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Take it to the Next Level

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Take it to the Next Level

Just when you’ve found your niche and you feel comfortable doing what you’re doing; take it to the next level. That’s right! Complacency can kill you; or at least your creativity.

Once in awhile, we all need a “jump start.” We need to change things up and try something new. Like an old time revival, an occasional boost of energy and renewal are necessary to keep our work and our lives humming. If we cruise along in neutral, or on empty, our work slows to a lifeless stop.

Enthusiasm is the life blood of creativity. Taking time to rest and rejuvenate is as important as the work itself. Adding spark to our creative batteries is crucial. Here’s how:

• Take a class to refresh your knowledge or learn something you may have missed
• Participate in an art group or league and rub shoulders with other artistic people
• Stretch yourself: enter a contest and compete with “the big boys & girls”
• Visit online and local art galleries for inspiration and the current trends
• Take a walk down memory lane and steep yourself in the “Masters”
• Try a new media or method; experiment
• Take a sabbatical from your normal routine; do something different
• Take your camera and spend some time being inspired by nature
• Change the scenery; explore new things and places
• Have fun doing what you’re doing; if your work becomes drudgery, it will look and feel that way

After a change or a rest, you may be surprised at how excited you are to “get back to work.” Even if it’s the back to the “same old same old,” you’ve given yourself a boost and recharged your creative energy. The work at hand will seem fresh and new again. The results will show!