The First Step in the Creative Process

I've spent some time recently thinking about my creative process because I'm trying to plan my best holiday strategy.  I've come to realize that I'm a very visual and tactile person.  Especially when it comes to my bead work, sketching out my thoughts isn't a very productive use of my time.  I find myself being more inspired by opening up a few of my bead boxes and looking and touching the various beads.  By touching and playing with various textures and colors, I can begin to visualize the finished product.  Knitting, I have to touch every yarn before I purchase it, color is important but the touch and texture is much more important to me.  I think its interesting how this process can be so different for so many people.  Some find their creative inspiration by sketching, others by letting their mind wander and daydream.  I'm sure that each artist has their own unique view on how they begin to cull their ideas and set on the path to a finished piece.  Feel free to share your own beginning of the creative process in the comments!

The Complexities of Motivation

As the school year continues to speed up into midterms and projects, I find myself struggling with the concept of motivation.  Not necessarily school related because my motivation there is a love of learning, my GPA and desire to find a job soon :)  I mean, motivation to create and get new items listed on Etsy.  I realize that the holiday season is fast approaching and therefore, I should be listing new products everyday...however, my motivation is being hindered by life in general.  I have these grand ambitions ("when I get home from teaching, I'll make ____" "this weekend, while watching football, I'll list _____" and the list goes on)  but by the time I get around to those time periods, I'm too exhausted to even think creatively!  So, right now, I'm on a mission to recapture my motivation that was so plentiful during the summer months.  I'm going to start by setting a tentative schedule where I work for a bit even if I don't really want to and hopefully this will jump-start my motivation and get me excited about crafting again!