Blog

You Aren’t Creative Until You Pick a Project I’ve been working with creative and performing artists and other creatives for more than thirty years, first as a therapist and then as a creativity coach. Among their many challenges is the following one, a challenge that...

At the core of a creative act like painting or sculpting is the effort to make meaning (and not beautiful objects or money). We are very happy if we make objects we like and if we make money, but what we are really after as we create is the experience of making our...

Dear Dr. Maisel: I’m wondering how important confidence really is to an artist—and if it is really important, what can you do if you’ve lost some of it—or a lot of it! Rachel L., Portland ** Thanks, Rachel. Yes, creativity requires confidence—and life can rob you of...

Dear Dr. Maisel: I’ve been painting for a long time but I have the feeling that I still haven’t found my own voice as an artist. Do you have any suggestions for how an artist can go about discovering what she really wants to say? Leslie T., Flagstaff ** Thank you,...

Dear Dr. Maisel: I have a certain style and I’m pretty comfortable doing what I currently do. But I also have the itch to stretch and try some new things. Do you have any suggestions for how I might expand my repertoire? Lionel F., Detroit ** Thanks, Lionel. There may...

YOUR CREATIVITY PRACTICE 1. What is a practice? It is a way that you take your existence seriously, one breath at a time, one thought at a time, one moment at a time. It is the daily routine of paying attention where you have intentions. It looks like the silence of...

Dear Dr. Maisel: I spend a lot of my day thinking about painting rather than actually painting. Probably you have a lot of things to suggest but what would your number one tip be to help me get more painting done? Frank W., Taos, New Mexico * Thanks, Frank. My number...

Dear Dr. Maisel: I have a deadline coming up where I’m supposed to deliver some paintings for a show and the deadline is making me really anxious! Any suggestions? Harriet R., Spokane * Thanks, Harriet! Let’s look at this issue closely because it’s very important....

It’s often the case that we’re reasonably confident somewhere inside of us—we have some real confidence to access—but when it comes to accessing it for some specific reason, liking getting on with our painting or contacting a particular gallery, we can’t seem to...

CONFIDENTLY NAVIGATING THE CREATIVE PROCESS In the second part of this series on artist’s confidence I’d like to paint a picture of what confidence looks like during each stage of the creative process. Stage 1. Wishing I’m conceptualizing ‘wishing’ as a kind of...