We’ve all heard the phrase “It’s not a sprint, it’s a marathon.” While designing Climate Art 101, I thought about my personal philosophy on creativity. I looked at patterns in my artistic life when I was the most inspired and created a system to foster peak creative productivity.
I realized my most joyful times were while doing creative sprints. My first sprint was a 100-day watercolor challenge two years ago that changed my life. 4 months after I picked up a paintbrush, I quit my job to make art full-time.
My second was a 30-day art challenge in January which allowed me to explore making short-form video, something I had procrastinated for years. They are intense and energy consuming. By the end, I feel exhausted in the same way I do after a good swim (the closest thing I do to running). I’m always shocked and proud of how much I was able to create in such a short period of time.
I’ve decided I work best with 1 big “creative sprint” per year and a weekly “creative workout” to maintain my creative muscles. For my creative workout, I make 1 piece of art per week. With this system, I guarantee that I create at least 78 pieces of art a year (30 from the first challenge + 48 from the rest of the weeks). Which is pretty amazing!
So for Climate Art 101, I designed a creative sprint called the Creative 30 Challenge. This is 30 minutes of creativity for 30 days. It’s 10 minutes meditation, 10 minutes journaling, 10 minutes art daily.
The course launched 3 weeks ago and it’s been so amazing to see the art coming out of it. The community is filled with creatives in climate from all around the world and seeing these folks connect is just the best feeling.
Inspired by this newsletter, I decided to host a free workshop on How to Be Creative on June 26th at 1pm EST. RSVP here.
My question to you is how do you think about creativity?
Is it a marathon or a sprint for you? What are your practices to foster creativity on a regular basis? Shoot me an email, I really want to know! My favorite book on creativity is Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert. I can’t recommend it enough.
Some of my key takeaways from Big Magic:
Commit to Consistent Action: Consistency is key to creative success. Show up regularly to do the work, regardless of inspiration or motivation. By cultivating a disciplined creative practice, you'll make steady progress towards your goals.
Follow your Curiosity not Your Passion: I’m obsessed with this concept. I feel like our world pushes us to "find your passion," but she encourages following curiosity and enjoying the process. She says “Your curiosity is a compass pointing you to your passions. Follow it.”
Upcoming Events
Climate Art 101 is open on a rolling basis if you’d like to join us to make climate art together!
Creative offerings:
I host climate art workshops for teams. These have been magical to see groups explore their creativity.
Buy yourself something from my shop- a mug, a onesie, a print
I’m open for commissions. I help climate organizations transform their complicated work into simple, beautiful visuals.