Seven days of Starter for Ten a creative exercise
Starter for Ten (S410) is a daily creative exercise that I am doing for 30 days. I set a ten-minute timer and write whatever comes into my head. After that, I do the same to create a visual. The idea is to loosen up, create daily and get over the idea that everything I make needs to be perfect or have a purpose. Here’s what I have learned so far:
Day 6 - Please Yo Self washi tape typography
1. No one cares
I mean this in a positive way, but really no one cares what I’m doing. I’m pretty sure the people I care about just see my posts and think oh there’s Yo, she doing that. The self-doubt is real, but I’m working on getting more resilient.
2. Outside influences
It’s been interesting observing that what I’ve been reading, watching, and talking about makes its way into what I create. It’s making me want to feed my mind with good stuff and spend time researching and learning about things that will have a positive influence.
3. Mornings are the best
If I don’t make this practice the first thing I do when I wake up I have noticed that I am finding excuses not to get started. Even though I want to do it, and I know I will enjoy it, there is still some resistance to doing something that I’m not good at and has no obvious purpose. Hopefully, this will change as the challenge progresses.
Observations: Day 1 when the inner critic was quiet
4. Hello inner critic
When I’m writing I find that my inner critic isn’t bothered, I don’t consider myself a writer and find freedom in that. I’m practicing writing and what comes out is an idea not a finished piece so I don’t really judge myself. I’m expecting the outcome to be crap. When I write it feels like play.
When I move on to creating a visual my inner critic gets into full flow. I’m a designer so I have this weird unfounded belief that I should be able to draw, create, visualise perfectly.
It’s a rollercoaster in my head, one moment I’m enjoying myself and the next a voice pipes up with ‘Who do you think you are?’ I keep working and it is replaced by another voice that says ‘This is fun!’ and then in an instant, I’m hearing ‘This is crap, why are you even trying?’
I’m working on observing these thoughts and being curious about them. Working out my self-doubt through the process.
Day 5 - In the studio with Richard
5. It’s more fun with a friend
On days 4 and 5 I invited my father-in-law Richard, a Sculptor, to join me in the challenge. Our joint response to getting something complete in ten minutes had us both panicking which made us both laugh a lot. It was inspiring to see the way he approached the challenge, how he worked with the clay, and how much kinder he is to himself when creating something for fun. I also got a kick out of destroying our work after we had photographed it, returning the clay to what it was ten minutes previously.
6. I’m having more ideas
The process of creating every day is giving me more ideas during my working day. I’m not sure if the process is acting as a way of getting the crap out of the way so that good ideas can flow or if it’s a case of flexing my creative muscles that is making me loosen up and censor less. Either way, it’s having a positive impact on my day.
If you have read this far, thank you for reading and following my journey! See you tomorrow for more.
