Daily Practice: Getting Hands-On by Going Back to Kindergarten

Energy management is always an issue for me, one that I have to keep working on. Teaching art, while incredibly rewarding, uses massive amounts of my physical and mental energy, even though I only do it part-time! 

So getting into the studio regularly can be a challenge. I am lucky to have enough shows going on (generally) through the year to force me back in and focus me on studio work. But in between, when there is no urgency, an unhelpful loop can develop: low energy = little studio time; little studio time = lower energy; and so on, until it actually makes me despondent.

I know I'm far from alone in this experience, so at the risk of seeming repetitive, I am returning to this topic, for the benefit of any artists or art students reading this, but also anyone else who works creatively. Any creative activity feeds our creativity as a whole.

The way I lead myself gently out of the unfortunate loop I described is to get hands-on with something, get tactile with a material or process that is simple, not “precious”, that I don't need to commit lots of time to. Getting tactile helps every time.

Right now for example – you'll laugh – I have been folding and cutting paper in the same way we did to make snowflakes in what, kindergarten? Some of them turn out to be snowflakes and some definitely do not, but while making them I lose myself in the process of folding (what structure will I use?) and cutting the designs into them, improvising with my scissors.

It gives me an unreasonable amount of pleasure to work on these simple things and while I'm having fun I am also developing my facility with pattern, design, reflection and 3-dimensional structure. Who knows how that may pay off in the future? In the meantime my energy level rises as does my mood :-)

Do you have any difficulty getting into the studio every day, or maintaining some other creative practice? If so, what has worked for you? Your solution may help someone else. Please share in the comments below.

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“Any creative activity feeds our creativity as a whole.”

“…get hands-on with something, get tactile with a material or process that is simple, not “precious”, that [you] don't need to commit lots of time to.”

Cutting and folding paper into snowflake-type designs is one simple creative practice to get back in the studio (or other creative mode) by getting tactile and re-introducing play. Photo: Kim Lee Kho