but I consider daydreaming to be just as important. Some of my best ideas have come whilst staring into my refrigerator or wine cabinet (see my post on Tea dyeing).

Alcohol also dulls our fear of failure and of being judged. It can make us brave enough to risk sharing our inner selves, to try something new, and to stand out on a limb, vulnerable and exposed. “Write drunk, edit sober” – Ernest Hemmingway.

5. Work your arse off

Sometimes I get so absorbed in work that I neglect my loved ones and personal hygiene. Or I forget to eat lunch and blackout under my desk. “She forgets to collect our kids from school” is a likely excerpt from my future divorce papers.

A few years ago my friend, artist Julia Sattout, could barely draw a straight line. I attended a drawing class with her and marveled as her work quickly improved. Unsatisfied with mediocrity, she practiced drawing almost every day. Her determination has resulted in her now earning money as a portrait artist.

'Girl in Pink' in pastel by Julia Sattout

“Genius is one percent inspiration and ninety-nine percent perspiration.” – Thomas Edison.

Be sure you give yourself lots of time. As a former graphic designer I know how a deadline can stifle creativity. Leonard Cohen took 5 years to write ‘Hallelujah’, one of the greatest songs ever written. Someone should do a cover of that song.

6. Cross-pollination

From limitations comes creativity. One of the greatest pleasures in life is doing something which somebody tells you cannot be done. Here are some things which my peers told me were impossible, but I tried anyway and succeeded:

“No-one will buy a wedding dress online”
“You won’t make any profit unless your clothing is manufactured off-shore”
“You can’t make a decent profit selling vintage clothing on eBay”

Many discoveries are made from not following instructions. Innovations are often made by people outside their area of expertise, because they are not afraid to ask naive questions. Cross-pollination is the birth of an idea at the collision point of two disciplines.

Johannes Gutenberg used his knowledge of wine presses to invent the first printing machine. My background as a graphic designer means that I am close enough to the fashion industry to understand it, but far enough away to question the conventional wisdom. In some ways this puts me at an advantage.

7. Have a nervous breakdown

This approach is optional. There exists a fine line between genius and insanity, between creativity and madness. Someday I will write a blog post about this. Today is not that day.

“The truly creative mind in any field is no more than this: A human creature born abnormally, inhumanely sensitive. To them… a touch is a blow, a sound is a noise, a misfortune is a tragedy, a joy is an ecstasy, a friend is a lover, a lover is a god, and failure is death. Add to this cruelly delicate organism the overpowering necessity to create, create, create — so that without the creating of music or poetry or books or buildings or something of meaning, their very breath is cut off… They must create, must pour out creation. By some strange, unknown, inward urgency they are not really alive unless they are creating.” – Pearl Buck

Where do you find your inspiration? How do you overcome creative block? Tell us in the comments below or email me at: alyssa@kitschbitsch.com.au