Shaking Things Up!

I was reminded this week of the importance of change.

I bought a new gadget - a Remarkable - after hearing about it from Alice Sheridan on our podcast. It's basically a digital version of a paper notebook - or rather a digital version of an infinite pile of digital notebooks. I bought it, hoping it would replace multiple journals, scraps of paper and post-it notes, but I can already see it will have other benefits.

In fact, within only 3 days of owning it, I had drafted the outline for a book that has been in my mind for over two years. I can't tell you how good that feels!

A cynic might say "but you could have done that in a paper notebook. Why did you need to spend hundreds of pounds on a gadget?

That makes a lot of sense. It's perfectly logical. And yet I didn't do it until I had my Remarkable. Why is that?

Something about that tablet released my creativity in a way that paper couldn't.

It made me think about the way new things affect us. When we use a different tool, or go to a different place, or have a new experience, it's as though our brain sparks into life. I suppose this makes sense - much of the time, we are running on automatic pilot, with no need to think too much about what we're doing. But when we're faced with something new, our brain does have to wake up so it can help us find our way.

And this is where I come back to art-making. I think shaking things up can be incredibly valuable when you want to spark some new ideas. Think about it: if you get out the same materials and tools every time, your brain goes into that automatic pilot frame of mind. But if one day, you do something completely different, those neurons are going to start firing and before you know it, new ideas will be sparking.

I use this trick in my practice all the time. I might spend a day making collage papers, or playing with a gelli plate or I might do some realistic drawing. Anything to spark some new ideas or just liven things up a little.

This week, I took to my sketchbooks and worked over some pages that I didn't really like. I enjoy these sketchbook play sessions because they get me away from thinking about the ideas in my work and back to the simple pleasures of playing with materials.

In fact, I made a video about my explorations ...