How to contact the creative muse

*Sit in complete silence
*Walk in the woods
*Listen to the weather
*Draw a mandala
*Doodle

These are the things I go back to when I need some inspiration, some way to lift my mood and try to put feelings into my art.  Anything that snaps me out of the habit of everyday can bring a new idea, or new perspective on a current work in progress.

Personally I find moving meditation particularly helpful when stuck for ideas. The easiest is walking. It can be anywhere that you feel safe letting your mind roam without full attention on where you’re going. Let your feet move and let your mind wander with them. Notice things then let those notices drift off topic to other associations. Wonderful free associations can pop in at random when they’re least expected by doing this. If daily problems plague this time, acknowledge them then dismiss the issue by saying it can have all your attention in an hour, just not now.

Also fun is the free drawing.  Kids doodle but a lot of adults have fallen out of the habit. When there is no need for a result, interesting patterns and shapes can emerge.  The trick is to really not be interested in what you’re making at the time.  Keep judgements well away and let the pen flow over the page, then  put it aside.  Come back in an hour or the next day and look at it from different angles with a soft focus.  What the mind wants to tell you is there, you just have to be quiet enough to hear it.